Taming Recoil on sharps carbine

[indian joe]

Guys - I am shooting a IAB carbine style sharps and have a SPECIFIC question about adding weight to it - dont need to be told its a piece of junk that I should replace ! (for the record it has never broken, been worked over by a top riflesmith, and has an accurate barrel) Problem is it weighs in just a whisker over eight pounds and with a 500 grain boolit shot prone it hurts - I need to get it up to 12 pound - to that end I have added two pounds of lead to the butt end - Question is ---I am considering making a LEAD forend to replace the wood - that would get me most of the weight - the wood attaches by two screws that engage dovetails set in the barrel - my concern is 1) is the lead forend gonna hold against recoil without deforming OR pulling the screws / dovetail out 2) is it gonna damp the barrel out and cause inconsistent accurracy-----open to any thoughts here
(dont need advice on kick pads and stuff for the rear end at this point thank you)

[Randy Bohannon]

My Pedersoli Gibbs Rifle has pewter poured into a cavity in the stock, it is a oval shaped hole and you can feel significant weight has been added. Adding nearly four pounds is maybe not going to happen without rebarelling to a long heavy octagon barrel. The carbine stock is probably not big enough to allow a cavity to accommodate nearly four pounds of anything. My thoughts on the subject.

[varsity07840]

What caliber are you shooting?

[Don McDowell]

The drop on that stock is the biggest culprit. The best you can do is try one of the limbsaver slip on recoil pads, and do the bulk of your shooting from the sitting position.

[Wayne Smith]

Are you adding weight to meet some sort of standard or do you just want to shoot the rifle without pain? If the latter consider that the 405gr boolit was standard for the carbine, the 520gr was too heavy and created the exact problem you have. My recommendations are (1) switch to a lighter boolit and (2) get a PAST pad.

[indian joe]

The drop on that stock is the biggest culprit. The best you can do is try one of the limbsaver slip on recoil pads, and do the bulk of your shooting from the sitting position.

Don thanks - yes that stock - I looked at drilling it to add lead internally but its pretty skinny so Ihave made a lead buttplate about half inch thick and that got me two pounds and working on the comb now to raise it - my 1876 uberti is much fuller and straighter there and nicer to shoot even after the sharps came up to similar weight - I can make a leather butt cover and tidy all that up - I shoot in a padded vest that helps a bit - bench time at home I made a tall bench and stand behind it elbows down and an adjustable rest under the forearm - shoulder is ok most times but if I shoot prone it gets me down in the mid back -

Was hoping you would come in on this - what do you think about that lead forend idea - plan was duplicate the forend wood in solid lead alloy - radical I know but it would get me the weight, would bring the gun back into balance - do you think it would work or would the recoil dislodge it - - or would that lead damp the barrel down somehow? this little gun has two screws through the forend wood into dovetailed fittings under the barrel - I reckon I can do it without making it look too horrid

[indian joe]

What caliber are you shooting?

45/70

[indian joe]

Are you adding weight to meet some sort of standard or do you just want to shoot the rifle without pain? If the latter consider that the 405gr boolit was standard for the carbine, the 520gr was too heavy and created the exact problem you have. My recommendations are (1) switch to a lighter boolit and (2) get a PAST pad.

Just tryin to keep meself outta the chiropractors clutches :grin: done the lighter boolit for closer range stuff and yeah it works good - have got a few of those 405 grain loaded for test but thinkin 500 yards is too far for it ? with the lead buttplate it weighs ten pound and much better but is way tail heavy and needs more up front. Wayne my shoulder is taking it ok and off my standing bench is no problem - but the couple of serious matches I shoot are 500 or 600 yards prone - no bruised shoulder but feel it in my back. Only a couple times a year can live with it.

[Don McDowell]

I don't believe the lead forearm will help much. Best bet would be to replace the butt stock with a shotgun butt stock, with less drop than the carbine stock and a comb that comes about to the height of the bottom of the channel in the action. An add on pistol grip may help with the current stock.

[indian joe]

My Pedersoli Gibbs Rifle has pewter poured into a cavity in the stock, it is a oval shaped hole and you can feel significant weight has been added. Adding nearly four pounds is maybe not going to happen without rebarelling to a long heavy octagon barrel. The carbine stock is probably not big enough to allow a cavity to accommodate nearly four pounds of anything. My thoughts on the subject.

It needs restocking really and I have my eye open for a nice piece of native timber to do it - long term project though. I bought this gun cheap ages ago - its got the purtiest case colours you ever saw - the logic being I could rebarrel it and restock it and it still owe me less than a Pedersoli (logic dont always apply with guns tho!)

[indian joe]

I don't believe the lead forearm will help much. Best bet would be to replace the butt stock with a shotgun butt stock, with less drop than the carbine stock and a comb that comes about to the height of the bottom of the channel in the action. An add on pistol grip may help with the current stock.

Got the add on pistol grip - the bloke that had it originally did that and also made a real nice smaller hammer for it - only a single trigger and I use double sets on my frontloaders but this trigger is as clean and sharp as can be - the restock plan is best answer I think (long term and if I use local native wood instead of walnut can gain a good amount of weight there) ....ok I can make an add on for a tryout to raise the comb - it will look like a trap shooters hacked up gun for a while - thanks for the kick along

[Don McDowell]

I wouldn't loose much sleep over the single trigger. A properly tuned and crisp single trigger with the pull at 2 1/2 or 3 pounds, is every bit as good and maybe better than double set triggers.

[varsity07840]

405 gr bullets and 55 gr powder carbine load. I had an H&R Officers Model Trapdoor that was murder off the bench with rifle loads.
Oddly enough my .50-70 converted 1863 is not too bad with the standard rifle load(they never came up with a carbine load), but, then again I've never shot any of my BPCRs from the prone position.

[indian joe]

I wouldn't loose much sleep over the single trigger. A properly tuned and crisp single trigger with the pull at 2 1/2 or 3 pounds, is every bit as good and maybe better than double set triggers.

I agree Don - the guy tuned this one got it really good

[indian joe]

405 gr bullets and 55 gr powder carbine load. I had an H&R Officers Model Trapdoor that was murder off the bench with rifle loads.
Oddly enough my .50-70 converted 1863 is not too bad with the standard rifle load(they never came up with a carbine load), but, then again I've never shot any of my BPCRs from the prone position.

yeah prone is a dumb idea - but its what they do where we go - its a hangover from the old fullbore .303 days - when I was a kid there would have been a dozen of those thousand yard ranges still in good enough shape to be functional within an hours drive of my place - mounds every 100 - couple of target frames that worked - field telephone line to the butts - they just slowly dwindled down - one still functional and used for metal targets another one almost built out by housing and shut down to 300yards - thats it others are all gone.
Playing with 500 to 550grain Grease boolits over 65 - 68 grains of FFF got my own little range setup to 500 .

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have the same problem with recoil and even a 12 LB 45-70 rifle doesn't help much. As Don pointed out, the skinny butt stock is a large part of the problem. I shoot with my face pressed down on the stock and when I pull the trigger it is like I just received a hard left hook from George Foreman. I did buy the cushioned pad that wraps around the stock and it helps but there just isn't enough stock. I did see something that would help, I think. I was watching one of the on-line videos about loading the 45-70 and the shooter had one of those add on cheek pieces. I don't know where he got it but I would like to give it a try.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Any chance a mercury recoil reducer/damper would fit in the stock?

You could machine a forend out of brass or even make a brass bedding that attaches to the forend and cast it into a lead forend to strengthen its attachment.

Just trying to think outside the box. Ive had to come up with some unusual fixes for unusual problems in the past. Kinda a specialty of mine. I was running a fully tricked out M&P for my USPSA Open Division race gun which being polymer is at a weight disadvantage against the common 2011's Tanfoglio's. So i routed out extra polymer inside the dust cover area and made a mold pattern and took a cast of that. Off that I cast a lead slug that droped into the routed dust cover for extra weight. That got put in with aircraft structural adhesive.

If there's a will, there's a way!

[BRUCE MOULDS]

joe,
if you really want to reduce felt recoil, restocking would be a good idea.
a straighter stock is more user friendly.
then put a 32" barrel on it, as this allows a sight radius to be set up in true minutes of angle.
if you want to shoot silhouette, there is a weight limit for that.
as well as a rifle balanced to shoot chickens offhand is different to one balanced to shoot off a rest.
firther recoil reduction can be had by going to a 40/82 with a 1/12 or 1/13 twist barrel.
this will still use your current extractor, and allow bullets of 1.5" long for 13, and 1.55 long for 12.
these bullets, at the speed they do, give up nothig to a 45/2.4" in the wind out to 1000 yds.
for purely long range you can use a rifle up to 15 lb.
the 40 cal bullets that compete with 540 gn 45 cals will weigh about 440 gns, a significant reduction in recoil.
charges will be similar to the 45/70 with bullets designed for long range.
of course the best long range bullets are pp, as they have no drag inducing speed humps on them.
keep safe,
bruce.

[indian joe]

I have the same problem with recoil and even a 12 LB 45-70 rifle doesn't help much. As Don pointed out, the skinny butt stock is a large part of the problem. I shoot with my face pressed down on the stock and when I pull the trigger it is like I just received a hard left hook from George Foreman. I did buy the cushioned pad that wraps around the stock and it helps but there just isn't enough stock. I did see something that would help, I think. I was watching one of the on-line videos about loading the 45-70 and the shooter had one of those add on cheek pieces. I don't know where he got it but I would like to give it a try.

If I can get it to 12 pound it would be fine - even at ten its a lot better - saw that strap on cheekpiece ages ago - will go look for the video - I could make one of those - my stock setup is about right for offhand at closer ranges (proly a good chicken gun!) -- had not focussed on that too much drop stock as I spent years being clobbered by a CVA 54 ML that was way too straight for my fat face - ended up making a jig and hot oil bending it and another to get them to fit me. Comes down to it I would rather the sore shoulder than give meself right jabs to the nose every shot ........(too straight = worse than too much drop I reckon)

[indian joe]

Any chance a mercury recoil reducer/damper would fit in the stock?

You could machine a forend out of brass or even make a brass bedding that attaches to the forend and cast it into a lead forend to strengthen its attachment.

Just trying to think outside the box. Ive had to come up with some unusual fixes for unusual problems in the past. Kinda a specialty of mine. I was running a fully tricked out M&P for my USPSA Open Division race gun which being polymer is at a weight disadvantage against the common 2011's Tanfoglio's. So i routed out extra polymer inside the dust cover area and made a mold pattern and took a cast of that. Off that I cast a lead slug that droped into the routed dust cover for extra weight. That got put in with aircraft structural adhesive.

If there's a will, there's a way!

thanks Chris

[Tom Trevor]

I have owned a couple of old rifles over the years and found lead in the butstock it developes an oxide coating and as it swelled the stocks split open. Lead is a very bad idea if in contact with wood. A better idea would be tin. Had a m-74 Sharps that seemed heavy and found tin in the stock no idea how long but no oxide coating.

[indian joe]

joe,
if you really want to reduce felt recoil, restocking would be a good idea.
a straighter stock is more user friendly.
then put a 32" barrel on it, as this allows a sight radius to be set up in true minutes of angle.
if you want to shoot silhouette, there is a weight limit for that.
as well as a rifle balanced to shoot chickens offhand is different to one balanced to shoot off a rest.
firther recoil reduction can be had by going to a 40/82 with a 1/12 or 1/13 twist barrel.
this will still use your current extractor, and allow bullets of 1.5" long for 13, and 1.55 long for 12.
these bullets, at the speed they do, give up nothig to a 45/2.4" in the wind out to 1000 yds.
for purely long range you can use a rifle up to 15 lb.
the 40 cal bullets that compete with 540 gn 45 cals will weigh about 440 gns, a significant reduction in recoil.
charges will be similar to the 45/70 with bullets designed for long range.
of course the best long range bullets are pp, as they have no drag inducing speed humps on them.
keep safe,
bruce.

Bruce
Thanks for the thoughts - could be where I will end up in five years time - the idea has been there all along really - other projects in between for now - think my mate has a 40/82 reamer - might advance the cause a bit !

[EDG]

Rather than all the hassle just swap for a heavier rifle.

[indian joe]

Rather than all the hassle just swap for a heavier rifle.

Yeah - makes a lot of sense I spose - just shell out 3grand, wait a year, line up with somethin that looks like everybody elses
OTOH - some fellers enjoy the foolin round that others see as a hassle - if we only did what makes sense would we be here in the first place? Usin a 150 year old gun with iron sights and black powder to lob shots at a 1000yard target when we could go down the street and for same money buy a 338 with a big scope on and drill the sucker! Nah - none of what we do makes sense we all enjoyin the hassles in one form or another -- I have enjoyed the feedback to my query on this deal - everyone that hit the keyboard has come forth with their best suggestions - some of em fit ME and some of em may not - but its all been well intentioned --- so heres a big thank you to all the gang here - its a great place to learn new tricks for this ole dog.

[yulzari]

Perhaps a coarser powder granulation will take some edge off the felt recoil? I use Swiss 1Fg whenever I can.

[country gent]

If you don't want to re stock it, try one of the slip on or lace on recoil pads. Or make one about 1/2" wider than the stock. While this dosnt lessen the recoil it does spread it out over more area making the perceived recoil lighter. Use thick leather and make it one piece with the raised cheek piece a part of it. The only way to add weight to the forearm is to cut a pocket out and fill it with lead, tin, pewter or zinc.
Weight needs to be added front and back to maintain the proper balance for comfortable shooting. A slightly wider forearm with a pocket cut between the mounting screws would allow lead to be added there.

[RichardB]

added with a big smile...toughen up buttercup!:kidding:

[Gunlaker]

I use a slip on pad for most of my .45 cal prone rifles. It's the really ugly black one, I think called the "Shooters Friend". It adds a little to the LOP and reduces felt recoil a lot. I used to use one of the Buffalo Arms strap on shoulder pads but found that it pressed into my neck a little during prone shooting. This made the rifle move at each heart beat.

Chris.

[indian joe]

Perhaps a coarser powder granulation will take some edge off the felt recoil? I use Swiss 1Fg whenever I can.

Two problems with changing powder grade 1) I am the guy doing 80mph in a 75 zone in a foreign country where they drive on the other side of the road :bigsmyl2:- my thinking is always "can I get a bit more powder in there?" 2) at a more practical level - barrel is only 26 inch - needs the faster burn of FFF to keep velocity decent. (I think anyway)
Basic problems here - poor stock design, a 535 grain boolit, in a 8 pound gun (have it up to ten pounds now and working on that stock )
Just for fun I ran some numbers through the recoil calculator at handloads.com
My 54 ball gun with top load = 33.6, sharps carbine 500gr boolit @8 lb =27.6, sharps carbine 535 gr boolit @ 10 lb = 24.2, 348 winchester = 22, 1876 uberti 405 gr boolit= 20.6....................no wonder that dang ball gun used to slap my face in a prone match!!
Don Mc Dowell put his finger on the problem first go I think - stock design unsuitable - am working on that now.

[EDG]

How did you get to $3000 exactly? I have 5 nice BPCR rifles and no 2 of them cost $3000 combined nor did I have to wait for years for any of them. All of them are heavy rifles that slow down recoil. The lightest weights 10.5 lbs. The rest weigh 12 lbs.

You can toss your rifle in the trash an buy another rifle of higher quality for less than $1500. If you still want to learn you can start out rebarreling and restocking a better rifle that is not always going to be an IAB. Would you build a nice car starting with a Yugo?
BTW your IAB is not 150 years old so that comment is not really valid.

Is this really about taming recoil on a too light rifle or is it about turning an IAB into a financial loss by spending more money on it than it is worth?



Yeah - makes a lot of sense I spose - just shell out 3grand, wait a year, line up with somethin that looks like everybody elses
OTOH - some fellers enjoy the foolin round that others see as a hassle - if we only did what makes sense would we be here in the first place? Usin a 150 year old gun with iron sights and black powder to lob shots at a 1000yard target when we could go down the street and for same money buy a 338 with a big scope on and drill the sucker! Nah - none of what we do makes sense we all enjoyin the hassles in one form or another -- I have enjoyed the feedback to my query on this deal - everyone that hit the keyboard has come forth with their best suggestions - some of em fit ME and some of em may not - but its all been well intentioned --- so heres a big thank you to all the gang here - its a great place to learn new tricks for this ole dog.

[frydaddy96]

Joe, just out of curiousity, have you shot any other guns from the prone position? I can lay on my stomach without to much issue in the back, but as soon as I prop myself up, with in a minute I'm cramping and aching. Just wondering if any recoil would set your back to hurting.

[BRUCE MOULDS]

never forget the supine, or back position.
it bends the back in a more friendly way than on the belly.

[Don McDowell]

Joe, just out of curiousity, have you shot any other guns from the prone position? I can lay on my stomach without to much issue in the back, but as soon as I prop myself up, with in a minute I'm cramping and aching. Just wondering if any recoil would set your back to hurting.

Your cross ticks are probably to high.

[indian joe]

How did you get to $3000 exactly? I have 5 nice BPCR rifles and no 2 of them cost $3000 combined nor did I have to wait for years for any of them. All of them are heavy rifles that slow down recoil. The lightest weights 10.5 lbs. The rest weigh 12 lbs.

You can toss your rifle in the trash an buy another rifle of higher quality for less than $1500. If you still want to learn you can start out rebarreling and restocking a better rifle that is not always going to be an IAB. Would you build a nice car starting with a Yugo?
BTW your IAB is not 150 years old so that comment is not really valid.

Is this really about taming recoil on a too light rifle or is it about turning an IAB into a financial loss by spending more money on it than it is worth?

$3000 was a wild guess based on past experience - looks like you missed my comments about living in a foreign country - list on a Pedersoli was mid $2500ish last time I looked + freight + dealer charges $100 to put it on the register + $30 for a permit to purchase - (I would be surprised if I put a new pedersoli of my choice in the rack under $3K) - my uberti 1876 took about 9 months from order to in the rack ....... how we doin so far??
You fellers in the US are spoiled! ya have no idea how furtunate you are in the guns and ammo department - gas - cars - building materials too
The rest of your post comes over kinda insulting but I'll pretend ya didnt mean it

[indian joe]

Your cross ticks are probably to high.

Don
stage one done 222081
havent added as much height as you suggested but with the sight on 500 setting it sits nice - weight is about 10.25 lb - still needs some weight forward to counter it.
So far I am out about two bucks for the lead and maybe 25 for the leather cover + some time

[Don McDowell]

The target and your neck and shoulder will tell the rest of the story.

[BRUCE MOULDS]

joe,
if you put a long cleaning rod in the barrel, hanging out over the stock, it can help show a min apparrent recoil stock.
what you want is the line from the comb to the heel to just give clearance for the handle of a rod, with maybe 1/8" max lower on the heel than the comb, or not as appeals to the eye.
then measure the height of a good recoil pad from the heel to the toe to find that point.
the bottom line will be a straight line from the toe to the base of the trigger.
then you fit the pistol grip in on that.
always allow a little more length of pull than you think, as you can always take a bit off after shooting.
these single shots seem to need a little more length of pull than bolt actions and prone rifles seem the prefer a little more than offhand ones.
keep safe,
bruce.

[rfd]

geez louise, like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. i'd sell the dang thing and start all over with a more proper gun, but i see that be too late for ya now. if you've got it up to 10lbs, and gave the stock a make over, then doing what you don't wanna do is the next absolute most important thing to do - add a proper butt pad that will soak up recoil. you wanna look "good" or feel good? i've tried 'em all and the only one that works for my poor sick shoulder is the kick killer leather lace-on pad with the internal akton gel shock absorber. it works wonders. no lie. 60 rounds later and i have no shoulder issues. i won't have a .45-70 rifle without one and my cartridge load is 81 grains of swiss 1-1/2f under a 528 grain PPB slick. heck, i even use one on my 6-1/2lb .62 smoothbore flintlock with 70 grains of swiss 3f and a 320 grain patched ball, or 80 grains and an ounce of shot. good luck!

https://i.imgur.com/V50OfJx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SLIVjrK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pXFMYeE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k929PiG.jpg

[indian joe]

geez louise, like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. i'd sell the dang thing and start all over with a more proper gun, but i see that be too late for ya now. if you've got it up to 10lbs, and gave the stock a make over, then doing what you don't wanna do is the next absolute most important thing to do - add a proper butt pad that will soak up recoil. you wanna look "good" or feel good? i've tried 'em all and the only one that works for my poor sick shoulder is the kick killer leather lace-on pad with the internal akton gel shock absorber. it works wonders. no lie. 60 rounds later and i have no shoulder issues. i won't have a .45-70 rifle without one and my cartridge load is 81 grains of swiss 1-1/2f under a 528 grain PPB slick. heck, i even use one on my 6-1/2lb .62 smoothbore flintlock with 70 grains of swiss 3f and a 320 grain patched ball, or 80 grains and an ounce of shot. good luck!

https://i.imgur.com/V50OfJx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SLIVjrK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pXFMYeE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k929PiG.jpg

Aaaaaaarrrggghh Crikey man ----not tryin to win the dang olympic games here ! just wanna get the best I can outa this particular piece of hardware and take a bit of the bite out of it at the same time. I like yr pictures but the action of mine is as attractive as any sharps - better lookin than most pedersolis - and it functions fine - so we down to the name on the side - Pedersoli means nothing extra to me over IAB - if it works it works - they both Italian replicas - not likely I will sell it - If I decide to restock it, all that will cost me is a piece of wood (might see a nice piece of native timber around in my travels or I have some slabs of mulberry curing now) - I'll do the work if it gets done - I believe the barrel is good .........dont reckon I will win anything serious but if I work at it I can usually get close enough to make the fellers at the front pay attention.

[rfd]

i hear ya IJ, you like what ya have and just wanna tame recoil. you've added the weight, now add a good butt pad and be done with her, mate.

[indian joe]

i hear ya IJ, you like what ya have and just wanna tame recoil. you've added the weight, now add a good butt pad and be done with her, mate.

I reckon I be ok from here on - I made a little vest with a nice sheepskin / suede leather pad sewed on the shoulder it soaks a fair bit of it up and the job on the butt has got the buttplate area up almost double what it was - hopin for a bit of half decent weather tomorrow for a tryout
While I have yr attention .....tapping the barrel for that ""null point" I get a change in tone about 3 to 5 inches from the muzzle - an area about two inches long - the barrle has been cut - only 26 inches long so not ringing really like a long tube would -- does that make sense - I have not shot this off sticks - our target LR match is shot rifle club style - they truss emselves up like the christmas turkey in fancy slings and tight laced coats but no little sticks up front. At home I shoot off a padded Vee rest under the forearm - standing bench -

[Grapeshot]

Guys - I am shooting a IAB carbine style sharps and have a SPECIFIC question about adding weight to it - dont need to be told its a piece of junk that I should replace ! (for the record it has never broken, been worked over by a top riflesmith, and has an accurate barrel) Problem is it weighs in just a whisker over eight pounds and with a 500 grain boolit shot prone it hurts - I need to get it up to 12 pound - to that end I have added two pounds of lead to the butt end - Question is ---I am considering making a LEAD forend to replace the wood - that would get me most of the weight - the wood attaches by two screws that engage dovetails set in the barrel - my concern is 1) is the lead forend gonna hold against recoil without deforming OR pulling the screws / dovetail out 2) is it gonna damp the barrel out and cause inconsistent accurracy-----open to any thoughts here
(dont need advice on kick pads and stuff for the rear end at this point thank you)

Try using a 405 grain bullet and a charge of powder, light, that doesn't kick like a mule. Carbine loads used by the US Cavalry was 55 grains of 2FG Black Powder with a 405 grain boolit. I've shot this load and it is accurate and mild. My Lyman manual says 13 grains of Unique is a nice load.

[indian joe]

Try using a 405 grain bullet and a charge of powder, light, that doesn't kick like a mule. Carbine loads used by the US Cavalry was 55 grains of 2FG Black Powder with a 405 grain boolit. I've shot this load and it is accurate and mild. My Lyman manual says 13 grains of Unique is a nice load.

Thanks for the reply Grapeshot ---- I am working on this for a 500yard match dont think the carbine load would hack it - but you right - that 405 grainer even with my normal 65 grains FFFG is quite comfortable - I have the rifle up to 10 pounds now and is much better (tolerable now with heavy boolits) - the lead forend idea went out the window - too much trouble. Not interested in smokeless loads for this one - I dont hunt with it - proly end up rebarreling it to 40-82 one day but thats a long term plan at this point - low priority.

[Lead pot]

I shot a Shiloh .45-110 as light as yours build especially for hunting. When this fellow handed me this short finger sized barreled rifle and said try this once I just about handed it back to him. He has a full sized Elk plate elk set up around 700 yards and I took a off hand shot and heard that clang come back. I looked at him and asked what did you do to this? he said I put 3 mercury recoil reducer in the butt stock. Now I don't know if he used the Graco BreaKO mercury recoil reducer or the C&H but the felt recoil I would compare to my 1893 Marlin .30-30.

You can also tame recoil shooting sitting and sitting at a angle behind the rifle and relax letting your body roll with the recoil. You can pull the rifle in the pocket tight but stay loose so the recoil will push your body.

[rfd]

what works for me with a light longarm and a stiff charge is to make sure the butt stock is pushed and held tight to the shoulder, and let the body roll with the punch. anything less and the shoulder will get a smacking bruise.

i used a mercury tube in a handi .45-70 buff classic and it helped quite a bit with stiff smokeless aa5744 and 540 grain greasers.

but the best for me has been the kick killer butt pads.

it's all good if it works good.

[country gent]

Anything that spreads the recoil out over a bigger area lessens the sensation of the recoil but its still there and after a days match will show up in the lower back and neck. As has been said above build a solid bone supported position ( tensed muscles take more of a beating than relaxed do) hold the rifle up and roll with the recoil letting it push you. This is easiest in offhand next is sitting kneeling and last is prone. Let the rifle recoil and work on it doing the same way every time. I have used the kick killer pads, past recoil shields, and heavy vests to reduce felt recoil. The easiest way to truly reduce recoil is by adding weight to the gun. The mercury reducers work and are effective but you may have to frill into the buttstock to add them.

[indian joe]

Updating
I looked at drilling the stock for lead but its skinny - hesitant about that
Had a chunk of lead the right size and shape hanging around so I made that into a lead buttplate that added two pound - also increased the area of the buttplate by heaps
Then I put a chunk of wood on top to increase comb height
After that it looked like something despicable outa the scrap yard so I made a leather cover to hold it all in place
Gun is now noticeably tail heavy - the balance point for carry is right at the rear edge of the action
Much improved - can now get my cheek on the comb at longer ranges instead of daylight there - its quite comfortable to shoot offhand (surprisingly) - buttplate area increased -weight increased - recoil much reduced - not hurting anymore .
226634

[country gent]

If the looks are a problem make a tracing of the stock both lengthwise and butt plate end and check with stock makers about having a new one made to your dimensions.

[MT Chambers]

People will laugh at you with that pink stock.

[indian joe]

People will laugh at you with that pink stock.

It will distract em from their shooting enough to get me an edge :evil:

[Lead pot]

Hmmmmm will have to suggest this to the rule commity to add this to keep other shooters getting a edge over me.............:)

[indian joe]

Hmmmmm will have to suggest this to the rule commity to add this to keep other shooters getting a edge over me.............:)

Dang it! just when a bloke gets a plan someone puts a spoke in the wheel................................