Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only How "big and strong" must one be to handle the recoil of a true Big Bore?

It's not your size. Some of that actually works against you. If you are heavy, "jabby" rifles come through you before they can move you out of the way where they just push a lighter person back with less "hurt." Some is good form. Some is something intangible ... something we're born with some of and maybe can train a bit more of, but ultimately we're a bit the "victim" of our genetics. Where big helps, if you are strong, too, is lugging some heavy SOB rifle around all day, not shooting it.

I'm 5'9", 200 pounds. Recoil bugs me. I CAN shoot big stuff but it hurts some. From a bench I do .. well, I'm very functional. I can technique it well enough my flinch simply does not matter. I put 80 rounds though my .375 in about 2 hours a couple weeks ago and was shooting sub MOA groups, some closing in on half MOA .. but it was from a bench with a good rest, one that overcomes my flinch. If I were to shoot it offhand ... you'd laugh your ass off at me. I do! I flinch shooting offhand with a .22. No matter, I learn how to cheat recoil, to get the results I want in spite of it ... that's part of the game for me.

Tom

I do not know if there is a set of physical characteristics that determines ability to take heavy recoil.

I know my personal limit lies below 416 Rigby levels.

I can shoot my 375 with 300gr bullets all day.
404Jeffery up to about 60 rounds.
When I had different Rigby's, less than 10 rounds.

I am looking forward to playing with a 416 Remington and 350gr TSX's.

QUOTE: It's not your size. Some of that actually works against you. If you are heavy, "jabby" rifles come through you before they can move you out of the way where they just push a lighter person back with less "hurt."


I’ve been saying this for years! Many may argue the premise, but, my thoughts are a heavy person must absorb more recoil before they begin to move with the recoil. A smaller, lighter person will “roll with the punch” quicker, thus absorbing less recoil. I also think that muscle tone can help with the shooter’s ability to handle recoil better. memtb

"Roll with the punch" .. thanks, that's the phrase / image I was looking for but couldn't think of. Sort of "ride the recoil" instead of "getting slammed by the recoil".

Connie Brooks used a 500 Nitro in Africa and she weighed 110 pounds

Non issue with most factory 45-70 ammo carrying 405 grainers that end to end near all North American game at 22 LR velocities. Hop it up to 17 or 18 hundred fps and it can dish out a little punishment. Just admit that one will get a bit of a kick and concentrate solely on technique as I've never really been injured.

I believe the technique has much to do with handling recoil. And the mental aspect / state.
I have shot rifles that hurt. I don’t like to shoot rifles that hurt. I either figure out a technique to prevent the hurt, or modify or get rid of the rifle. Modifying length of pull usually helps me.
The noise is as big of factor in my shooting. I wear double hearing protection normally. The muzzle blast is another distraction that I try to mentally overcome. I have a few 20” and under barrels.
The recoil pounding, I try and accept that it is not going to really hurt. This goes back to the hurt part. Scope cuts / bruising from the scope, something will be changed. This also applies to being punched on the face by the stock, or driving the thumb on the grip hand into the nose.
I have some memories of rather light recoiling rifle/cartridges actually hurting and spilling a bit of my blood. Fit and Bad technique were the reasons.
I have a 458 Lott with scope that weighs 9# 10 ounces. It is a bit lively with full power 500 grain loads. I would hesitate to shoot it in some positions that I would shoot my 416 Ruger and/or 416 Remington with 350-400 grain loads.
I believe that the mental and technique go hand in hand.
There is no myth to a bloody eyebrow/nose or bruised cheek. And I have seen this on smaller and bigger guys.

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A Light 12 gauge pump shotgun shooting 3" heavy payload shells kicks harder than most big kicker rifles. You shoot the shotgun multiple times on a duck hu nt and people don't think about it. A kicker rifle you shoot once or twice at game. Just concentrate on proper mechanics and following through with the shot at game. You probably won't notice the recoil shooting at game unless the scope bleeds you.

I'm not so sure there is any single 'one fits all' formula. Surely mental conditioning/preparedness important. How achieved, differing! I own but don't enjoy shooting some heavy recoiling guns. Yet personal weapons, at least more opportunity to affect ergonomics than 'in the business' duty guns. Short stocks for me, far more punishing even in twelve buck/sabots than heavier bruisers! Newton controls, but mitigation, as suggested in this Thread, quite possible.
Just a quick interjection take!
Best & Keep Safe
John

I have noticed that most shooters when introducing new shooters all seem to tell them to pull the rifle in "tight" to the shoulder...I have also noticed that it tends to rattle their teeth when they do so.


Not sure if it is malicious or simply uninformed.


For myself I rest the rifle against my shoulder and move with it rather than stand solid.

Recoil tolerence varies from person to person regardless of size. I worked up to where I can shoot double NE in .470, .450#2 without much notice. Some things I have learned are:

- the fit of the gun is important!

- you can work up to the big ones. Anyone going straight from a .243 to .458 is in for a surprise!

- if you get hammered once and develop an flinch, it is very tough to overcome it.

- do not shoot heavy recoiling rifles froms a seated position at the bench. Stand up!


I was working up loads on my .450 #2 double from the bench, seated. 110 Grains of H4831 and 500 grainWoodleighs. I got a double discharged. Ouch! Didn't knock me over, but Rocked my world. Happened twice in a row before I found the barrel selector switch had been changed. That solved the discharge issue, but left me with a flinch. It took a year of practicing with only a .22 lr to get over it. I have no effects from it in the field any more, but occasionally at the bench, I'll flinch. The memory lingers.

Interesting thread. That 700 NE video is a hoot — take a Mike Tyson right for what? $8-10 a pop?

Never did have had a double rifle bigger than a 9.2X74 and 458 Lott in a bolt gun which wasn’t as bad as I anticipated though never shot it from a sitting position.

Of all the guns, the most obnoxious in my experience was an H&R single shot 12 with a 3 1/2” turkey load. I bought it years ago for a “starter” turkey gun for a non-shooter SIL. I had to try one of the Havana-sized shotshells.

I could have made a better choice. I did warn him.

recoil i have a 458 lott and that recoil is not that bad ,but my Savage 20 gauge bolt rifle shooting 3 inch slugs is down right nasty. so i always say let the young and foolish sight in the rifles with the heavy recoil .

I have shot everything up to 460 Weatherby and have handled it all OK. BUT I am north of 50 now and am finding that I am not liking recoil as much as I once did. The hardest kicking rifle I ever did shoot was a 338 mag. I don't know if it was stock design or what but that sucker literally hurt when it went off. It was like getting hit with a baseball bat sharp and fast.

Might as well add my 2 cents:

The rifle that hurt me the most was a Ruger 77 red pad in 7mm RM. That stock just was not right for me. It hurt my face - slapping it hard. After restocking the rifle, it was a pussy cat.

My 416 Rigby doesn't hurt, not my ultra light 45-70 with hot loads nor my 350 RM 600 with heavy loads, and so it is with my 375 H&H AI with heavy loads in a pre-64 70.

The worst kick I've ever endured was a double barrel 12 gauge with 3 " magnum 2 oz loads and both barrels going off at the same time. That shotgun had a hard butt plate - ouch!

So, like many before me wrote, the stock fit is very very important! I have bursitis in my shoulders and I appreciate soft recoil pads and the heavy kickers have soft recoil pads.

I have a sit down bench and I have a stand up bench at my range. I have shot all the above rifles sitting down. Now that I'm in my seventies I built that stand up bench and have noticed that I much prefer standing up to shoot my heavy kickers. (Even if it doesn't make the list the others have given above.)

I have shot more .460 Weatherby loads that most people and learned several things while doing it.

1. Rifle weight must be adequate and the rifle balanced with the cartridge size to assist mitigation
2. Length of Pull is a much greater factor that most would think and I learned through owning both a .Mark V .460 and John Rigby .275 that 14 inches is perfect for my build.
3. A Monte Carlo stock design is a tremendous help when you have developed muscles between the shoulder and neck which is commonly called sloping shoulders. (Spent a ridiculous amount of time on the net trying to identify this muscle name and it was impossible. Everything I did not want to know was repeated over and over)
4. The above stock design enhances recoil in magnum cartridges and needs a brake with the best being top and side ports and not full circumference breaks. I favor Magnaporting and have even tried custom versions with 3 ports per side up to recoil levels of the .416 Weatherby Magnum. Cartridges under .30 cal are fine without porting - at least for me.
5. Eye relief is a major factor in your scope choice because after you draw your own blood, the fun stops.
6. Always, (develop the habit fast) always hold the stock fore-end firmly, even when shooting from the bench. The rifle is never heavy enough to let rest on the bags.
7. Learn your recoil tolerance. Use light to medium weight bullets for caliber and moderate loads and learn to like your rifle rather than staring out trying to conquer it.
8. Use the big rifle for snap shooting, bunnies are a great teacher to learn and speed reaction times and handling because their fast break from cover distracts your attention which is perfect.
9. When shooting from a bench, focus your concentration on the point of aim. If you are thinking about getting belted you will shoot poorly. Shoot less at teh bench than in the field.
10. Use the big rifle for eradication work. Shoot it more than any other rifle and increase loads or more more towards the bullet you really want to standardize on gradually.

I will be hunting whitetail with a .458 Model 70 this year. I know the cartridge and load will be adequate so my attention will be on the animal and whether I really want to take it. It is more likely that I will watch and enjoy unless he is like me in human years.