Ouch this gun hurts! Opinions??

pdog shooter said:

When hunting with a brake do you all use hearing protection?
My style I'd never have time.

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I wear electronic hearing protection while hunting unless I'm shooting suppressed, I use either Walkers Razor Muffs or ISOtunes Sport ear buds. I hunt a lot with specialty pistols and they are loud to begin with, add a brake and they are really loud! Sometimes I use the muffs and earbuds both. At the range I wear the muffs and foam plugs, even shooting suppressed. You only get 2 ears, I only have one left, I wish I had known about hearing protection in my youth.

A muzzle break at the range and take it off when hunting.
I have a 300 Win Mag in a Bansner stock.
I use a sled at the range and have never noticed the recoil while shooting at game!

Does the muzzle break change impact points down range?

A limb saver is a blessing in reducing recoil! I am 71 years young and destroyed my shoulders about 10 years ago. I still shoot at spot shoots with my winchester model 37. I call it the mule because it kicks so bad. I put a slip on limb saver and it is now tolerable to shoot. Reducing recoil over 50%

Suppressors are a game changer for me. Ear pro especially while practicing or testing is still required. I really don't like muffs while shooting a rifle. They interfere with my natural cheek weld. Ear buds are okay, but my go to is the foam while in the field. I keep these hanging around my neck while hunting and can be quickly inserted when game is spotted,

bubbadad said:

A limb saver is a blessing in reducing recoil! I am 71 years young and destroyed my shoulders about 10 years ago. I still shoot at spot shoots with my winchester model 37. I call it the mule because it kicks so bad. I put a slip on limb saver and it is now tolerable to shoot. Reducing recoil over 50%

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What he says here ! Limbsaver recoil pads really help

d_wit22 said:

Does the muzzle break change impact points down range?

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Anything attached to the end of the barrel will change the harmonics and can change poi.

Try a gentry forward blow muzzle brake, it's not the most efficient but if you're the shooter the report is no louder than a bare muzzle. It will make your rifle tolerable. If someone is to the side of the shooter it is much louder. You can use hearing protection while practicing and not ring your ears in the field. There are also brakes that you can add a can around that sends the blast forward, but they do reduce the efficiency of the brake. Good luck

d_wit22 said:

So I have a Vanguard in .300 WBY. Took it to the range today to get it ready for an elk hunt next year and let me tell you what. She HURTS!! 5 shots and I said that's enough. So looking for options. What can I do to this gun to make the recoil less? Should I just sell and buy an easier on the shoulder elk gun? What do you guys think?

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NOT for hunting of course, (these qualifications save us all from listening to the immature scavengers), but for lengthy sessions at the range, (zeroing a scope, trying new loads, etc), I use a hy-skore pneumatcally-damped bench rest. It's a great gun rest plus, for the big guns, it takes the pounding instead of you. This won't help out in the field but you won't be so beaten-up or gun-shy when you make that important shot! JMO

I had a vanguard in 300 win mag. Sold it for a 30-06. The recoil was just bad enough that I couldn't spot my shots even off of a bipod and the weight of it became unpleasant after 3-4 days of hiking.
I'm average guy at 6'0 and 190lbs. I just never really liked the magnums. I could see the benefits of the magnums before range finders came affordable that's why my first hunting rifle I bought was a 7mm rem mag. I preferred that over the 300 but it still was to long with a 26" barrel and heavy. I don't think you'll ever notice recoil shooting at game but off the bench they are not pleasant. Even in a light rifle the 30-06 isn't a whole lot better than the 7 or 300 mags.
I think for me a all around elk rifle would be something under 7 lbs with scope and ammo and in a standard or short action from 6.5 up to the 308 Caliber With a sweet spot being in the middle with out the need for a break. A suppressed rifle is something I would like to try however.
if you don't hike that far and do a lot of road hunting from a truck or ATV then weight isn't that big of a deal. The older I get with neck problems I just don't need extra weight and recoil and I'm much more accurate with softer recoiling cartridges like the good ole 270win.

crazymonkey said:

Anything attached to the end of the barrel will change the harmonics and can change poi.

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This!!! memtb

Suppressor

Lead sled at the range. Usually don't feel much when shooting at game.

Like the OP, I have a 300 Weatherby Vanguard that I put a brake on to help mitigate the recoil. My question is: do suppressors reduce the recoil as much as a good brake? My other rifles are all suppressed but for this one, I would need a different suppressor. I am asking because in all the posts I have not really seen an answer before.