Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Braked Rifle Recoil Reduction

I'm not very recoil sensitive but the wife surprised me wth some custom work including a brake on a Ruger 77 in 7mm RM - it kicked way less and shot more accurately. I shoot stiff loads of 300 Weatherby under an inch so it was just flat improvement in performance. It went from good hunting accuracy to 3 shots covered by a dime on several occasions. My son in law had the same work done and added a mercury recoil reducer in the stock his 7 kicks like a 223 and shoots tiny groups.

But you don't have to choose- get a Browning semi- auto with the boss system and tune your loads and get maximum reduction in recoil. Something in the 30-06 or 7 mag range will be a breeze to shoot a 7mm-08 will be a cream puff for recoil.

I'd definitely consider a 260 or 6.5 Creed in your position. Very light recoil. Few animals are taken beyond 300 yards anyway, but a 140 gr. out of a 6.5 at 2600-2800 will kill effectively well beyond that if need be.

I've used my .260 ( a Rem 725 with a lightweight 700TI stainless barrel on it -total weight with scope and sling is maybe 7 1/2 lbs - haven't weighed it) to take several caribou to 300, an elk at 150, and a wolf at 40, no problem. I'm hoping to whack a moose (almost always inside 100) with it one day. Accuracy is more than acceptable - sub 3" groups at 300. Factory Corelokts.

The elk I shot was taken with a one-hand hold, with my left arm braced between two birches for a rest. No scope-eye and no noticeable recoil. But then I seldom remember any recoil when shooting at game anyway. At any rate, whatever recoil there was did not interfere with seeing that elk go ass over teakettle in the snow.....

There is no question that a brake can make a rifle easier to control and some of the rifles on which I have installed brakes were for people with physical challenges .On a personal note, time and effort will make a huge difference in the function of your hand. In 1975, I suffered an injury to my right hand wherein virtually every bone was broken or crushed, fingers were severed, and I lost roughly 60% of the soft tissue in my hand. I too had pins, skin grafts, and bone grafts and ended up with a largely inert claw. It was close to a year before I was done with surgeries. I had to start shooting left-handed since only my thumb had any real function. Three years later I had gained enough use that I was able to start gunsmithing professionally and shooting competitively. I began motocross racing, returned to playing basketball recreationally, and even started boxing again (though I couldn't throw a right hand with much conviction without suffering considerable discomfort and had to be pretty creative with the tape and needed help to get a glove on). Today, arthritus is beginning to make both hands the same and my busted up right hand is often overlooked until I have to shake hands. I still shoot left-handed and do OK. I paddle canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards. I can't clap my hands and can't shuffle a deck of cards worth a damn but I can do most everything I want to do. Not usually much worth clapping for anyway!
I think you should have kept some of those pump guns just for the therapeutic benefits of trying to operate them. Good luck and stick with it. GD