Should I add a mercury recoil reducer to less than 9 lbs 458 win mag

[RayAtkinson]

It ruins the balance for me, practice with 500 gr. loads and get used to it or sell it and get a lesser caliber,

 

[HankBuck]

Hi mate. I have only seen it referenced by others periodically when mercury reducers have been discussed. I have never seen it stated as fact by an airline. As I mentioned, dont know how it would be enforced, but it seems like one more thing to worry about when travelling with firearms and ammo. Given that I am not convinced about their effectiveness, they just dont seem worth it to

 

[HankBuck]

Hi mate. I have only seen it referenced by others periodically when mercury reducers have been discussed. I have never seen it stated as fact by an airline. As I mentioned, dont know how it would be enforced, but it seems like one more thing to worry about when travelling with firearms and ammo. Given that I am not convinced about their effectiveness, they just dont seem worth it to me.

@rifletuner: I might be like You— I -worry about every regulation or TSA rule for flying with firearms….But this “mercury” would Not be on My radar, as TSA and FAA is far too scattered and unorganized for this to be part of my concerns

 

[rifletuner]

I get what you are saying... But, once on a trip from South Africa back home to Melbourne, I had to clear my rifle through customs on arrival at Perth airport. Australian customs have an official policy of inspecting rifles out of sight of other travellers because they might scare people. In my experience this policy is almost universally ignored by customs staff. But on this occasion, a customs officer ushered me into a tiny room in the airport and started checking serial numbers etc. While I was waiting for them to be finished, I looked around the room and on the wall was an infographic that documented how to glove up. Next to that was a set of bolt cutters that were longer than I am tall. I broke into a cold sweat and stopped looking around the room at that point and vowed I was not going into a room like that again. So I am not giving airline staff or government officials any chance to question what I am travelling with if I can avoid it

 

[DrBob]

In my experience, I dont find mercury recoil reducers any more effective than just adding their equivalent in weight. I added two reducers to my 450 Ackley in the 1990s, and it definitely made it more shootable. But I think if I added the same amount of lead to the butt, the effect would have been the same.

Also, I have been told airlines will not carry a rifle if it has mercury in it, but I dont know if thats actually true, or how they would enforce it. But if it is a fact, that would be enough reason not to use mercury for me at least.

Mercury does a number on aluminum.

 

[matt85]

My vote is to just add lead.

A cheap easy solution is to drill a hole in the stock under the butt pad, add lead shot, then seal with epoxy. The size of the hole and amount of lead will depend on the balance of the rifle.

You can do the above method to the forgrip as well. This allows you to greatly increase the weight while maintaining balance

 

[flatwater bill]

My approach was different than those listed above. I have owned several 458's and got rid of them all because of the recoil. Dropped down to a 375 for a 9# rifle, and 11# for a 416. Best of luck with whatever you do, but habits developed during practice tend to follow us into the field.......FWB

 

[CZDiesel]

It ruins the balance for me, practice with 500 gr. loads and get used to it or sell it and get a lesser caliber,

I’m with Ray here… If you want to alter your rifle that’s fine, up to you…
But the best thing to do is learn how to handle the recoil or go to a 375 or 40 caliber rifle.
I myself am doing this same thing! I have recently acquired not one but two Winchester Custom Shop 458 WinMags that are pretty light unscoped and with their 22” bbls…
At 8lbs and shooting 500gr Hornady Solids it kicks! It really kicks!!! lol
But I have continued to go to the range every week and put a couple full mags through it and then a box of 375 H&H after that to continue to acclimate myself to the recoil. I’m gonna be just fine and I think with practice you will be too!
And if not just move down to a 375 or 40 class cartridge…

 

[Green Chile]

We are all on our own journey here and what makes sense to me won't for you, etc. I will say an 8# 458 win mag is a beast. That's a legitimate 83 ft lbs of recoil. You don't have to do that. Hope you don't damage your eyes or shoulder! Even going up to 9# will drop it almost 10 ft lbs of recoil. That's a lot.

 

[CZDiesel]

We are all on our own journey here and what makes sense to me won't for you, etc. I will say an 8# 458 win mag is a beast. That's a legitimate 83 ft lbs of recoil. You don't have to do that. Hope you don't damage your eyes or shoulder! Even going up to 9# will drop it almost 10 ft lbs of recoil. That's a lot.

I do plan on putting Talley bases and QD rings and a Leupold VX6 1-6 on it which should bring it up to close to 10lbs, but I’m leaning to handle the felt recoil that it has now in case I need to remove the scope for some crazy reason

 

[Green Chile]

That would be even better...dropping about 17 ft lbs of recoil if you go to 10#. That's dropping the full recoil of a .308 Win off your total. You will shoot the gun better too. Smart move.

 

[Fenstar]

Absolute yes to your question- then enjoy your gun! MR was a game changer in my .500 Jeffery.

 

[Rez Exelon]

Mercury does a number on aluminum.

This --- IIRC the regulations are that a passenger can carry one declared mercury medical thermometer. Weather agencies can carry their fancy ones subject to packing restrictions.

Mercury will react with aluminum and cause "holes in aircraft" which is widely seen as a "bad thing" as those can lead to "crashing" so generally speaking mercury is banned aboard aircraft.

 

[Tra3]

We are all on our own journey here and what makes sense to me won't for you, etc. I will say an 8# 458 win mag is a beast. That's a legitimate 83 ft lbs of recoil. You don't have to do that. Hope you don't damage your eyes or shoulder! Even going up to 9# will drop it almost 10 ft lbs of recoil. That's a lot.

I completely agree. One person can manage heavy recoil, another cannot. It is simply a practical question that must be answered by each person.
I would add a recoil reducer, and have done so in 2 R8 stocks. The balance point change is an improvement in my opinion.
The bottom line is to make the rifle shoot well for YOU, not what someone else thinks.
I wish I could handle heavy recoil. It took practice to build to competent shooting with a .375.
I’d say take the biggest gun you can reliably shoot a squirrel with.

 

[HankBuck]

I get what you are saying... But, once on a trip from South Africa back home to Melbourne, I had to clear my rifle through customs on arrival at Perth airport. Australian customs have an official policy of inspecting rifles out of sight of other travellers because they might scare people. In my experience this policy is almost universally ignored by customs staff. But on this occasion, a customs officer ushered me into a tiny room in the airport and started checking serial numbers etc. While I was waiting for them to be finished, I looked around the room and on the wall was an infographic that documented how to glove up. Next to that was a set of bolt cutters that were longer than I am tall. I broke into a cold sweat and stopped looking around the room at that point and vowed I was not going into a room like that again. So I am not giving airline staff or government officials any chance to question what I am travelling with if I can avoid it

@rifletuner - I know “Customs” has unlimited powers and they are an Authoritative Force …definately Not a group to take lightly. The “infographic” & posters you saw on the wall on how to “Glove Up” are there to intimidate You…and they certainly should. But unless you hid a Mercury Recoil Suppressor “up somewhere other then your rifle” — you have nothing to worry about !

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I have a slightly less than 9 pound 458 win mag o/u double rifle. I love the fit and feel of the gun unless I pull the trigger on a 500 grain maximum load. Maximum loads with 295 grain bullets are not bad at all, but when you go the 500 grain bullets it’s a whole different ball game. Would you add a pound or more mercury reduction device and if so, where would you install it? Thanks.

I have a .458 Win Mag that was a vicious kicker. Even broke my nose with a scope on it. I had it Mag-na-ported. Made it way more manageable. I would do it again.

 

[Green Chile]

I have a .458 Win Mag that was a vicious kicker. Even broke my nose with a scope on it. I had it Mag-na-ported. Made it way more manageable. I would do it again.

Some of the hard kickers will kill scopes...they sound lovely when you shake them back and forth and hear the tinkling inside the scope.