Pistol Grip

[K3]

I notice that most rifles with a pistol grip are on models chambered for cartridges that aren't heavy on recoil.

Do you think that a pistol grip rifle in .458WinMag would be impossible to control without a wrist injury?

Would a pistol grip be practical/desirable on heavy recoiling rifles?

Not sure why this popped into my head, but I am curious as to opinions.

 

[General Geoff]

A pistol grip on a rifle with a shoulder stock shouldn't be used to absorb recoil anyway. That's what the stock is for.

 

[K3]

A pistol grip on a rifle with a shoulder stock shouldn't be used to absorb recoil anyway. That's what the stock is for.

Yes, I know.

I still wonder if heavy recoil would be felt in the wrist while holding the pistol grip - felt to the pooin tof causing injury. Since the recoil acts along a line down the barrel through the stock and into the shoulder, it seems like there would be a significant moment about a pivot point like the wrist. On a normal rifle, the hand is in line with the recoil, but not so on a pistol grip equipped rifle.

 

[Sunray]

"...most rifles with a pistol grip are on..." Most are on relatively heavy(FAL, H&K 91, etc), gas operated semi-autos with recoil that comes very nearly straight back. The gas bleeding off absorbs some of the recoil as does the design, size and shape of the stock. The muzzle brake re-directs the gasses too.
A 9 pound .458 firing a 500 grain bullet at 2100fps produces roughly 62.3 ft/lbs of felt recoil at 21.1fps. Taking that much recoil into the web of your hand would likely break or seriously damage your hand/thumb. The pistol grip would likely break off, depending on how the stock was made and its material, too.
A regular hunting rifle stock allows your body to roll at the waist to help absorb some of the felt recoil of a large bore shutzencannon when fired off hand. Shooting one off a bench is plain insanity.

 

[W.E.G.]

I prefer the spade-grip on heavy-recoiling, large-caliber rifles.

A tripod comes in handy too.

I don't see Weatherby, or Holland & Holland offering presentation-grade Safari Rifles with "pistol grip" configuration any time soon.

I'm sure the reason you don't see such a configuration is primarily a matter of customer expectation, and lack of market demand.

If you want a .458 with a pistol grip, I say be a man about it.
Go .50 Beowulf.
http://www.50beowulf.com/

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