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Forum Index > Rifles general discussion > People Complaining About Recoil

People Complaining About Recoil

01 Nov 2019
@ 07:57 am (GMT)

Ryan Nafe

Fellas,

What has happened to people, at least in America, that seems to have made anything that kicks more than a 10 pound .223 unbearable?

People put muzzle brakes on everything. The .308 in a bolt gun is now considered a vicious beast that kicks terribly. .40 S&W handguns can’t be fired with any kind of speed or accuracy because they kick too much. AKM pattern rifles are brutal monsters that abuse the shooter.

What in the ever-loving crap is going on here?! I’ve seen senile old men shoot .30-06 rifles with steel butt plates, I’ve seen kids shoot 12 gauge slugs, I’ve seen a woman shoot a 4” Smith 629, child soldiers in Africa wield AKM’s like they were born holding one, but suddenly all these hundreds of thousands of people who are supposedly “in the know” about firearms consider the most low-level and mundane cartridges and guns to be completely unbearable to shoot.

What’s the deal?

Replies

1
02 Nov 2019
@ 06:21 pm (GMT)

Shawn Bevins

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
I agree, I have seen guys pull up with the latest gear. Their gun looks like something out of space odessy. A brake on a 6.5 Creed.. Said he wanted to spot his shots..at 100yds? With his 25X scope he should be able to see it fine. Forget about shooting near someone that is using a brake.

I strongly suspect that is why the 6.5 Creed did so well. It barely kicks.. It appeals to recoil sensitive shooters.
02 Nov 2019
@ 08:07 pm (GMT)

Luis Vazquez

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
Hi Ryan:

I know there are legitimate reasons for people putting brakes on some magnum cartridge rifles or wanting a smaller cartridge rifle, some reasons are medical, some of just old age, etc.

I do agree with you that some exagerate and put on brakes on a 308 Win or a 7mm-08, heck even on a creedmoor. Some try to kill an Elk at 800 yards with a 6.5 or 6mm Creedmoor because it doesn't kick much or at all. Some hunters put their physical limitations or preferences before an animals life and that I dont agree with.

03 Nov 2019
@ 05:01 am (GMT)

Magnus Hansson

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
The less recoil the better I shoot, simple as that!
Couldn’t care less if people think Im a shrimp ..and on a driven hunt- faster target focus on follow ups

MH
03 Nov 2019
@ 08:43 am (GMT)

Ryan Nafe

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
Fellas,

The initial post was a bit more of a rant or a tirade than I’d have preferred to write, so let me clarify a few things:

I’m not talking about setups like the .300 magnums or full-power medium bore cartridges from a lightweight rifle, or Nathan’s un-braked .375 RUM, or anything like that. Those types of setups actually produce a level of recoil that puts real demands on the rifle itself and the shooter’s technique and mental abilities if they’re going to be shot accurately.

What I’m talking about are typical small-bore cartridges and rifles in the .308’s general performance class. Even my recent 7mm Rem Mag build is what I would consider a low-recoiling setup because it’s a quite heavy rifle with a good stock design, it seems subjectively to kick less than my 7 pound .308 with the Hornady Superformance 165’s.

And of course if someone has physical conditions that make even the most mild centerfire rifles too much to deal with, that’s a whole different ballgame.

What I’m really driving at is when an otherwise healthy adult male balks at ordinary hunting rifle setups or a basic pump 12 gauge.

After considering some of Nathan’s advice and reflecting on my own experiences, I really think recoil tolerance is all about the mind. The shooter simply needs to train the mind to focus on other things, trigger pull for instance.

I train in boxing and of course nobody wants to get punched in the face or the solar plexus (one of my biggest weak spots, being a tall fighter for my weight) but if you wanna be a decent boxer you have to get hit, your mind will settle into this reality after a little while and eventually it won’t be so psychologically disruptive to get hit. And so it is with shooting, you just have to get used to recoil and accept the fact that in most circumstances it won’t really harm you and if you want a certain level of power, well, you’re generally gonna have to put up with some kick.

And as for muzzle brakes, I would like to know how many people who run them have actually fired them without ear protection in field conditions. It’s just awful stuff, especially if you’re hunting from any kind of enclosure like a ground blind.

If you’re running a long-range setup then you can probably get away with using ear protection so it could be justified, but if you’re doing conventional American deer hunting, you really need sharp full-range hearing.
03 Nov 2019
@ 02:34 pm (GMT)

Scott Struif

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
Maybe American shooters have grown more recoil-sensitive because they are more obsessed with wringing sub-MOA accuracy out of their rifles than in the past. A 40-round day at the range with a 243 is fun, but not with a 35 Whelen.
03 Nov 2019
@ 02:42 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
Interesting thread....interesting topic fullstop.
when the dreaded Fword that rhymes with grinch comes into play all bets are off.
for years I shyied away from shooting at paper...having a lightweight .270win with soda straw 20" barrel for most of that time as my only rifle would go some way to explaining why.
even with good recoil pad she would still leave me with love bites....
fast forward a few years,I bought Nathans books and kicked myself hard in the arse,told myself to "suck it up buttercup" and worked on technique for the few times a prone shot is taken.....yip improoved no end.
then I realised my hearing was getting bad.....again said .270 goes some way to explaining that...shooting wallabies it was nothing to fire 60 shots in a weekend...ears would ring all week
so we bit the bullet and spent the $$$$$ and suppressed all my centrefires.
the experts tell us that suppressors only reduce actual kick/recoil by a small amount but its the "in the head bit" (cant spell for shite so not going to attemp the phyc......word) that counts.all my centrefire loads have crept back up to hot since fitting suppressors,my maximum shooting range has increased as my CONFIDENCE in ability to hit where I aim has improoved.
you mentioned pump action shotgun.....DO NOT use remington hypersonic through it........unless you really want to,but make sure and come back to tell us how you get on.
I was short shucking action and ducks were not dieing any faster...pretty hard for dog to swim with her paws jammed in her ears too.
my shottie is heavy to begin with and has further 11oz of lead up inside the butt.....it soaks up normal 3" steel well but them green demonic shite storms were just too much.
funny thing is recoil doesnt normally effect me with an animal in sights,only on paper.....less to think about and time to do it.
seriously those grren things are darn right unpleasant.NEVER again.
03 Nov 2019
@ 03:09 pm (GMT)

Luis Vazquez

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
My brother in law bought Keltec KSG shotgun for home defense and I helped him sight it in with a red dot sight and this little thing kicks like 10 mules together, but its dang fun to shoot.

We hunted lots of dove, duck and quail in Mexico with good ol Mossberg 500's and we went through 150 To 200 rounds each in two days, should see the shoulder come Mondays, one big red bruise and it was worth every shot.

I primarily shoot 2 rifles, my 7mm-08 and my 7mm Rem Mag, with the Mag I can get through 40 to 50 rounds in a day and no issue, takes a bit for the barrel to cool down so that limits how much I can shoot. With the 7mm-08 wil go through 100+ rounds in a day when shooting Silhouette. In the State Championships we shoot 40 rounds in the morning with the Precision rifles and them 40 in the afternoon with the Hunter rifles, plus sighting in and practice before the match, it's a 2 day event, Saturday and Sunday. We shoot this with our 7mm-08's. I guess for us we are just used to tthe recoil.

I hadn't shot my AR in 223 in a while until a week ago and I was dang, thats light. My brother bought a Ruger Hawkeye in 223 Rem and it comes with a brake, that little thinks is loud or louder than my 7mm Rem Mag, crazy.

03 Nov 2019
@ 09:29 pm (GMT)

Joel Macha

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
i think a lot of the "wussification" of the american hunter/shooter began many years ago when the U.S. military adopted the 5.56 as it's primary round. many shooters/hunters had no experience with firearms until military service and became accustomed to the light round and little recoil. it was furthered when they dropped the 45acp and went to 9mm in the sidearms. i personally grew up with a Korean war veteran father who thought the M16 was a plastic piece of junk. hunting rules were if you left with 3 rounds you better come home with 3 game animals. i shoot a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H mag all day with no problems. but shooting my Mossberg 535 rifled barrel shotgun with Brenneke magnum crush slugs limits me to about 10-12 shots before i need icy hot the next day.
10 Sep 2020
@ 03:12 pm (GMT)

Brad Johnson

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
I think Nathan's long term gripe with a widespread loss in shooting skills since the world wars is a big part of the problem.
Holding the forend, correct use of a sling & adequate eye relief are reoccurring themes.
Nathan's return to historical techniques while using an un-braked 375RUM is allowing us to modify practices (or learn fresh in my case).
10 Sep 2020
@ 11:26 pm (GMT)

Ben Law

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
tons of 223's - 308's come with brake's or threaded muzzle these days, which kinda sucks, i don't trust threaded muzzles for long term accuracy particularly when they are much smaller than the barrel diameter.
11 Sep 2020
@ 10:21 pm (GMT)

Hamish Gibbs

Re: People Complaining About Recoil
A short search will find a plethora of muzzle brakes for .22 rimfire, and if you want a real giggle have a read of a review of 10/22 muzzle brakes.
To people who think they can just hunt with a brake on and no hearing protection, good luck, a braked 300wsm gave me a perforated eardrum for my ignorance/forgetfulness, theirs a prize for that but not one I want to win again.
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