recoil question, 308 vs 30-06

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The difference in recoil between my 06 and 308 is certainly noticable, 308 feels about 7-10% less with similar bullet weights and speed, that is mainly due to the smaller powder charge. Almost all 06 loads run 50 something gr of powder, my 308 loads are all 40 something. I advise people to go 30-06 only if you hunt something that requires bullets over 180gr the 308 does everything else just as well in a slightly lesser recoiling and smaller package.
 
They are so close that the difference is not important given the same bullet weight.

Don't believe most of what you read about felt recoil. That said:

I will say that my Ruger No. 1 RSI in 30-06 with a 180 gr. bullet pushed at 2650 fps does feel like it recoils a bit harder than my Ruger Frontier 308 shooting Hornady 165 gr. factory loads. However, that is definitely an apples to oranges comparison.
 
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.
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Offhand, I believe my K31's weigh in at 8.8lbs. So a bit faster recoil out of the Winchester 70 (harder kick). But, and a big but; the Winchester will have a much more ergonomic stock, and most importantly, some sort of cushioned pad, which will bring recoil speed down to (probably) lower levels than your Swiss. On my K31, the steel butt even has a fairly sharp corner on the inside edge, which is why I have been known to complain (and bruise) after shooting. My lighter 308 with modern stock is a pussycat by comparison (never a bruise).

TCB
 
.308/30.06's are pussy cat recoil. Spend the day putting a few hundred rounds of 8mm Mauser and 7.5 Swiss down range, then the .06 well feel like a rimfire.
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Oh heavens! And a Mosin will rip your arm off and leave you bleeding out on the ground with a ragged hole where your shoulder used to be! I knew a guy who fired an M44 carbine once and the 7.62x54R recoil killed him and his entire family! :what:

:D

All mid-level rifle cartridges have roughly the same basic recoil characteristics, and what rifle they're fired out of has more to do with felt recoil than the cartridge itself.

Some stock designs help you deal with recoil (in one shooting position or another) better than others (because of differences in drop, LOP, comb, footprint of the butt, weight, and so on). Steel butt-plates transmit more recoil than cushy recoil pads. Lighter guns absorb less recoil energy (making felt recoil stronger) than heavier guns. And so on.

.308, .30-'06, 7.5 Swiss, 8mm Mauser, 7.62x54R, etc., etc., etc... all more or less equivalent and only if you had the same rifle, (say an 8 lb. Rem 700 with a limbsaver recoil pad) chambered in each one would you be able to objectively FEEL a recoil difference.

And that difference would be mighty slight.
 
Just my 2 cents worth but I think felt recoil has more to do with the person than anything that can be controlled. Example; my Savage 30-06 was said by a buddy of mine to make his .300win mag feel tame on the bench. I've got another Savage .270 that is like shooting a .22lr but my BIL's Rem. 700 in .243 is a gun I don't want any part of ever again. See, rifle and caliber have less to do with felt recoil than the person behind the rifle. It's just my opinion though but it is the reason I tell folks to try it before you buy it if at all possible.
 
I've got a quick and easy cure for all this "recoil" talk when it comes to light small bore rifles like the .30-06, 7.65, .300 WM or anything in this category.

1. Put a nice soft recoil pad on your rifle that kills 90% of perceived recoil right off the bat. I love those little 1/4" cheek ease pads for the comb too.

2. Don't mount your scope too high as 99% of the rifles I see out there are. A properly mounted scope that allows a proper cheek weld decreases perceived recoil because the rifle doesn't get a running start at your cheek bone.

3. Go find somebody who has full power rifle like a .416 Rigby or a .458 Wm or a lott and shoot ten carefully aimed rounds off a bench. Then come back to your little pip squeak 06, 308, 7MM, .300WM or whatever. You'll never think that it "kicks" hard again. Life is all about perception and experience, so it never hurts to go get some.;)
 
Oh heavens! And a Mosin will rip your arm off and leave you bleeding out on the ground with a ragged hole where your shoulder used to be! I knew a guy who fired an M44 carbine once and the 7.62x54R recoil killed him and his entire family!
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Sam, we've talked about these whoppers of yours before. You know darn good and well that the cat survived.:D
 
i've got a win model 70 in .308 and a rem 700 classic in 30-06 and felt recoil with 150 grain bullets is the same. the featherweight does have a nice new decelerator pad while the 700 classic still has it's traditional pad from 30 years old. most average people should be able to shoot either cartridge without much difficulty. Just today i went with a couple of average sized college age girls who shot a 30-06 without any difficulties.
 
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