Bench recoil reduction for heavy calibers via a counter-weight(?)

[JHeath]

I read this on another website about reducing the recoil of large caliber rifles when developing loads from a benchrest. I never heard of this before & I was wondering if anyone here has ever tried this. It was stated that you can control heavy recoil by hooking a cord to the front sling swivel & then hanging a counter weight over the front of the bench. The weigh is suppose to be about the weight of the rifle. Interesting idea to say the least. I know the lead sled has been known to damage a rifle. For sure that front swivel would need to be solid.

Any thoughts...

If you want to do this, get some 1" tube webbing from a rock climbing shop. It is soft, flexible, and has a slick surface.

Tie the ends together to make an endless loop.

Pass the loop *behind the buttplate*. Drape the rest of the sling over the front of the bench and attach the weight. You could probably pass the sling over the forearm rest.

This way the counterforce is applied to the butt , as the stock was designed for. The sling and weight act on the stock as though a larger body is behind the rifle, instead of pulling forward on the forearm and making the rifle the object of a tug-of-war.

[Buck Shot]

If you want to do this, get some 1" tube webbing from a rock climbing shop. It is soft, flexible, and has a slick surface.

Tie the ends together to make an endless loop.

Pass the loop *behind the buttplate*. Drape the rest of the sling over the front of the bench and attach the weight. You could probably pass the sling over the forearm rest.

This way the counterforce is applied to the butt , as the stock was designed for. The sling and weight act on the stock as though a larger body is behind the rifle, instead of pulling forward on the forearm and making the rifle the object of a tug-of-war.

That ought to work pretty well...I like it! My only comment would be that if you have a bench that's not real stiff/sturdy, and/or if you have a counterweight that's pretty heavy, the lifting of the counterweight hanging over the front edge of the bench might pull down the front of the bench where the webbing bears against the corner of it (and thus lower the bag holding up the forend of the rifle) but as long as the bench is stiff/sturdy, no matter. Plus, unless the buttstock is perfectly in line with the bore, the muzzle is gonna lift on recoil anyway, so it's probably moot...just another thing to think about.

FWIW, OP, here's a good way to knot your webbing (used for climbing) with a water knot:

https://www.k9-search-and-rescue.com...s/water005.jpg

[JHeath]

One more thought. If the weight is accelerated hard, it will continue flying up and could pass the top of the bench. Don't let it hit the muzzle.