Felt Recoil - what has been your experience

[saswart]

In order to give the subject the respect it deserves, here is a thread on Recoil itself. Here is a link to probably 1 of a 1000 similar links on the recoil of various rifles. https://chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

Off course there are so many variables that effect recoil, such as specific rifle build, weight, specific bullet load etc.

However, some have noted on the 458 WM vs Lott thread (p9 onwards), that they, and I am one of them, feel that certain rifles in certain cartridges which are normally smaller than others, have more recoil than the bigger ones. Case in point, my subjective opinion is that my 416 Rigby has more felt recoil, than my 458 Express. Yes it could actually be due all of the reasons above.

For me, I have long thought about why out of my 3 big game rifles, the other being a 375H&H, the 416Rigby has the most felt recoil, which I noted some other have experienced the same thing. The reason I believe, well for me personally is as follows: I am proficient with a 375H&H, shot it for years and comfortable with it. 458 is open sight. 416 Rigby is scoped. As can been seen in some table's, the 416Rigby is very close to recoil energy and velocity to that of say a 458 Lott. I have no issue with recoil, but here comes the "kicker", I believe, subconsciously (for me) the fact that the higher than one expects recoiling 416 Rigby has a scope, which may cause me to join the half moon club, does make it feel like a heavier kicking recoil firearm.

Look forward to hearing what the rest say - let's not make it about facts - the charts gives those, What were your experiences with recoil.

I remember one rifle specifically that had more recoil than I expected an liked, it was a friends pre64 Mod 70 Winchester in 30-06, it still had a steel recoil pad - that thing recoiled like a mule

 

[grand veneur]

It's hard to write anything specific about this topic because it is discussed so often. The feeling of recoil and how you deal with it depends very much on yourself the shooter, because a lot of it takes place in the psyche and not primarily in the physical one. Anyone who practices martial arts knows in advance that they will receive blows and feel pain and will therefore distance themselves from all of that and concentrate on the technique. The same is true when shooting as far the recoil of the rifles is concerned. A late well-known big game hunter is said to have said that one have to ignore the recoil.

There are certainly rifles that are unpleasant to shoot, regardless of their caliber. This is often due to the way they were built, which is not always compatible with their caliber. The scope and how it is mounted also can play a role. In this case you have to deal with it or leave it and use something else. I remain of the opinion that using a lot of recoil reducing devices is not the solution. It shows that you want to force something and that the psychological problem with the recoil is in the foreground.

In practice I also had more problems with my first rifle caliber 9,3x64 Brenneke, which was more similar in design to a rifle caliber 9,3x62. There was also a vari-scope with big magnification on it, a scope that was at the time relatively big and that had the normal eye relief. This scope landed in my eyebrow a few times, which has until now never happened to me with my rifles caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum and 500 Schüler, both of which also have scopes. Sure, you certainly don't shoot from the same positions with the last two rifles as with a rifle caliber 9,3x64 in the high mountains. The way the rifle is shot also plays a role in how the recoil feels. The recoil of the rifles is a topic that can be discussed almost endlessly.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Military surplus Mosin Nagant M44 carbine in 7.62x54. Marlin .45-70 with an 18” barrel and straight stock. Both had felt recoil way beyond their cartridge’s power to ME. Probably stock design in both cases.