1917 300 H&H, what's recoil like?

[Brother_Love]

I found a beautiful 1917 today that is chambered for the the 300 H&H mag. It has a nice stick of wood, nice checkering and a cheap scope. I can get it for $400 but I wanted to ask what recoil is like with it. In all my years of shooting I have never owned a belted magnum and now that I am 60+ I am not sure my shoulders are up to it. I just hate to let that pretty rifle go by.
Thanks, Malcolm

[Sweetpea]

I've never felt recoil from ANY gun while hunting...

If it's for the bench, that could be a different story.

Brandon

[fouronesix]

A lot of it is going to depend on the stock geometry and overall weight of the gun and of course if you are hunched over on a bench. A full house 180 gr Jbullet load will be something like a really stiff heavy bullet 30-06 load in a light weight gun. But, it won't to be like a full house 300 RUM. :)

For shooting off the bench and if felt recoil or jump is bad just use a light, thin sand bag between shoulder and butt. I do it for all calibers heavier than 270.

And, cast loads in it will be ***** cats in comparison to the heavy Jbullet loads.

[oneokie]

What he said ^^^. If the stock fits you, recoil won't be bad. If it don't fit you, it will hurt.

[Hardcast416taylor]

It`ll get your attention more than a .22 lr will.Robert

[Kraschenbirn]

A neighbor has a pre-war Oberndorf Mauser in .300 H&H that he inherited from his father. He doesn't hunt at all and is strictly a 'plinker-class' shooter but a few years ago, he decided he wanted to give it a try so I took him over to our club range one afternoon. He only fired four or five shots (wearing one of my shooting vests with P.A.S.T. pad) before he gave up, squawking about the 'kick'. I put four rounds downrange and. to me, it wasn't any worse than any of the other belted magnums I've shot. In other words, not something I'd select for a 'fun gun' but not anything to be afraid of and, definitely, enough gun to handle anything a guy might encounter in North America.

Bill

[JHeath]

It is like asking the price of an H&H double rifle: if you have to ask, it's not for you.

I never enjoyed hard-recoiling rifles. Best case with a .300 anything is what? You shoot 60 rounds a couple of times a year, and force yourself through the last 20 rounds. No matter how grand the rifle, that's not quantity fun.

It's great if you want/need to whack an elk from 300yds.

Check the .32-20 threads in Leverguns. Those guys smile year-round, all their comments are super enthusiastic, and they shoot a lot. That's a good purchase.

I had a couple of M1A match rifles (.308) that I could shoot all day, but those weighed 13 lbs and were gas-operated.

Had a Remington Model 30 (civilian 1917) .30-06 with the barrel bobbed at 19". Weighed a little over 7 lbs w/aperture sights. Tack-driver and ideal hunting rifle for me. But it kicked with my best 200gr loads so I didn't shoot it much.

I think the 1917 .300 H&H has its bolt face opened for the magnum case, so probably not a candidate for a re-barrel.

Buy something you can shoot 500 rounds through in a day, and pack away wishing you brought more ammo.

[flounderman]

the conversion was common back in the 60s. The pattern 14, has a magnum size bolt face. the extractor hook is narrowed, and the barrel is a .311. If you handload, you can make the recoil however you want it. The 130 grain bullet makes it a 270, recoil and trajectory wise. If you like the gun, buy it and pick up a set of dies and some empty cases. I wouldn't buy the first box of factory loaded ammo.

[TNsailorman]

Like the man said, reloading gets you what you want. 150 grain bullets can be driven over 3000 fps and the recoil will not be that bad, about like a 30-06 with 165 grain bullets. 180 grain bullets or more brings the recoil up dramatically. I had one the Model 30 Remington's in 30-06 with a 22" barrel and light weight, a narrow stock, and somebodies idea of a joke(a steel curved buttplate like on muzzleloaders) for a stock. That rifle was extremely accurate and smooth as silk but with anything over 150 grain bullets, there was a price to pay--called recoil. Stock design can cure or kill. james

[Brother_Love]

I let it go, really did not need it. I can't believe I just wrote that about a gun. Malcolm