What is your recoil threshold poll?

What is your recoil threshold?

  • <15 ft lbs - please don't hurt me

    Votes: 12 4.0%
  • >15 <20 ft lbs - man bun worthy

    Votes: 27 8.9%
  • >20 <25 ft lbs - medium rare

    Votes: 73 24.2%
  • >25 <30 ft lbs - flexing in mirror

    Votes: 50 16.6%
  • >30 ft lbs - rare and slightly moving OK

    Votes: 140 46.4%

  • Total voters
    302
I sighted in a Winchester 1886 clone in 45-70 last fall trying to prepare for a medium-range match. After 32 rounds of 405-grain bullets, I was hurting. I was wearing an EVO shirt but it just didn't matter after all that. I am very recoil-sensitive. My M1-Garand is fine. The Remington 700 in 30-06 made me flinch after three shots. I had a Ruger rifle in 338 WinMag that had a factory muzzle brake. The recoil was so light I started laughing as I was shooting it.
 
I sighted in a Winchester 1886 clone in 45-70 last fall trying to prepare for a medium-range match. After 32 rounds of 405-grain bullets, I was hurting. I was wearing an EVO shirt but it just didn't matter after all that. I am very recoil-sensitive. My M1-Garand is fine. The Remington 700 in 30-06 made me flinch after three shots. I had a Ruger rifle in 338 WinMag that had a factory muzzle brake. The recoil was so light I started laughing as I was shooting it.
Use 13-14 grains of Unique for "mouse fart" loads. My wife, who is VERY recoil sensitive, can handle a string of them
 
So all I read is how much recoil affects a lot of shooters so wondering what is your threshold? Is the recoil from poor shooter form? Lightweight rifles? Heavy bullet? Big bore cartridges? Or even smaller stature of shooter? Don't like needles?

I am hoping to beat the hate the cartridge thread number of pages...,,,
Nine 325 grain .45-70 rounds wearing only a tee shirt can make a soccer ball-size black circle in the shoulder area that turns a funky yellow by nightfall. I'm just saying....
Now I wear an overshirt. 😆
 
I remember it, 436. One of my school buddies had one, for a little while.

the one that was THE most uncomfortable to shoot was a REM 700 BDL. It actually hurt. No one that ever shot it could do so for more that 4 shots. That was the max. I also had a 338 Win Mag that absolutely Frogged the crap out of me.

Just so's all y'all know, I still shoot my 460 Wby with no problems. BUT, not off the bench. It's accurate enough that I don't have to.
😢mine is a 378 & 416 Weatherby & a. 458Lott, 😭lol you've got the big dog
 
I do not know what my limit is yet and not sure I will try to find it. I come from farm stock, weighing in at 6'2"and 210 lbs but after 57 years my brain is finally catching up with my body and is starting to question the pain factor of the stunts I still try from time to time. I am relatively new to hunting larger game animals and recently picked up a 30-06 to add to my small stable that I hope will be my do all rifle. It weighs about 8lbs all set up. So far I really haven't had much time putting much lead down range with it outside of setting up and zeroing a scope and checking out a few different bullet weights from 125gr to 180gr. I can't say I notice much difference based on bullet weight if any when it comes to recoil. Since I am not one to go thru a box of ammo during a shooting session, I really haven't had to endure more than 5-10 rounds at any one time. I usually fire 3-5 rounds from a Caldwell Stinger bench rest to zero and check MOA, and then take a couple shots from a standing or sitting position to mimic my hunting style so I get some realistic hunting shooting practice. Definitely more recoil felt without the bench rest but very tolerable. I am sure I won't even notice it while hunting as it will be furthest thing from my mind.

Speaking of bench rests, I have a neighbor who uses a led sled for his bench work and he offered to let me use it on numerous occasions back when I would do all my bench shooting using rice filled bags. I was always reluctant because I figure all that recoil has to go somewhere and most likely with weighted sled it's going to go right back into the stock - which is fine if you're shooting with a composite stock but I think wood stocks can only take so much. I am happy with the stinger bench rest I bought - its stable and yet allows the recoil to go into the shoulder rather than bounce back to the stock.

Finally, hats off to all you old timers and other folks who continue to endure through the years. I hope I am still out there when I am in my 70's and 80s. Keep it going!
 
Here's how I manage the recoil of my .50 BMG without a brake!
IMG00154.jpg

I just mounted it on my Mule, easier to carry too!
 
I can give you an answer….but, I wish to remain forum friends! 😂 memtb
If you are talking about being there at the range with someone blasting a rifle with a brake next to you, I have a range that I shoot at on private that will get me out to 2000 yards. So I am the only one out there and I can get away with putting brakes on my rifles without being a butthead haha. 😛
 
Same here as far as shooting opportunities/ranges…..though my home range only goes to 300 yards. I have to drive a couple of miles on our Polaris Ranger to be able to shoot at "unlimited" distance!

I always fail to remind myself….I'm much more a "hunter" than a "shooter"! 😉 I/we burn very little powder just shooting! The majority of our shooting involves our hunting rifles/handguns. Only the handgun wears a brake…..courtesy of S&W! 😉

Good ear protection is worn during practice plinking with the long guns….not when hunting. "Great" hearing protection is a must at all times with that darn handgun ….what a "PIA"! 😉 memtb
 
Yessir, that's me as well. I pretty much only shoot my hunting rifles but I do it quite a bit for practice. I wear hearing protection at the range and when I'm going to take a shot at game. Usually, my shots are from 400-600 yards on game so I have time to put on the electronic ears.

But, I usually only draw archery tags here in New Mexico haha. They are easier to draw and it's a lot of fun.

But getting back to recoil, the biggest I have shot is a 375 H&H. I used it to kill a Buffalo at around 40 yards so I was a little more worried about the Buffalo than the recoil so I didn't even notice haha.
 
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