Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Recoil injury/damage ?

I don't know about detached retinas but I've been careful to use ear plugs, then ear muffs, than both, then both with better ear muffs, since I was 16 whenever I shot anything more than a .22 (except when hunting).

Now, in addition to the gradual loss of hearing as frequency increases, I have a sharp dip at 4000 Hz, caused by shooting. I'll be getting hearing aids this month.

In addition, I had a very old 12 gauge Model 12 that had a pointy toe on the stock. I could not shoot 25 shots of low-base loads without making my shoulder black and blue.

Hey Gunner!

I knew there was something I liked about ya besides your uncommon common sense! My 30-378AI hardly kicks at all. It's in a stock McMillan A5 stock I hollowed out (except the wood in the palm-swell area), then filled it back up with Brownell's STEEL BED and 3 mercury recoil reducers. I was shooting for 15 lbs; I waaay over shot and hit 23 lbs unloaded. You can tell a fierce reaction is taking place when you light one of those roman candles off, but the felt recoil is minimal. I still have to hold it hard to get good groups, but that's no chore. I don't much care for recoil but I like the big boomers, so I either get smacked when I pull the trigger, or, add an insane amount of weight to the rifle.

Galldang, sounds like you got a 15# rock steady long range bone and meat punch. that cartridge is a truly amazing beast.

Got an old Bud with one that slings 240's waaaaaaaay out there.

Gunner

Double post, too much recoil w/o a helmet.

Some stock configurations seem to cause less jab to the face than others. Winchester SX3 has a nearly level comb and near zero pitch, similar to Browning Gold. It is light, but does not punish. A Browning XT Trap Special with adj comb and high rib also has a nearly level comb and very low bore axis, esp from the bottom barrel. It shoots softer than a few gas guns that I have tried.

I think that face slap from recoil gets annoying very quickly. It may be a factor in detached retina problems - I do not know.

Technique may help - one of the best shotgun shooters I ever saw used a light (~6.5lb) Browning Superposed with checkered butt. She was on Mexico's ISU skeet team, and shot the 3.5 DE 1-1/8oz boomers that were allowed back then. I noticed that she barely touched the comb to her cheek, but she could do that consistently. I did see her complain about a sore shoulder once - after ~7 quick practice rounds. Her picture (Nuria Ortiz) is in Brister's book on shotgunning in a chapter on two barreled guns. The gun in the pic looked like what she shot when I saw her. Nuria made ISU skeet look easy - AA class all the time I saw her shoot.

Have read that the degree of Myopia (nearsightedness) is more important than the cause (recoil in this case) in predicting retinal detachment. A study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that 55% of all Retinal Detachments are caused by Myopia. Being nearsighted myself, I stay away from the boomers. IMHO when it comes to the possibility of a Retinal Detachment, the less risk factors, the better.

"I think that face slap from recoil gets annoying very quickly. It may be a factor in detached retina problems - I do not know."

If you're experiencing this, you do not have a correct position or have an ill-fitting stock or both. Is your scope possibly too high?

Your cheek should be firmly on the rifle--no slap--and even help absorb a bit of the recoil.

I'm curious what you would use a 23 pound 30-378AI for.

I get the face slap from some shotguns. The SX3 and the XT Trap do not cause it - no chunk of wood positioned to hit the face. Lots of shots while target shooting reveals the problem soon enough. About any gun with a significant difference in drop from nose to heel can cause it. Taking recoil with the hands is possible, as hip shooters do. I recall once shooting at a target, and feeling little kick as my hands took it all. If I could learn to do that w/o it becoming a type of flinch it could be good.

I do not recall being bothered so much in rifle shooting. Fewer shots involved, and the rifles had much flatter combs than many shotguns.