dealing with recoil

[tenx]

had a major shoulder surgery 7 months ago and there is still a tender spot that will almost take your breath away with pain from the recoil of a trap load if the recoil pad hits it just right. i've put a better recoil pad on my shotgun and that has been a help but i just want to be able to shoot clays and my upper limit for rifles is a 30-06 and a 35 marlin xlr. has any one been down this road before and what have you done to deal with it? i don't want to get rid of everything but rimfires, a hornet and 222. maybe i'll have to shoot southpaw from now on.

[Hurricane]

For your rifles, load reduced cast boolit loads at about 1600 fps. If that is still to much recoil then you need to get to know your rimfires much better. For the shotgun try the featherlite shot shells from Winchester. They shoot a one ounce load at 970 fps. Other brands of shotshells also carry very soft shells. The low velocity shells pattern vey well and are very effective on clays and birds.

[blaser.306]

I used to load ultra light 1 oz trap loads with clays powder , without the bang you would not even know it went off! If I remember correctly the charge was 14.5 gr of Hodgdon clays with a claybuster 1 oz ( pink ) replacement wad and a W-W primer . The load patterned very well and broke 16 yd singles and first shot for doubles like nobodies buisiness. YMMV . As for all of the "cheap" shotshells on the market now, I find that they all have a very sharp recoil . similar to the loads made with 700X powder ! Accurate but sharp. And when you are shooting clay birds volume is the name of the game, I actualy look forward to our doubles marathon days . It consists of 500 targets (250 pairs of birds) in a morning and afternoon shoot

[Bullfrog]

TenX,

I have been down that road since I had shattered the ball in my right shoulder in an accident, and then broke my collarbone in two places requiring a plate and screws, but I have a nifty bone spur right where I shoulder my rifle. For my heavy hitting Marlin 45-70 I put a mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock with a limbsaver recoil pad. I also used a PAST recoil pad on my shoulder when it was extra tender. It has been 4 years now and I can say that while things have gotten better, the spur is still there. I shoot full loads now.

[375RUGER]

I've been shooting with the Browning Reactar pad since my uncle gave me a vest with it a long time ago, the original pad is still good. It really reduces felt recoil and is thin enough to not change the lenght of pull too much for shotgun.
You can even double them up for really heavy loads.

[376Steyr]

+1 on handloading lighter shotshells. I'm amazed at what people bring to the club to break a little clay disk with. The cheap "universal" shotshells can be especially bad, as I think think are loaded to make sure they will operate every gas or recoil operated gun ever made anywhere. As for rifles, I put a 25 lb bag of shot between the butt of the rifle and my shoulder when shooting big bores from the bench. It's a lot more convenient than packing one of those "sleds" around.

[tomme boy]

Have the rifles threaded for a muzzle break. And shoot the rifles with slow cast. My 308win feels like a 22rf. with the mzzle break on it shooting cast.

[Coffeecup]

Not shoulder surgery, but a neck injury. I got by with cast loads in my rifles, Fourtenners in my shotgun, and watching recoil levels in my handguns. After about a decade I'd worked back up to shooting almost anything I wanted, before other injuries sidelined me again.

IF I knew it was going to be a long-term thing, and IF I were a shotgunner, I'd look real seriously at a 28 gauge. Messing up my neck may be the fest thing I ever did for my shotgunning, but I could never be a .410 fan.

[LAH]

Cast bullets at 1600 fps is a great answer. I do however shoot 30-06 with J bullets at 3000fps. They are flat & kill the far deer with ease. The answer for me to shoot this load comfortably was to change the stock. I'm using a Hogue overmolded stock. It has pillars & all that but this stock eats recoil like candy. I love it & it's is the answer for me.

[W.R.Buchanan]

TenX: I am currently in that position.

Somehow I dislocated my right shoulder while sleeping a while back and it has taken about the last 2 months to get back near normal....

However if I get my Ruger Scout (.308, 8lb gun) out of the pocket of my shoulder and onto the bone it literally brings tears to my eyes.

I went to a Rifle class at Front Sight about a month and a half ago, and I learned something very important about mounting a gun. This applys directly to your shotgun problem also, and I shoot Trap and Skeet too.

When you mount the gun you need to push the gun forward and up away from your shoulder. Make your cheek weld, and then pull the gun strait back into the pocket of your shoulder.

By doing this you insure the same cheek weld everytime and also you'll find you mount the gun more towards the center of your body, or more properly in the shoulder pocket. It also prevents the recoil pad from fouling on your clothes.

Out, up, strait back. Takes some practice, but before long you'll be doing it second nature.

It's just the right way to do the mount.

There is one more point: If your gun is hitting you on the bone then chances are you are bladed too far into the gun. This type of stance promotes the butt of the gun to go further out towards your arm. You need to turn back towards the target and have less of an angle as opposed to the more traditional target shooters stance of being nearly parallel with the line of the shot.

This will promote the gun ending up in your shoulder pocket which is much friendlier than the other more painful way.

Another word of caution; you need to not beat up your shoulder while it is healing, as we get older it takes longer to heal.

Shoot .22's and heavy shotguns and rifles, nothing less than 9 lbs! They tend to soak up recoil better, at least until your shoulder heals up completely.

I hope this helps you out becasue it sure made a difference for me.

Randy

[FergusonTO35]

All these are very good suggestions. One of the biggest reasons I handload is because I really can't deal with more recoil than a mild .30-30, both physically and psychologically. I'm a big guy, 6'3/275 but I have a long neck and bony shoulders, which ensures that the buttpad rests against the worst spot when I have my rifle shouldered in the way its comfortable. I had a horrible flinch for a long time and it took alot of practice to correct it. A couple of rounds from a magnum anything and I can't pull the trigger anymore without closing my eyes tightly and yanking the trigger hard. Sometimes, it gets so bad that my trigger finger ceases to function.

Fortunately, mild loads and a nice, squishy recoil pad allow me to shoot my centerfire rifles no problem. I find they are quite accurate as well. My Howa 1500 (same as Weatherby Vanguard) is at E.R. Shaw right now being rebarrelled from .30'06 to .257 Roberts. I'm looking forward to using nothing but cast in my .30 WCF rifles, the lower pressure ought to make them even better.

[MBTcustom]

TenX Don't despair!
#1 add a shooting vest with a recoil pad to your normal safety gear. Even a thin layer of rubber 6" in diameter does a lot to spread out the shock.
#2 listen to W.R. Buchanan
#3 install recoil reduction tubes in your stocks (also, you might look at the new Beretta guns that have very low recoil)
#4 think about what it really takes to do what you are wanting to do. We think that we need a minimum of 150 grain boolit traveling at no less than 2000fps, but the 22LR functions at half of that speed and weight, and yet the list of critters that have not fallen victim to that cartridge is short and doubted by many. A Red Rider BB gun will kill most birds out there, but its only going 350FPS with a 5.1 grain steel BB, so how fast do those shotshells really need to go?
Wisdom comes with old age, but which produces the other?

[paul h]

While I generally dispise muzzlebrakes, that would be my recomendation for your situation, as well as a past mag recoil pad for your shoulder.

I've also found that practicing with a 223 varmint rifle does just as much good for my rifle skills as a more powerful rifle, and there is something to be said for mild recoil and mild ammo prices.

[leadman]

I use and have also received very good reports on using the Nosler 125gr Ballistic Tip 30 cal for deer and similar animals. Also look at what powder you are using. As an example if you are using 4350 or 4831 in the 30-06 you can go to 4895 to reduce the amount of powder in the load which also reduces the recoil. If you are going after smaller critters use 2400 or SR4759.
I have arthritis and degenerative disk desaese in my neck and my doctor said I should not shoot. So I bought the Leadsled FCX and it is great (except for the bag for shot). I use 20# ingots on it to dampen the recoil. This has an adjustable front rest with a stick to control it. If I have to buy another it will be the one with the double tubes. Less money and probably more durable.

I went to the 410 but don't do much shotgun shooting so it is not an issue for me.

[Lloyd Smale]

Limbsaver pads do wonders to make a gun confortable. First thing id do is fit all of my guns that are borderline painful with one. Muzzle breaks do reduce recoil. I bought a 308 model 7 rem that someone had had one installed on and it kicked like a 243 with lighter loads. My 7stw has a break and feels about like shooting a 270. Its almost scary shooting it because you just think that big case is going to make the gun smack you like theres no tommarow and then you shoot it and theres NO recoil. Problem with them is there ugly and loud! Bottom line is if you can handle a 06 you can hunt anything in the country. Sure i hunt alot with mag rifles but its more because i can then I need them. If you can tolarate your o6 as it is it will be much nicer with a good limbsaver pad on it. Id do the same to the 12 guage too.

[myfriendis410]

I second the Beretta and reduced loads for the shotgun, and a muzzle brake for the rifle. I have a custom one on my .300 win mag and it bounces straight up with hot 168 handloads. You can also load a lighter bullet to get where you want to go too.

[TCLouis]

Shoot left handed for a year or so. Some pain from pressure issues last a while after surgery.

[David2011]

Tenx,

Have you looked at the JP Rifles muzzle breaks? I've shot a JP AR-15 and the lack of recoil impulse is amazing. He also offers a "recoil eliminator" which is reminiscent of the muzzle break on a tank's barrel. A guy I shoot with had one put on his .300 WinMag and said it feels like a .243 now. Another guy I know had one put on a .22-250 so he could see his bullet impacts and he said it has virtually no recoil now.

David

[Longwood]

I would try learning to shoot left handed.
You may find that it will work better.
I knew a guy that shot silhouette pistol with his left hand because of a motorcycle mishap.
First try, he beat his previous high score.
I broke my right shoulder last Halloween and my right eye is going wacko, so I guess I need to try it also.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have bought a few Remingtons recently. They are fitted with the R3 recoil pad, which is made by Limbsaver apparently. Absolutely brilliant! Even dampens the substancial recoil of the 375H&H! It doesnt stop it jumping about though! To be expected in a 7lb rifle I suppose.

The point I'm making is that I am on blood thinning medication and teh 3006 will bruise my shoulder after a few shots. The Remingtons,even in the 375 do not create a bruise. Very impressive. I would check out the Remingtons (I don't mean buy one) and feel how the recoil pad is. If I ordered a Limbsaver, I'd want it like that.