Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Need Advice , Low recoiling Rifle

Well I got to get some surgery done and will be in need of low/soft recoiling rifles. I would still like to hunt whitetail deer out to max 400 yds but most likely 300 & under. Also would like to hunt Black Bear. Im looking for opinions on what caliber & mods (Muzzle breaks etc..?)you would do to help with recoil. Thanks.

How heavy do you want the rifle to be?

WT300,lite recoil=243win or 257Bob, 260Rem :-)

Would still like it to be portable but I mostly stand/blind hunt.

How about a CZ-550 in 6.5 Swede? Would do everything you mentioned with a minimum amount of fuss and comes with a good pad.

Getting ready for deer season, so I checked the sights on my Tikka 260. Not much of a kick. Got the Sako lightweight Hunter out, a 270, and checked the sights on it. I hate to sound like a sissy, but the kick was way more than the 260. The 260 really is easy on the shoulder.

.25/06 with 100g bullets aint bad on recoil.

7x57

get a suppressor. hearing safe AND kills felt recoil.

243.

243

I had eye surgery and I was leery of recoil so I hunted with my 25WSSM. Same ballistics as a 25 06.

[quote=Ruger270man
Would still like it to be portable but I mostly stand/blind hunt. [/quote]

Since you say stand/blind hunting. Look at muzzle brakes where you could be wearing plugs and/or muffs at your blind. I went thru this same dilemma this year because of a badly torn up shoulder that can't be fixed. I caught a lot of grief on this sight for putting a brake on my .06. Now it recoils less than my 6.5 swede when I am shooting 180 grain bullets and I am still hunting with the rifle I like. A brake would cut your .270 down to .243 levels,maybe tad more.

There are some electronic muffs on the market that enhance the sounds around you, but cut out some of the brakes noise. Not all, but enough to help and will work for those one or two shots in your blind or stand.

Smokepole gave some sound advice. You only have to make yourself happy with what rifle you chose.

If you want to buy another rifle or rifles, then by all means do so. However, you can make what you have work with a brake or a suppressor, although I have no experience with suppressors. Others on here have offered some advice about them.

When we have disabilities ,we have to make compromises.

A friend had rotator cuff issues and I found a savage 110 in 250 savage. He bought it and is very happy. No pain issues at all.

Adding another $.02�

Find a rifle that fits you really well, then see what chamberings it's available in.

.260, Swede, 7-08 or 7x57 (with 120's), .308 (with 125's or 130's) would all be plenty. You could shoot the Managed Recoil stuff out of the 7-08 & .308. There are dozens of other good choices, too, like 250-3000 Savage, or .300 Savage, if you find an older rifle you like.

I'm not sure what your recoil tolerance will be like after the surgery, but none of the above are very hard on a normal shoulder. You could also go with .243, 6mm, or .223 (if allowed where you hunt), but I personally feel like I get more killing power without much more recoil when using the other cartridges.

My personal preferences for managing recoil would be (in order):

1) Good fitting rifle, good pad, 8 to 8.5#, chambered as discussed above
2) PAST pad and/or thick clothing while shooting
3) Mercury recoil reducer installed in stock
4) Give up shooting
5) Muzzle break

Just my thoughts.

FC

243, use good bullets, don't look back.

I agree with FC.

+1, or a 6mm if you want to be slightly esoteric.

I have a heavy barreled savage in 6BR with a muzzle brake that I use for prairie dogs, the brake is so I can watch the hits. It kicks virtually none. Last year a buddy went through a bad medical hitch and couldn't use his normal rifle, my plan was to load some 80 gr barnes TTSX for him. Turns out he didn't get to come so I didn't get to try it, but I feel sure it would have worked great and been the answer to the problem. I'm sure I could have easily got over 3000 fps out of the 80 grainer in the 6br and I know it would have done a number on any deer that walks, plus no recoil.

Nothing takes the recoil out like a good muzzle brake. As soon as you mention them on here you get the grumpy ol' men coming out of the woodwork howling about them but most have probably never shot a rifle with one. I don't hunt deer with one but if I needed one for medical reasons I'd wouldn't hesitate to put one on my rifle and get a set of good muffs. Suppressors work great too but due to our idiotic laws they're expensive and hard to come by.

.257 Roberts and 6.5 Swede would both be excellent. Some of the first rifles my boys ever shot and recoil was negligible but still carry the goods plenty far.