"Mind the recoil"... or "Adventures in eye-relief"

[threeseven]

One time with an F88 Steyr on an Army range I had a jam near the end of my mag. After I cleared it, I pressed the rifle back into my shoulder to take another shot but my rank brassard had shifted slightly and the butt had a layer of yielding cloth between it and my shoulder. When I pulled the trigger the optics gave me a tap on the eyebrow which stung a bit but left no mark, so I played it cool and nobody realised.

The shot was ofcourse a flyer though that ruined an otherwise perfectly good group I was a bit more careful about ensuring proper shoulder contact after that little almost-incident.

 

[Guns_and_Labs]

Joined the Club

7.21 Firebird, got me good.

I had installed a great muzzle brake as soon as I'd bought the Sako/Lazzeroni, taming it to .30-06 levels, but had never fired it without the brake.

Well, crawling up to nice whitetail, noticing that I was firing too close to a rockwall for comfort, so I took off the muzzle brake, scrunched up close kind of wrapping myself around a tree in an awkward position, and touched it off. I was so busy admiring my marksmanship, I didn't even realize that I'd whacked myself until the blood flowed into my eyes.

That muzzle brake is getting welded on...

 

[45crittergitter]

Unbraked .378 Weatherby Mag. Steel-tubed Weaver K-4. Recommendations to get stitches still coming a week later....

 

[Ironbarr]

Marlin 336 3030 scoped... New - first shot. Learned fast - hasn't happened again (yet). Just a little red stuff.

 

[King]

Some pretty tough stories here...can anyone tell me how to calculate the amount of eye relief needed to avoid having a story of my own.

I just acquired my first 7MM mag (Savage). The scope allows about 3.5 inches of eye relief. Is that enough or do I have a headache coming?

I planned to sight it in later in the week.

 

[dakotasin]

you'll be fine.

when i shoot my rifles i make sure i have a very tight-to-the-shoulder hold. the only times i've been brushed has been when i start getting sloppy and don't pull the gun in hard to my shoulder.

also, wear safety glasses. if your form starts getting sloppy, they will do a great job of keeping you out of the red crescent society.

 

[capt_happypants]

Usually, the guys who get whacked are shooting off a bench, and creep up the stock until an unfortunate scope tube/forehead interface occurs.

If you're really worried about it, have a local gunsmith check your eye relief, and adjust the scope as necessary.

 

[King]

Thanks guys...I guess I should proceed with caution and make sure I have a good set of safety glasses when I take that first shot.

 

[dakotasin]

don't be afraid of the gun... that's the way to develop a flinch, and ironically, that's how you'll get knocked by the scope.

for your first shot or two, just get a death grip on the rifle into your shoulder. after your first couple shots, you'll realize it isn't that bad, then you can relax and use a comfortable style. i've sent many hundreds of rounds of 7 rem mag downrange, and the only time i was brushed was when my hold got real sloppy towards the end of an extended shooting session. even then, it was just a bump. no cuts or anything dramatic.

when you start to feel a little fatigued, put the gun down for a few minutes, or for another day. you don't have to do everything in one sitting.

if eye relief is that big of a concern, go w/ a leupold scope. they have very generous eye relief.

 

[Mornard]

My first, and hopefully only - LIGHTWEIGHT .300 Weatherby Magnum. Don't know why that gun ever, ever seemed like a good idea. No stitches though...however, my brother mentioned I did let out a rather loud bellow. (so at least I didn't scream like a little girl)

 

[strambo]

I am an unfortunate member of the club as well My problem was not enough recoil, so I got complacent. I have a heavy barrel .300WM with a muzzle brake and a Leupold 6.5X20 scope. Shooting off the bench I got into the habit of not holding it very tight to facilitate better groups, and facilitated a scope eye instead! Duh, its not a 6mmPPC