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.

257 Bob or 300 savvy gets my vote..

A 7-08 can be loaded o feel like 243 when using 120s. It also has more ability with bigger game and heavier bullets.

The 270 can do the same thing and I'm guessing by the OPs username he probably has one.

However I tend to agree with saddlesores recommendation.

Shod

My advice for a low recoil, do it all rifle is the 25-06.

I had my right shoulder replaced 6 years ago and was very tender for a while afterwards.
I still need either low recoil or a good recoil pad.

My 25-06 model 70 featherweight shoots the hornady 100 and the 75 vmax to the same POI at 200.

Regarding deer-sized stuff out to 400yds, a medium-weight 260/6.5CM/257Bob would be my pick. Downloading a larger chambering would work on the recoil end but the trajectory would likely not be as flat. If you already have something like a 270win, there are some good 110gr offerings that could be loaded to 2,900fps to be a Roberts equivalent and still offer good trajectory.

If you just want to keep it simple, the 243win is a good killer for the man who can stick a bullet in the right spot every time. I prefer Partitions.

243 or 260 in a rifle like a vssf or sendero etc.

Brake your 270 and load up some of the 110's or pick up a 243 for 100/105's or 260Rem for 120-130's.

All of above will work to some degree or other.

Years ago, I Mag-Na-Ported my Ru77 .338WM, then tested it against an identical rifle not ported. Muzzle jump (part of perceived recoil) dropped by an estimated 75% (always wished I had a device to measure it accurately). Perceived recoil against the shoulder became more of a push. Actual foot lbs against the shoulder was probably not reduced, but feels like it. With a Decelerator 880 pad on it, and fully rigged weighing in over 9 lbs, it has less perceived recoil with 250 grain factory or handloads than a now-sold 7.5 lb M98 (also with a 880 Decelerator) pushing 180 gr. loads. There are softer, more squishy pads than the Decelerator. I'm told muzzle brakes become more effective the heavier the caliber/load. Haven't tested it myself.

If you really want to get'er done recoil-wise with a new rifle for stand-hunting out to 400 yard shots, I recommend a .260 flavor (or something either side), with heavy 24 or better yet, 26 inch barrel, Mag-Na-Port or brake it, with a really good pad, and you should be able to use full-charge loads with virtually no felt recoil.

I've a .260 with 22 inch light barrel, weighing in, fully rigged, at maybe 7.5 lbs - haven't weighed it. Recoil is moderate, even with that shorter, lighter bbl, a not -so-good- pad, and I've taken caribou out to near 400 yards with it, including an elk at 150, bang/flop. 140 gr. loads. It's a danged good cal, good for deer easily to 400 yards. If you know the distance and drop.... My rifle only likes 140's so I'm stuck, but a 120/130 premium would do you just fine, if they shoot well. I'm using plain janes, myself, no problem.

If factory ammo cost is a factor, be advised the stuff I find here in Alaska runs about $10 a box higher for .260/7mm-08 than it does for .243, 270, or '06.
Haven't checked prices on others in the range.

My current M98 in '06 has a 27 inch heavy barrel and likely weighs in near 9 lbs, quite barrel heavy, has a crap recoil pad, and recoils about the same using 150 gr loads as the .260 with 140. Those long, heavy barrels really cut down on the felt (and real) recoil, as well as perceived, in the form of muzzle jump. And getting the noise a bit farther away. My 17 inch bbled '06 has quite a bark!

Personally, I've never seen that much recoil difference between an '06 and a .270 in similar rifles and loads. My RU77V .25-06 wasn't much different, even with the 26 inch heavier V barrel on it, but then I was using hot 120 gr. loads and the original hard Ruger pad. That might be a good factory option for you using lighter premium loads, change the pad, muzzle brake it?, and a good trigger job or replacement if needed.

Actual recoil depends on mass/velocity out one end, vs mass of rifle going the other way. This can be adjusted by using lighter projectiles, less powder, and/or increasing the weight of the rifle.

Felt, or perceived recoil can be mitigated from actual by a nice soft pad, more forward balance point, muzzle braking, and excellent hearing protection.

As to the latter, I've found that for bench work , double hearing protections seems to result in less perceived recoil, within the same gun and loads (especially with the Stub!). YMMV.

Good luck on your quest and hunt.

.260 or 6.5x55 Swede.....................

I have a prairie gun that is in .260 with a weight of 14.5 lbs and a 30" barrel it recoils like a .223. Plus it is devastating on deer sized animals about as far as you can hit them......
P.s. I never under stood the need for a 7.5 lb gun in a stand. Unless you walk a few miles to get to the stand..... heck even my elk guns weigh at least 8 lbs.

Here is what Mule Deer has to say about brakes from another thread and I would trust his opinion a lot more than others on this forum.


"No, a Decelerator doesn't work like a brake for every kind of recoil problem people encounter. My wife has Decelerators (or another variety of soft pad) on every one of her hunting rifles, and they didn't help at all with the recoil headaches she started getting a few years ago.

By trial and error she found out more than about 15 foot-pounds of recoil resulted in the headaches, regardless of the recoil pad--or stock shape, or whatever other factor Campfire experts come up with then discussing recoil. She did fine when killing a cow elk this year with her .257 Roberts, but would like to be able to use her custom .308 Winchester (with a stock made to precisely fit her) for bigger game. We tried reduced loads with 130-grain TSX's, but by the time we got them going slow enough to prevent the headaches, there was no real point, since her .257 worked just as well.

So she's going to have a brake installed, and since she has probably 3 pairs of electronic muffs that will work I doubt she'll have any problem.

If the OP already has a .270, reduced recoil hand loads may be an option: 110gr 6.8mm Accubonds with bottom end load of Varget. Don't know that I would stretch it to 400yds. But this guy was taken at about 250 yards. Thru and Thru. DRT. Practice loads with SR4759 are easier yet on the shoulder.

Well, if you need to stay with a 270, you can load 85 grain Nosler ETips up over 3500. Kind of like a bigger 22-250.

The 243 will do more with less powder though.

There are a lot of good suggestions here but don't forget things like proper stock fit and a good recoil pad.

Thank you all for the replies. Rugers have always fit me extremely well. My .270 has been retired for a while now. I did pick up a Ruger 6.5 sweede & a Ruger 6mm rem. Im guessing this is a 6 one way 1/2 dozen the other when it comes to recoil on these 2 calibers? Would adding a brake help these 2 specific calibers? Maybe I would just add a stock recoil system to them instead of the brake? I shot the 6.5 a few years ago & really enjoyed shooting it & appreciated the recoil from it, It still needed some work since it grouped horrible (think a bad scope was mounted on it). I never shot the 6mm though so Im not sure how much difference is between them.

I had rotator cuff surgery and for the next 2 years I was very recoil conscious. The surgeon warned about exceeding 20 ft pound of recoil for tne next 3 years. I went with 243 win and Limbsaver recoil pad. No felt recoil with heavy hunting coat.I still have 243 and hunt with it regularly with self imposed shooting distance of 250 yds. I also hunt with light weight 7mm-08 and 270 win. They all have 1" thick Limbsaver recoil pads. I can now handle the recoil without good pad but shoot better with lower felt recoil.

BAR with a Decelerator and a brake, chambered in something between .243 and .308 will be a pussycat. Try it, you will like it, especially for a stand gun. The accuracy may surprise you.

jack

Orion hit it on the head if you have a .270 in the closet. You can use any of the 6.8 designed bullets and push them at mild speeds and still get expansion. I played with the 95 TTSX at 2700 fps for my kids and would have no problem pointing it at deer to 300 yards.

There are not many out there to be found, but a bolt gun in AR or AK chamberings like a 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 300 Blackout or 7.62x39 would do the job and have very little felt recoil. I would love to have a 6.5 Grendel in a short compact bolt gun.

All good advice.

The only ting I'll add, (& everybody knows this already), when hunting from a ground blind or enclosed stand, make sure your barrel &/or brake, are well outside the confines of the tent !!

I had double should surgery (as in on both shoulders) and settled on a 7-08 as my "big" gun shooting 120 BTs, and a 243 shooting 85 TSX as my little gun.

Both, BTW jack slap deer.

I shoot a 257 AI for Deer and Elk no problems use the 120 Noselers.

It will kill anything you point it at. I had it built on a Ruger tang safety and it is by far my favorite gun.

It has very little recoil.

.257 Roberts with 100 grain slugs

7mm-08 with a muzzle brake and a good pad. Very little recoil and plenty of power for deer, hogs or black bears using Barnes or Nosler 140 grain bullets.