Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Recoil survey

Wow. When I clicked on this thread I said to myself, "self, I wonder how many tough guys are going to be posting what a bunch of wussies everybody else is". What a pleasant surprise to see this thread, so far, filled with reasoned and rational analysis.

For myself, even though I THINK I handle heavy recoilers well, I do KNOW that the harder it recoils the less consistent I am and the less rounds I can fire comfortably. The older I get, the less recoil I like. Maybe that is wisdom, maybe it is experience and maybe it is wussitude. I don't know. As propellants and bullet construction improve, I THINK, "less is more", to a certain extent, is true. How much less is up to the individual.

Sure, everyone shoots lighter recoiling rifles better and more consistently. On the other hand, who is counting? In how many situations are you ever going to shoot more than three shots? Most of the time, you don’t shoot more than that or much more than that in a whole season. Can I shoot a rifle well enough to put ONE round in the vital zone at a range in which I will be shooting? If so, all that talk about consistency and all that is just talk.

But for all that, a 30-06 recoils lightly enough for me as to be boringly consistent.

The other angle here is that you don't need 100 percent of your 30-06's potential for most hunting situations. For example I shoot a 150 grain bullet at 2600fps and it will do almost anything I would ever need.

For those of you who get headaches or concussion type pain try a mouth guard. The kind football players might use. You boil in water and fit it to your mouth. When I was shooting from the bench alot for a job it was one of the first things I got and it helps a bunch.

Heck, I bet your 6.5 x 300 would rather have you shoot your 243 or 257 Roberts also....

Spend a day each year patterning and sighting in a 12 gauge with a variety of three and a half inch magnum turkey loads and you will lose all fear of any rifle cartridge that isn't suitable to stop a Cape Buffalo charge. The most powerful rifle cartridge that I have personally fired is a 375 H&H magnum. It was a joy to shoot in comparison. I own a 30-06, 7mm mag and 45-70. I have never had any recoil induced problems with shooting any of them.

A 378 Bee without a brake is my upper limit.

Very disciplined style is required from me here.

For me, the rifle configuration makes a difference. In bolt sporters, the 30-06 is the limit. I tried a 35 Whelen, a cartridge I'd no need for but the craving that arose from its commerical marketing in the 1980s. Finally in 2009 I got one in a Ruger. It was more than I needed at the shoulder.

The 30-06 is more than I enjoy in a bolt gun, but I have no problems with an afternoon of .308 in a FAL or G3. The M14 is unpleasant to me and has me flinching. I cannot explain it.

For hunting and general fun in centerfire, .257 Roberts always wins.

for years i have read that the recoil from a 30-06 is at the top of what most men can tolerate. seems about right to me. i don't know anyone who likes recoil. the worst kicker i've owned was a rem 700 in 300 rum. the thing was a beast. couldn't sell it fast enough. i've got a 300 win mag but will only use it for nilgai. as soon as that hunt ends that rifle goes back into the safe. the 308win is my huckleberry. ymmv.

I don't enjoy anything more than 30/06, 270 WSM, etc. More than that just requires more concentration.

I'm 31 and about 150 pounds, I have shot a pile of .308 with and without a brake. Needless to say I try to kill everything with a .223 Rem. I am very recoil sensitive... call me a weenie if you like. I'm all about patients and shot placement in my hunting situations. *disclaimer* largest animal I harvest is a Whitetail.

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I also own a couple Magnum rifles and several long actions as well. If I'm feeling lazy I will switch to my 25-06.

With the right fitting rifle up to 500N double. But really anything above about 30-06 and you start holding correctly every time 😎

Worst cartridges I ever shot were when the gun or rifle didn’t fit, no matter the cartridge down to and including the 243.

I’ll take a big push over a sharp kick any day. Things like 45/70 modest loads and 375 h&h factory loads seem to be a big push to me rather than the sharp kick of a say 7mag. Also stock design factors in, you have to find what fits you best. Melvin Forbes stock design fits me great and I can shoot 30-06 in it with zero problems however I had a Remington Ti take off stock put on a regular 700 in 30-06 and that stock hurt me to shoot.

I have an older savage 110 in 30-06 that with 165 grain bullets at 2850 fps was too much. But a 358 Win with 200 grain bullets at 2400 is almost the same recoil by the numbers, but has a good pad on it, and is much more pleasant to shoot. I also had a 1895 SBL in 45-70 for a while. A 420 grain cast lead slug at 1550 fps will recoil about as much as I can handle without flinching. By the numbers, it recoils quite a bit more than the 06, but I can handle that easier.

Stock fit is key. I had a 9 1/4 lb 30-06 that was no joy to shoot. I had another 30-06 built for me with a fitted stock that weighs just over 7 lb. With the same 180gr load at about 2800fps, the 7lb rifle has significantly less felt recoil (it also has a better recoil pad). I also have a 375H&H with the identical stock dimensions that I can reel off 20 rounds off the bench without any problems and I'm no masochist.

After owning a couple of John Rigby's and shooting and handling Westley Richards and other British game rifles as well as having many years on the biggest Weatherby's, I can state that Blacktailers' suggestion of "Stock fit is key" is of far greater importance and relevance that can be stated in words.

There is no factor more overlooked in rifles where "factory" is considered inadequate and aftermarket stocks picked on maker, model and color.

Rifle stocks are not fashion statements!

I urge going into a large gun shop and shouldering as many rifles as possible and an really paying attention to comfort, sight alignment, balance, thumb from face, cantering comfort, and especially the shape and length of the pistol grip which is never spoken of by the experts and is a huge influence on stock handling comfort.

I have a CZ 550 FS in 9.3x62 that I found is one of the most accurate guns I own. I have a lights weight Ruger American in 30-06 that kicks like a mule but it has a great trigger and is the most accurate gun I own.I found as I got older I gravitated to bigger calibers and heavier weight bullets. Guess I am just a contrarian. My son says Dad why do you shoot those cannons? I just like them. That and I don't like tracking critters and bigger bullets lead to shorter recoveries. I am considering a Shilo Sharpes in 50-110 next. Gotta save my pennies.

I’m not sure. I have a 300 WSM that is fine, but it has a good stock with a soft pad. I had a 7 R.M. when I was younger that was awful, but that could have been stock design or my inexperience. I’m not afraid of using a PAST shoulder pad though, and I agree with others who said the stock slapping their cheek is worse than hitting their shoulder.

30-06 level is my comfort max.

I started out deer hunting as a skinny azz 14 year old kid, shooting my daddy's Remington 760 pump in 30-06, using 180 grain bullets. No ear protection, and the rifle had no recoil pad. My ears would ring for a week, and my shoulder would feel like it had been hit with a concrete block. As a result, I became very sensitive to recoil. Over the years I've figured out that I don't need to use guns with a lot of recoil to hunt with here where I am.


For years I deer hunted with a 270, and though the recoil was certainly manageable, I'd begin to notice it after 10 rounds or so. But, I shot that rifle good enough to kill a truckload or two of whitetails, so in the field recoil was no factor. Same thing with shotguns, using the 3 and 3 1/2 inch turkey loads. Some guns were absolutely brutal to shoot while patterning a load, much more so than any rifle I've ever shot. However, when hunting with those shotguns, recoil was never felt.

Anyway, over the years I've learned that I do not need guns that kick the snot of me in order to kill a deer or a turkey. I deer hunt these days with a 6.5 Creedmoor and a 243. Either will kill a deer as far as I am comfortable shooting. I hunt turkeys using a 20 gauge, and have found that it's more about the pattern and the shells, than the gauge of the gun. Now, if I was hunting bigger game, or lived in a place where getting eaten by a large critter was a possibility, I would most certainly want to use a larger caliber rifle, and would consider the extra recoil as an insurance policy.