recoil question, 308 vs 30-06

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Rustle in the bushes

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im thinking of getting a 30-06 but im not sure if I know what im getting into. My main question is:

will a 30-06 kick more even if it has the same bullet weight that Im reloading into my 308? Like if I have 150 gr bullets and fire em out of a 308 and a 30-06 itll be about the same recoil right?

Reports of 30-06 recoil are making me think twice, though I have decent amount of experience with a 308 and 308ish calibres. (7.5 swiss)

Its pretty much a 308 that I can load higher if I want to, right?
 
Recoil would depend on how much powder you load, the muzzle velocity and how heavy the rifle is.

You won't notice the recoil when you are hunting.
 
http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

If you are a reloader plug all the information in here for a comparison. It really depends. Given equal bullet weights and gun weights the 308 is generally a little less. Not a huge difference, but less. But if you reload it is easy to have performance and recoil between the 2 overlap. My 308 handloads are actually shooting faster than most 30-06 factory loads. My 30-06 handloads are often closer to 300 H&H mag levels.

Depending on the individual rifle a 308 could be substantially lighter which could mean it will recoil more than a heavier 30-06.

In a nutshell, if the recoil from one does not bother you, then neither will the other.
 
Given two exactly the same rifles, identical in weight and stock/action, the 30-06 will recoil slightly more with the same bullet weight due to increased velocities of the 30-06 (approx 100fps).

However, this is a non issue if you are used to the recoil of the. 308. That being said, I've shot identical loads in two different rifles and had one comfortable and another kicking tbe snot out of.me.
 
If you are thinking about target loads from a bolt action 30-06, try a 150 jacketed bullet over 14 grains of trail boss or 13 grains of red dot. 1200-1400 fps and just a tad more recoil than my mini 14.

If you don't have any problem with 308, then 30-06 should be fine, especially if you hand load. With that said, you might be able to push a 30-06 even faster and make a load with more recoil than possible with a 308. Think about revolvers-38spl vs. 357, 44 spl vs. 44 mag, 454 vs. 460 mag. They fire the same bullets but have more powder behind them for more velocity and recoil out of the same gun.
 
The shape of the stock is the most important item for me. I have an older FN mauser in .308 with the slim stocks common to economy guns in those days.

With factory loads, it's "FELT" recoil seems greater than a Howa or Remington 700 of recent vintage in .30-06.

Physical conditioning and fatigue are also factors in felt recoil.

As somone observed above, you will not feel the recoil or hear the blast when you cut down on a nice trophy buck.
 
I have really bad shoulders. My primary rifle is a Browning Safari in 30-06 and while i don't relish the thought of sitting down and rattling off 25 or 30 shots with it, it sure never bothered me hunting. I like the fact that there is so much quality off the shelf ammo available for it.
 
In equal weight rifles of same model, stock shape, and matching bullet weights, etc the 30-06 will have a tiny bit more recoil..but not a great deal.

.30-06 will push the same bullet weight about 100-150 FPS faster than .308.
 
Depending on the load and bullet, the .308 can sometimes best the .30 '06 by just a bit with medium weight bullets. The '06 will keep an edge with heavier bullets - the .308 just can't hold as much powder to push heavy bullets as fast.

In terms of recoil, if you cause a .30 caliber 150 grain bullet to move at 2,700 FPS from a seven pound rifle, the recoil will be the same regardless of what the headstamp of the cartridge says.

I'd never talk a guy out of buying another rifle, but what do you want it for? The 30 '06 is a great round and extremely versatile - I am considering one myself. But the .308 is a very capable round in its own right.
 
I have both .308's and 30-06's, each in bolt action and semiauto, I would guess the '06's are maybe 3-5% more recoil than the .308's.
 
If your 7.5 Swiss is a stock K31, it will probably kick harder than any modern 30-06. The Swiss round is between the. 308 and 30-06 in strength (not counting extremely heavy 30-06 loads). If you have experience with. 308, and if Swiss is tolerable, you should be able to shoot 30-06 without flinching.

FWIW, my K31 is my hardest kicking rifle, even though my 308 Remington 700 SPS is much lighter. My 30-06 FN49 weighs more than the K31, and has a comfier stock; it kicks like the 700, but "slower." It's all in the shape and padding of the butt, unless you dig a 10lb Main rifle for hunting.

What rifle are you looking at?

TCB
 
looking at a winchester model 70, featherweight or sporter its gonna be about 7.5lb gun without scope. my first(and only for a few years probably) modern centerfire for hunting.

TBH Ive never shot gp11 in my k31, only reloaded for her and I use 168 gr bullets. I can put 100 rounds through her and it doesnt really bother me, but shes a pretty heavy girl that gun and probably soaks a bit of that recoil up.

just curious because I see threads etc.. people mentioning the kick of a 30-06/308.
 
The is no real difference between the 308 and 30.06 if shot out of similar rifles.


If you shoot a 150 grain 308 bullet out of 16"barrel 5lbs rifle it is going to recoil more than shooting a 150 grain 30.06 bullet out of a 24" barrel in a 9 lb rifle.

Nothing to worry about.

It
 
As others have stated, if you put the two chamberings into equal guns (size, shape, barrel length, and weight), there won't be enough difference to worry about.

As previously noted however, what are you hoping to gain by going to a 30-06? Your 308 is almost exactly the same in performance. No deer, elk, or bear ever could tell you the difference between the two, given the same bullets, at impact.

If you really want a noticeable step up in performance, you have to get a 300 magnum of one type or another; but, then, you will definitely notice the difference in recoil.
 
rustle,

my 30-06 (m77 hawkeye) is also right at 7.5lbs before the scope. recoil is not bad at all. i have only ever shot one .308 and i dont think the 30-06 is more than just a small step up as far as recoil is concerned.
 
You won't notice any difference in recoil between similar bullet weights in .308 and 30-06. Yes, the '06 is pushing 100fps faster, but that is negligible in terms of felt recoil. What will make the biggest difference is the weight of the rifle, and how well the stock fits you. My dads Remy 700 .30-06 is wonderful to shoot even with 220 grainers, and it doesnt even have a butt pad, just a plastic plate. On the other hand, my Browning x-bolt in .308 is so light it was beating me up to the point I was developing a flinch. I ended up having to put a muzzle brake on that one. My Remy 700P in .308 has a 26" heavy barrel and I can shoot 168gr all day long withought recoil becoming an issue.
 
I've had both of them and MAYBY the 06 had a bit more recoil than the 308 but if so, not by much.

Shooting them blindfolded it would be tough to tell which is which, but that could be exciting for the people conducting the test! :)
 
In rifles of identical configuration and weight, and with bullets of identical weight, you won't be able to tell the difference.

For some reason, gun builders like to build "ultra-light" versions of the .308 Winchester.
So, as a practical matter, the .308 will probably hit you the hardest.
 
I've had the chance to shoot both calibers in identical rifles and can honestly say that I couldn't tell the difference between the two.
 
Just to put some real numbers up I ran the numbers on some of my handloads in my guns using this website

http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

Loads and recoil from my 30-06 Featherweight

30-06/150 gr bullet
3125 fps
61 gr H4350
7.5 lb rifle
21.5 ft lbs recoil


Loads from my custom 308 Winchester EW

308/150 gr bullet
2850 fps
47 gr Varget
7.25 lb rifle
16.5 ft lbs recoil

Same loads, but in my 6 lb Kimber 308

20 ft lbs recoil.

From guns of similar weight the difference is noticeable, but the rifles weight is everything.
 
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