Perceived recoil vs reality.

[Bfh_auto]

I have always found recoil from larger bore rifles to be more friendly than that of a lightweight 308/30-06 class rifle.
I know they kick harder, but it's something about the huge chunk of lead flying downrange that makes it seem to kick less.
I recently bought a box of 10 ga 3 1/2 buck that was missing one. It reminded me that I'm alive. I shot both barrels to make sure I wasn't mistaken.
What's your favorite shoulder tenderizer?
Mine is my brother's 444 Marlin that he left in my safe.

 

[Varminterror]

For most of my adult life, I’ve been smart enough to wear hearing protection any time I’m shooting, and I’ve learned to adapt to adapt my hold for different stocks which don’t quite fit my frame, so I don’t often get fooled by “felt” recoil disproportionate to actual recoil in rifles. The only recent exception I can recall was my Kodiak Backpacker 44mag Redhawk - the narrow grip neck and low muzzle weight make it incredibly difficult to control for my big hands, such it felt worse than my 454’s to shoot it, until I got the Tyler T grip extension installed. It slammed HARD into the web of my thumb and forefinger every shot, moreso than any other revolver I have fired - because the rest of mine all have grips which fit my hand!

Impulse duration makes a big difference for some folks - as in how fast that recoil finds your shoulder. Snappy recoil sucks, even at lower net totals.

 

[someguy2800]

My 444 marlin handi rifle packs a real head of steam. I think it calculates out to like 39 ft lbs of recoil energy and has the original recoil pad. I'm used to it but prolonged shooting will turn your shoulder colors.

 

[Llama Bob]

There's no question in my mind that recoil in the small bore rifles is worse per ft-lb than recoil on big bores. The .300WM and .338WM (and even more so various ultra-mags in those calibers) are some of the least pleasant rifles to shoot in existence. My .50-110 has recoil right in line with a .470 NE at about 60 ft-lbs, but it's FAR more pleasant to shoot than a M70 in .338WM.

 

[jmorris]

My 50 BMG is almost concussive after 100 rounds or so. No so much the recoil because of the brake but (because of the brake) even plugged with muffs, it’s just not a lot of fun, for more than 20 rounds or so.

 

[jmr40]

Perceived recoil vs reality.

The difference is mostly between the ears. It is partly due to recoil velocity. Some, but not all heavy cartridges recoil a fraction of a fps slower than cartridges shooting lighter, but faster bullets. But real recoil is real recoil. Just because the brain can be tricked doesn't change that.

There is also recoil tolerance. I've noted that all of us have a level of recoil that we can tolerate. Around 20 ft lbs, which is typical of 30-06 with hotter loads and moderate weight rifles seems to be the point where most shooters reach their tolerance levels. As long as we are shooting a firearm at or below our tolerance levels we don't seem to notice. If my recoil tolerance is 20 ft lbs I really don't notice the difference between 243, (about 11 ft lbs), and 308, (about 15 ft lbs.) But if I move up to something with 25 ft lbs of recoil it may become very noticeable.

You can fool the mind for a short time. Lots of guys CLAIM they aren't bothered by heavy kicking rifles. And for a certain number of shots it appears they are right. But I don't care how big or tough you think you are you reach a point where your brain says NO! All of us will shoot better with less recoil.

I've owned some hard kickers, a Marlin 45-70 with near 458 WM loads was stout, but 3 1/2" turkey loads are the hardest kicking thing I've ever fired. I've owned several of the 7mm and 30 caliber magnums and feel recoil is manageable in moderation. But I enjoy shooting, and I shoot more often, more comfortably with a lot less recoil. My bolt gun or AR's see a lot more rounds through them at 5 ft lbs recoil. My 308 kills everything just as dead as the 45-70 or 300 WM with 1/2 to 1/5 the recoil.

 

[jmorris]

I don't care how big or tough you think you are you reach a point where your brain says NO! All of us will shoot better with less recoil.

Whenever I take a “thumper” to the range I always take what my wife calls a “cheater” .22 with me. If I feel like I am not doing my job correctly, I switch to the RF and confirm I am using the proper technique.

 

[Bushpilot]

Impulse duration makes a big difference for some folks - as in how fast that recoil finds your shoulder. Snappy recoil sucks, even at lower net totals.

I agree with Varminterror and the others who said much the same....
I'll take x ftlbs of low velocity recoil over x ftlbs of high velocity recoil any day.... I may get a bruise on my shoulder from either one but the high velocity recoil feels worse to continue to shoot through....

 

[LoonWulf]

I'll let you know after I touch off a few from my new 375....

 

[JeffG]

My thumper is my .458 WM Mauser. Yes I could shoot factory jacketed 500 grainers, but at what? I love crafting my own handloads, and I really enjoy cast bullets. My 483 gas checked bullets at about 1700fps, is plenty. More than a punch in the shoulder, I prefer the "push from a big man". As far as hunting with it, I know it will put anything in the US on the ground, the bloodshot to the meat is less than a 7mm mag. Don't get me wrong, I have opened up the throttle on occasion, and suffered the recoil. My shoulder healed, but my head felt crooked for a week.

 

[IndianaBoy]

I can shoot bird shot 12 gauge all day with no discomfort.


Turkish 8mm is unpleasant.

I've never shot a real big bore
Nor a big revolver like a 454. No desire to.

 

[denton]

.

 

[Don Dayacetah]

IME, the proper length of pull is going to reduce recoil considerably, no matter what the caliber. A smaller caliber rifle with
a shorter length of pull, or a metal buttplate will produce more perceived recoil.

 

[cdb1]

.

This post gets my vote as the most succinct of the day.

 

[cdb1]

I agree with Varminterror and the others who said much the same....
I'll take x ftlbs of low velocity recoil over x ftlbs of high velocity recoil any day.... I may get a bruise on my shoulder from either one but the high velocity recoil feels worse to continue to shoot through....

I agree also.

For whatever reason and I’ve stated this before the recoil of a 25-06 is unpleasant to me. I’ve shot a few and the recoil stung. I never have and never will shoot a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 WM.

 

[cdb1]

For most of my adult life, I’ve been smart enough to wear hearing protection any time I’m shooting, and I’ve learned to adapt to adapt my hold for different stocks which don’t quite fit my frame, so I don’t often get fooled by “felt” recoil disproportionate to actual recoil in rifles. The only recent exception I can recall was my Kodiak Backpacker 44mag Redhawk - the narrow grip neck and low muzzle weight make it incredibly difficult to control for my big hands, such it felt worse than my 454’s to shoot it, until I got the Tyler T grip extension installed. It slammed HARD into the web of my thumb and forefinger every shot, moreso than any other revolver I have fired - because the rest of mine all have grips which fit my hand!

Impulse duration makes a big difference for some folks - as in how fast that recoil finds your shoulder. Snappy recoil sucks, even at lower net totals.

When I started hunting as a kid in the 60’s no one wore hearing protection, no one in my family or any of my friends families. I wasn’t even aware of hearing protection for shooting.

The first time I wore hearing protection was the first time I went to a shooting range when in my early 40’s. I deeply deeply regret not wearing protection all those years as does family and friends when they are around me.

I’m now obsessive about it, almost to the point that I reach for muffs when I toot.

 

[Bwana John]

I'll let you know after I touch off a few from my new 375....

I have no problems with .375 H&H... but a light, short 7mm Rem Mag will have me twitching and jumping and blinking pretty fast.

Recoil is usually not as much of a problem for me as the muzzle blast from a overbore cartridge.

 

[Varminterror]

@cdb1 - I grew up the same way; nobody wore hearing protection. Even at the range, most hunters just told the other folks to “plug your ears.”

But I did grow up in an era in which schools tested kids’ hearing. I had noticed my ears ringing considerably after shooting my new 44mag (I was 12), but I didn’t know I had damaged my hearing until a few months later, and had no idea what tinnitus was. So they caught my hearing issue when I was in 8th grade. I have 50% hearing loss in my left ear, and over 20% lost in my right. My tinnitus is severe enough on my left side such I don’t notice it in my right, but if I plug my right ear (amplifies inner ear sound of tinnitus), it’s always there too.

I don’t do the whole internet fad “pocket dump” or “daily loadout,” but I do have a set of plugs in my pocket almost every day.

Having 25yrs experience shooting DGR’s and true big bore revolvers and specialty pistols does make the interpretation of true recoil vs. perceived recoil a lot easier too - but always having hearing protection makes a big difference.

 

[Offfhand]

Mr. Varminterror is on target about using ear protection. A good set of ear plugs or ear muffs, or both together, can work wonders for reducing perceived recoil. Especially for women and young shooters.

 

[Slamfire]

You can fool the mind for a short time. Lots of guys CLAIM they aren't bothered by heavy kicking rifles. And for a certain number of shots it appears they are right. But I don't care how big or tough you think you are you reach a point where your brain says NO! All of us will shoot better with less recoil.

Absolutely. The more recoil, the sooner the flinch shows up. I have been having a terrible time getting the accuracy I want, out of my 35 Whelen's, and I am convinced it is due to recoil. I prefer to shoot ten shot groups to determine accuracy. It does not take too many 200 gr, 225 gr ten shot groups before I am bucking and kicking like a donkey, before the trigger breaks.

This little bugger is too light and the recoil is punishing.



I have removed the long scope on this Remington, because of insufficient eye relief. The eye piece regularly smacked my shooting glasses on recoil! Incidentally, when I had a 35 Whelen built around a Dumoulin Mauser action, I specified a 14 1/4 stock pull, precisely because I wanted more clearance between my eye, and the scope.



After shooting maybe 50 to 100 rounds through several 35 Whelens, the recoil from a 30-06 is positively light.

Even with 22 LR's, I have to work on the flinch, each and every shot. I recently lost third place, at a Small Bore regional, with this rifle due to the flinch reflex.



On the last target, which was the 50 meter target, I dropped a low nine and shot a 1597 when a 1598 would have earned me third. I was not concentrating on trigger pull, the trigger had not broke, but the body thought it had, and the body pushed the shot low. This 22lr with sights has to be close to ten pounds, the recoil, the blast, is minuscule, and yet, I'll flinch.

The worst recoiling long gun I own is an H&R Topper, 12 Ga, single barrel shotgun. Shoot that thing with buck or slugs, and it will bruise my shoulder.

 

[highlander 5]

Ruger No 1 in 45/70 400-500 gr bullets at 1800 fps will certainly get your attention in short order.

 

[mcb]

There is a lot of fun and interesting physics and calculation you can do around recoil if you have the equipment to take the measurements. These experiments and calculations are great for doing comparisons and what-if scenarios and can allow you to grasp how different changes effect the characteristics of the recoil but at the end of the day it all comes down to what the shooter thinks feels good or bad.

Perceived recoil IS reality!

 

[denton]

This post gets my vote as the most succinct of the day.

LOL....Actually, I wrote kind of a long winded post about the physics of recoil, and how recoil momentum is not very informative. I took a look at it, and decided that actually nobody would be interested. So I shortened it up to just what you saw.

I'll take succinct!

 

[tarosean]

Perceived recoil IS reality!

Agreed

 

[cdb1]

LOL....Actually, I wrote kind of a long winded post about the physics of recoil, and how recoil momentum is not very informative. I took a look at it, and decided that actually nobody would be interested. So I shortened it up to just what you saw.

I'll take succinct!

You disappoint me. I thought your intent was to impart something like: Words cannot express the imponderables of recoil, such is life, I'm Plácido Domingo, this thread is my aria, come drink the wine.