308 Recoil

[dross]

I take back everything I've said about 308 recoil being easy.

A while back I bought a Savage 99 in 308, beautiful rifle and it handles like a horny gymnast, but I hadn't shot it much, just a few rounds after I first bought it. I shot it standing up over the hood of my truck.

Yesterday I went to the range to sight it in and shot it off a bench rest. The LOP is too short for me, so that may have contributed, but damn! It only weighs about six pounds - no scope - and it about beat my shoulder to death. I'm not a little guy, either, and I'm not usually bothered by recoil. I had to stop after a while or I was going to start flinching. Today I feel it every time I reach for something.

Still like the rifle a lot, but I won't be shooting it for fun from the bench.

I think I'm going to get it fit better to me and add a decent recoil pad. It has one, but it's from 1963 when the rifle was made and it's now morphed into some material that's harder than steel. At least it felt like it was.

 

[actaeon277]

Maybe you're just getting......... old.

 

[Hookeye]

Buddy had a Rem 660 in .308, said it was nasty.

 

[dross]

Maybe you're just getting......... old.

Dude, I AM getting old, no doubt about it. The way it hurt, though, I'd have to be getting pretty damned old. That sucker rears back, I'm tellin' ya'.

Except that it hurt, I kinda liked it. There's something about strong recoil that makes you sure when you've made a good shot, because the surprise part of it really dramatizes it.

 

[spencer rifle]

Well, it's not a bolt gun, but we have found the 17" barrel CETME has considerably less recoil than a Mosin. Lots more noise, but less recoil.

 

[sgreen3]

Thats why Im selling my 308. Ive just got used to shooting my AR's and my rimfire rifle over the last couple years that the bigger stuff just really isnt that fun.

 

[matt4shadow]

I was surprised as well. I am a big sissy after my shoulder surgery. I have a "pocket" where some inflamation was removed. The 308 felt like a 10 gauge if I didn't have it positioned just right.

 

[Leo]

Anyone ever think about the size of soldiers in WWI? 5' 7" 145 lbs was a regular sized man in those days. And they shot light '03 bolt action rifles with steel butt plates and 30-06 ammo. Think about the Mosin Nagants, they are a little heavier and the 7.62 X 54r recoils a little less, it is considered by many a hard kicking rifle. Those GI's must have been a tough bunch. They are hero's in my book, may they rest in Peace.

 

[sloughfoot]

"it handles like a horny gymnast".......

There is no way to make a 6 lb 30 caliber rifle fun to shoot. They are fun to carry and for that one perfect shot on game. That is about it.

 

[actaeon277]

Anyone ever think about the size of soldiers in WWI? 5' 7" 145 lbs was a regular sized man in those days. And they shot light '03 bolt action rifles with steel butt plates and 30-06 ammo. Think about the Mosin Nagants, they are a little heavier and the 7.62 X 54r recoils a little less, it is considered by many a hard kicking rifle. Those GI's must have been a tough bunch. They are hero's in my book, may they rest in Peace.

I was tougher when I was 19 also.

 

[indyjohn]

07:45 to 17:00 every other Saturday, 88 rounds out of an M1A standing, sitting, prone. It's not so bad with a padded coat. But still, I've come back from more than one match with a bruise between my torso and bicep...

I love it and would gladly do it EVERY Saturday.

 

[bullet]

Get a compensator for it. I've never thought 308 was bad at but I've never shot it out of a bolt either.

 

[bullet]

Anyone ever think about the size of soldiers in WWI? 5' 7" 145 lbs was a regular sized man in those days. And they shot light '03 bolt action rifles with steel butt plates and 30-06 ammo. Think about the Mosin Nagants, they are a little heavier and the 7.62 X 54r recoils a little less, it is considered by many a hard kicking rifle. Those GI's must have been a tough bunch. They are hero's in my book, may they rest in Peace.

Some thing about having 10,000 enemy soldiers shooting/charging/trying to kill you, bombs blowing up around you, tanks shooting at you that makes a guy forget about recoil.

They area all hero's in my book too.

 

[NiceGuy]

Obviously, recoil can differ greatly between the types of rifles you shoot.

 

[Cerberus]

Commercial .308 can be stiff depending on the brand and type. Remington .308 PSP recoils more than the Remington/UMC .308 MC. I reload mine to military velocities and the recoil becomes more tolerable.

 

[Yeah]

The fix is in the first post, which is fit. My most used DG stalking rifle is a 6.75lb Jules Bury double in 375 H&H AI, and its round count is mid 4 digits. It fits me well so it is a joy to shoot. I've run the same loads through 10lb rifles that didn't fit and though they would detach my retinas.

 

[dross]

The fix is in the first post, which is fit. My most used DG stalking rifle is a 6.75lb Jules Bury double in 375 H&H AI, and its round count is mid 4 digits. It fits me well so it is a joy to shoot. I've run the same loads through 10lb rifles that didn't fit and though they would detach my retinas.

I think that's it, plus when I thought back on it, it was a strange day, really cold and I was at a bench where the seat didn't fit me so I stood up. I realize looking back that I had all my weight going forward, low and awkward, and no way for my body to give with the recoil.

It's a hunting rifle, pure and simple so I'm not much worried about it anyway.

 

[bolt action hero]

Too me a bolt .308 has the perfect amount of recoil, enough to let you know you are firing a proper weapon but doesn't dislocate your shoulder like my WWII era mouser. For the really rough ones I have used folded hand towels to ease the blow a bit.

 

[Que]

I absolutely love shooting my Savage 10 FCP. It's definitely my favorite rifle. It has about half the recoil of my Mosins and feels just about as comfortable as shooting an AR.

 

[dtkw]

A good recoil pad would make it shoot like a dream. I have on my my Remy 700 in 30-06 and it is very comfortable to shoot all day. I'd admit I am an old fart.