Recoil is the enemy of accuracy.

[charlie b]

After 38 posts how many will disagree with me or agree with me that handling recoil is in the mind and to learn to handle it one has to experience it?

Yep.

A good friend loved heavy rifles. The lightest loads he considered were full bore .45-70. He had a double, not sure if it was a .500 or .577 Nitro Express, that he thought was a great gun to plink with. He and his brother owned many such rifles, bolt, single shot and the big double. They also owned the land for a 600yd shooting range and frequently shot those rifles at the longer ranges.

He was about 5'5" and weighed in at around 150lb. Retired attack pilot (F-105 to the F-111).

PS The other side of the coin is that extended shooting with heavy recoil can have an effect on the body. Taffin was a good example for heavy pistol shooting. Some of the military snipers have had shoulder troubles after prolonged shooting of the heavier calibers.

[David2011]

I’ve been injured by heavy handgun recoil. Back in the early ‘80s the gun writers were publishing the hot load of the month for the Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. My buddy and I had to try them all. Slinging 290 grain boolits, lots of them, at supersonic velocities gave me tendonitis in my strong hand elbow. I was young and didn’t use good judgment. It took months to heal with no handgun shooting for the interim. From that experience I would conclude that there are physical limits to recoil tolerance that are unrelated to flinching or other mental disciplines of shooting.

[fredj338]

I could not find a sub-forum on shooting so since this is the most popular sub-forum, I am putting this here.

It is my experience that more recoil means less accuracy. Sometimes it is a trade-off because higher velocity means less drop and less wind deflection but as a rule the more it kicks the harder it is to shoot accurately.

Tim

This is only true if one is sensitive to recoil. I used to shoot full power 265gr 44 loads for met sil. With iron sights i could shoot about 8” groups at 220y off a rest. I have a 404jeffery, pretty decent kick, it will shout 1” groups at 100y off a rest.

[fredj338]

After 38 posts how many will disagree with me or agree with me that handling recoil is in the mind and to learn to handle it one has to experience it?

100% Though not everyone can handle it. For me, 500s&w mag in a 7-8” revo is fine, 4” 44mag, fine. My 404jefery in 11.5# rig, fine, 458 lott in 10.5#, not so much.

[DonHowe]

It Is easier to shoot accurately with small mild recoiling cartridges. However, one cannot always shoot the mildest recoiling cartridge unless only plinking or shooting small bore competition with. 22 rimfire. "Use enough gun" is still good advice. Whether match shooting or hunting a person is free to is free to use the smallest caliber/cartridge that is legal. I will contend that doing so because it is legal does not Ean it is always the best choice. Some shooting disciplines require the use of harder recoiling cartridges. Of course a person is free to just not participate.

The trend in competition is to ever-smaller cartridges like 6XC, 6. 5Creedmoor, etc - even. 223 at 1000yds. Some folks talk as though the matches were never won when what they had was bigger, harder kicking cartridges. To the contrary, if memory serves correctly, Carlos Hathcock won the Wimbledon with a. 300Winchester magnum.
It CAN BE DONE; its a matter of whether a person wants to badly enough (in most cases).

There are physical issues that mandate less recoil. I personally have had for several years an eye condition which could result in a detached retina. I only have one eye so some of my favorite rifles went away. But I miss them, kick and all.

O

[dtknowles]

This is only true if one is sensitive to recoil. I used to shoot full power 265gr 44 loads for met sil. With iron sights i could shoot about 8” groups at 220y off a rest. I have a 404jeffery, pretty decent kick, it will shout 1” groups at 100y off a rest.

I disagree. Even if you are not recoil sensitive, a gun with less recoil is easier to shoot accurately than one with more recoil. A gun with less recoil is also easier to make follow up shots as the gun and shooter recover from the recoil faster. I am not talking about people who flinch or jerk the trigger I am talking about people who have good shooting habits.
TEK

[44MAG#1]

I disagree. Even if you are not recoil sensitive, a gun with less recoil is easier to shoot accurately than one with more recoil. A gun with less recoil is also easier to make follow up shots as the gun and shooter recover from the recoil faster. I am not talking about people who flinch or jerk the trigger I am talking about people who have good shooting habits.
TEK

The original post went:. "It is my experience that more recoil means less accuracy. Sometimes it is a trade-off because higher velocity means less drop and less wind deflection but as a rule the more it kicks the harder it is to shoot accurately."
Now, I didn't see any qualifiers but the ones mentioned. If one wants to add qualifiers to make more of a point that they are correct in their belief that is okay. But they weren't in the original post. So, only if the shooter lets the recoil bother them will it cause inaccuracy.

[Milky Duck]

The original post went:. "It is my experience that more recoil means less accuracy. Sometimes it is a trade-off because higher velocity means less drop and less wind deflection but as a rule the more it kicks the harder it is to shoot accurately."
Now, I didn't see any qualifiers but the ones mentioned. If one wants to add qualifiers to make more of a point that they are correct in their belief that is okay. But they weren't in the original post. So, only if the shooter lets the recoil bother them will it cause inaccuracy.

seeing your tag line...... the decimal system works well because it ties all three units of measurement together...length,mass and weight...
if you take the 1000kg /1mt to begin with as its easiest to explain...it is infact a water weight of 1 cubic meter...so your average everday IPC container you see everywhere measuring 1mx1mx1m thus weight mass/size and diamention are tied together a litre of water weighs 1kg and measures 10cmx10cmx10cm I sow fertilizer for a living so work wit hbulk density all day long......


back on topic...... heavy rifles and little cartridges are easy to shoot well..... heavy recoiling cartridges in little rifles are not so easy.....
even my .223 remington is EASIER to shoot well if in its hardwood stock than the stupidly light pauliwinna wood one I made for it.... I can still shoot it well in lightweight stock,but I have to concentrate MORE on form and holding rifle firmly....NO WAY could I shoot it well in lightweight mode using the bipod and hug yourself /crossed arm/offhand of buttstock method.

[MarkP]

I noticed several years ago after shooting a 250 rounds or so with my 12 ga then switching to 28 ga the same day I had a slight recoil anticipation when I fired the first shot in the 28 ga. I was so surprised. Also noticed going the other direction shooting a few hundred 28 ga then switching to the 12 ga I almost dropped the 12 ga due to the unexpected recoil. Had a lesser grip when shooting the 28 ga.

Back then I would practice shooting a Rem 700 MNT in 300 Wby off-hand with a Tee shirt on and thought nothing of it.

I was at a Cowboy Silhouette match and was watching a guy shoot a Marlin in 45-70; When he hit one of the hogs it flew backwards, so I looked at his loads and they were 40+ gr of IMR 4064. Most shooters were using pistol cartridges. He had one that failed to fire, he had the worst flinch I have ever seen. Recoil does more than most think.

[DonHowe]

I noticed several years ago after shooting a 250 rounds or so with my 12 ga then switching to 28 ga the same day I had a slight recoil anticipation when I fired the first shot in the 28 ga. I was so surprised. Also noticed going the other direction shooting a few hundred 28 ga then switching to the 12 ga I almost dropped the 12 ga due to the unexpected recoil. Had a lesser grip when shooting the 28 ga

In my opinion 12 is The gauge due to it's wider and shorter shot column for a given shot wreght. But, and that is a big But, the Brits have always had the right idea in terms of 12ga loads. Our 12ga low brass loads are more powerful than traditional Brit upland game loads and high brass 2 3/4" ammunition turns the typical 12ga gun into a cannon by comparison. And that is saying nothing of 2 3/4", 3" or 3 1/2" loads
I'm thinking maybe makers of 12ga mini shells are reinventing the wheel.

[rustyshooter]

After 38 posts how many will disagree with me or agree with me that handling recoil is in the mind and to learn to handle it one has to experience it?

Agreed. I’m surprised muscle memory has not been mentioned here. My dad saw lots of combat in WWII and he learned to rely heavily on it. Whether in distance fighting M1 Garand, moderate range M1 carbine or hand to hand with the Colt .45. Is recoil not an after affect? Seems to me in competition shooting or hunting (one shot) that boolit is on the way by the time recoil happens. In repeat firing familiarity of your gun and muscle memory are your best assets. And from learning from a battle hardened WWII 1st Lt. Army Ranger Forward Observer that fired thousands of rounds both in his training and in the field I too have been able to learn recoil and muscle memory. One other bit of advice I was given at about age 12 was to “always aim for the torso, don’t go for the dramatic head shot”. In summary, become intimate with your firearm and shoot. ALOT imho