What is your recoil threshold poll?

[The Badger]

I agree with you on the 3 1/2" turkey loads, when you shove them through the tightest choke possible, it definitely gets attention. Have yet to meet a rifle that rattles me like those.

Have to site in my 870 next week as I'm switching to a red dot on it. Plan on shooting 3 1/2 TSS in it and kinda dreading the process. Hopefully I can get reasonably close with some lighter field loads before patterning the 3 1/2's.

 

[RCMSTER]

Well. I shoot a 375 ruger, and while it's a thumper, I really don't mind it. I can shoot groups of 1" with a few of my hand loads, so it's not affecting me too much. On the other hand, my Rem 700 ultimate muzzleloader is rated for 200 grains of black powder, so just for fun, I loaded it with 4 pellets of pyrodex just to see how it felt. Good gravy! I didn't enjoy that recoil much at all. I thought perhaps it was gonna jar my teeth loose. After 4 rounds of that, I had had enough. Haven't been back there since. The older I get, the more I reach for my 25-06 and my 6.5-06 with a brake. I do shoot my 375 Ruger as it's now legal in iowa for deer hunting, but I'm shooting reduced loads with a Hornady 225 grain bullet. It's about the same recoil as my 700 ultimate with 90 grains weighed of Blackhorn, so it's pretty easy to tolerate.

 

[dustbag]

Well. I shoot a 375 ruger, and while it's a thumper, I really don't mind it. I can shoot groups of 1" with a few of my hand loads, so it's not affecting me too much. On the other hand, my Rem 700 ultimate muzzleloader is rated for 200 grains of black powder, so just for fun, I loaded it with 4 pellets of pyrodex just to see how it felt. Good gravy! I didn't enjoy that recoil much at all. I thought perhaps it was gonna jar my teeth loose. After 4 rounds of that, I had had enough. Haven't been back there since. The older I get, the more I reach for my 25-06 and my 6.5-06 with a brake. I do shoot my 375 Ruger as it's now legal in iowa for deer hunting, but I'm shooting reduced loads with a Hornady 225 grain bullet. It's about the same recoil as my 700 ultimate with 90 grains weighed of Blackhorn, so it's pretty easy to tolerate.

I use 3-50 grain and 1-mag (60 I think) with my rem ultimate with a 300 grain Parker. Shooting it last fall it literally was knocking the snot out of my nose. Sore shoulder clear airway. Those things sure do group though.

 

[Paladin300]

I am not to recoil sensitive. I own everything from a 22 to a 460 wby. The Weatherby even with a break will wake you up in the morning but you need to focus on the target not the rifle, pick a spot and let it float, follow through. Good bone on bone form and letting the rifle rest in the pocket of the shoulder will help absorb some of the recoil. Square up and step into it. Even then it is going to feel like someone slapped the **** out of you. It is fast and sharp but if your ready you can handle it. Stock design matters a lot. I load the 460 down to 458 Lott levels and I don't shoot it a lot, especially at more than $5 a pop with hand loads and $10 with factory loads. But a few shots here and there doesn't bother me to much. It is kind of fun and on game you don't hardly notice it, but that comes from learning to shoot well with a lesser cartridge. If I were a new shooter preparing for a dangerous game hunt, which is really the only reason to own one of these behemoths, I wouldn't start with a 460. My go to rifles for almost everything are a 6.5 lbs 308 and a 6.75 lbs 270 win. Big fan of the 300 win mag too but I prefer them in a 9lbs rifle.

When it comes to managing recoil, form and the construction and weight of the rifle matter. I would not shoot the 460 prone or off a bench free bore. A good set of shooting sticks from the standing position is the way it is meant to be shot and when you do hold on but don't focus on holding on! Learn good form and proper technique and you can shoot just about anything once or twice. To those of us getting older I concur that I don't enjoy it as much as I did when I was a young man but I still like to ride the thunder every now and then. And if Capes or Big browns are on the menu I don't want anything less than a 338 win mag or 375 H&H in my hand. Hoping for one of those two in the near future. Once you shoot a big bore or 3.5 inch magnum everything else will feel like child's play.

Note: the 416s and up aren't play toys for the faint at heart. The recoil on some of them can give you a heart attack, literally. Make sure you get proper instructions on how to use it and that the rifle fits you. And if if weighs less than 9-10lbs run! Whoever built it was an idiot!

 

[3chester]

I picked one of these up many years ago and works great especially warm days in T-shirt! I bought it to pattern the new 3 1/2" turkey loads that were "impressive"!
View attachment 450265

Yep, that's probably the best thing if ya want to get used to a hard traveler, don't ever let it get the best of ya. Always do the tuff ones when you're really on ur game, all the rest will seem like cupcake rigs after a few shots ,thru one of the big dogs.

 

[RCMSTER]

I use 3-50 grain and 1-mag (60 I think) with my rem ultimate with a 300 grain Parker. Shooting it last fall it literally was knocking the snot out of my nose. Sore shoulder clear airway. Those things sure do group though.

That's the same bullet I shoot. I shoot the Black Max's though. They shoot extremely well in my ultimate. About 1" groups @ a hundred with Blackhorn. Last 2 deer I shot with them went less than 50 yards, and the first one was angling towards me, and he literally flipped upside down and was drt.

 

[RCMSTER]

I am not to recoil sensitive. I own everything from a 22 to a 460 wby. The Weatherby even with a break will wake you up in the morning but you need to focus on the target not the rifle, pick a spot and let it float, follow through. Good bone on bone form and letting the rifle rest in the pocket of the shoulder will help absorb some of the recoil. Square up and step into it. Even then it is going to feel like someone slapped the **** out of you. It is fast and sharp but if your ready you can handle it. Stock design matters a lot. I load the 460 down to 458 Lott levels and I don't shoot it a lot, especially at more than $5 a pop with hand loads and $10 with factory loads. But a few shots here and there doesn't bother me to much. It is kind of fun and on game you don't hardly notice it, but that comes from learning to shoot well with a lesser cartridge. If I were a new shooter preparing for a dangerous game, hunt which is really the only reason to own one of these behemoths, I wouldn't start with a 460. My go to rifles for almost everything are a 6.5 lbs 308 and a 6.75 lbs 270 win. Big fan of the 300 win mag too but I prefer them in a 9lbs rifle.

When it comes to managing recoil, form and the construction and weight of the rifle matter. I would not shoot the 460 prone or off a bench free bore. A good set of shooting sticks from the standing position is the way it is meant to be shot and when you do hold on but don't focus on holding on! Learn good form and proper technique and you can shoot just about anything once or twice. To those of us getting older I concur that I don't enjoy it as much as I did when I was a young man but I still like to ride the thunder every now and then. And if Capes or Big browns are on the menu I don't want anything less than a 338 win mag or 375 H&H in my hand. Hoping for one of those two in the near future.

Note: the 416s and up aren't play toys for the faint at heart. The recoil on some of them can give you a heart attack, literally. Make sure you get proper instructions on how to use it and that the rifle fits you. And if if weighs less than 9-10lbs run! Whoever built it was an idiot!
View attachment 450336

Yep. There's an art to shooting the big guns. If you're not spot on on your form or technique, you're gonna really feel it. I don't think about what's about to happen, I just focus on my aiming point, breathe, and squeeze, not pull or jerk the trigger, and it works out fine.

 

[Zen Archery]

I shot a .50cal BMG once prone.

ONCE…..

 

[Rob L.]

Isn't there some studies on this? From what I can remember reading, the "recoil doesn't effect me" stops around a 8lb unbraked 243win.

That doesn't mean people can't shoot things above that threshold, it means there is a measurable decrease in accuracy above that.

Not to mention a measurable decrease in desire to keep shooting the heavy recoilers...

 

[crm3006]

Absolutely! I mentioned several of these things, prior to reading your post! mem

To be more specific, probaby nine shots, (groups of three), off the bench, with the unbraked .338 Win Mag. and the same for the braked .375 H&H, unless I take the brake off to check POI without it. Shots in the field could be any position, depending on if in a blind, or spot and stalk. In a blind, would be similar to benchrest. The .338 is a Winchester standard sporter, and the .375 H&H is a heavy barrel Model 70 Safari. Bothe have Limbsavers. I have never noticed any recoil when shooting an animal, in any position.

 

[Rob L.]

Unless it's a dedicated "long range" rifle…..give the Barnes 225 TTSX's a try. The wife's taken most everything from deer/antelope through moose using that bullet only! She has a self-imposed limit of 500 yards (in great shooting conditions) …..it has adequate velocity for good expansion beyond 800 (1895 fps) yards! memtb

I totally agree..
Plus also try the TTSX 210gr are great also with a bit more velocity then the 225gr TTSX but similar results on game. My .340 Wby loves both.

 

[L2land]

I try to avoid the big thumper rifles because when I can only stand the first shot it's not much fun. I can shoot a 30lb BMG off a mat pretty comfortably though at least 10 times. I'd have to say the heavy 3 1-2" shotguns that are non gas operated are my most dispised. Whoever mentioned running 3 1/2" 10 ga side by sides, yikes!

 

[Rob L.]

I have and use the same pad when I am at the Range. I really like it and it makes a big difference.

Like nearly all of you, I do two kinds of shooting....

1. Sit on a bench for 2-3 hours and shoot boxes of ammo.
2. Hunt the western US, carrying a light weight, mountain hunting rifle and pulling the trigger once.

For #1. I want a 15-20lb rifle, with a brake if it has a lot of recoil.... or just settle in with my 13 lb, heavy barrel .223 and have fun.

For #2. I don't care how big the recoil is, as recoil is the least of my concerns when a 200+ point Muley is in the crosshairs. I am more likely to blow a shot because of 'buck fever' and being rushed... than I'm worried how much a 7 Mag pounds my shoulder for 1 or 2 shots.


..........

This above...

 

[KS2506]

I used to fool around with the big bores a lot. Too old now, 76, and two heart surgery's. Doc said no more. One of my favorites was the 375 H&H. I would rather have shot a 338 WM than any of the 300's. They seemed to have a sharper, quicker recoil than the other two. The one that kicked the hardest to me was a 378 Weatherby in a custom Weatherby rifle with a sporter weight barrel. Holly Cow!!!!!!!! One thing that always amazed me was how accurate most of the big bores were if you could shoot them off the bench. I joked that I had varmint rifles that were not that accurate.