Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Need a lighter kicking gun than my .30-06 - opinions?

280 Remington
280 Remington
280 Remington

25-06 or 260, I've got both and love em

Dave

I've shot 2 bucks with my 700 BDL in .270 Win and I don't think it beats you up too bad with factory loads. Plus its damn accurate. I'm not a very big guy, and the recoil is plenty manageable for me, especially now that I put a synthetic stock on it with a nice recoil pad. I'd say the kick is less than the 30-06 because I own several of them ('03, M1917, M-1, Rem 760 - the last being a real shoulder breaker!), although I just whipped up some hotter hand loads that kick pretty hard. The rifle itself has a lot to do with recoil. My 99F Savage is a .243 and it hits you pretty hard because its not very heavy. So does my 30-30 (94AE Winchester), and that's not a hot round by any means, but its a very light gun. So I'd say look for something a little heavier with a nice recoil pad in a moderate caliber and it should work out well. One other thought, I have been reading about the new 6.8 SPC cartridge and it sounds like it might be a decent deer round at moderate ranges. Not sure if anybody is chambering any sporting rifles in that caliber yet, but its worth looking in to.

+1
I bought a Savage 243 a couple of years ago. This gun shoots great(about 1/2 MOA with Federal 75gr. BTs), has worked fine on deer out to about 350 yds. with a 95 gr. Fusion bullet, and kicks about 1/2 of what my 06' does with a 165-180 bullet. It's also about a pound and one half lighter. A great deer gun!

2Seventy

7-08 or 270 is the way to go if your still deer hunting.

I had the same problem and sold my 06.. got a 358 which I can load high or low... but for low recoild the 7-08 is probably the lightest I'd recommend.

Spot

The original post indicated a shortage of funds. There's no need to spend the money on a new rifle when there are so many ways to reduce recoil in a 30-06. Posters have suggested a Past shoulder pad, Pachmyer and Limbsaver butt pads, and reduced loads. I agree with all of them. All of these items will work and greatly help reduce recoil.

Dick

Three things come to mind, lighter bullets and lighter loads will be much easier than full throttle 165s.

Going to different mid-caliber may get you nothing since rifles like the 260, 7mm-08 can kick as bad or worse than an ordinary '06 due to the fact that they are often built light and sometimes have stocks which don't soak up anything.

A take-off barrel might be one of the smartest ways to get yourself a lighter recoiling rifle. Getting a standard take-off stock would also increase your chances of finding more calibers that would fit. If you find a 'smith who has some extra barrels rather than bringing an eBay barrel to him, he may just do the unscrew/rescrew deal pretty cheap.

If a small budget is THEE deciding criteria, someone ealier suggested looking at the Remington Reduced Recoil loadings.

I haven't shot any of those in the .30/06, but I do know in the 12gagg they're definely worth looking at and testing. I liked what I found.

Writer Ken Waters (of Pet Loads 'fame') had a load he called his "30-30-06!." Plus Hodgdon lists on its site several reduced or youth loads in many popular rounds.

Similar experience with the 30-06 in fwts, they bang me around! I've moved to a 25-06 and just picked up a 270 (had a few and love them). That 25-06 is very easy on the shoulder and I expect it to be deadly on big mule deer we have out here.

In an all up 8 pound rifle scope combo, the load I listed for you at 46 gr of IMR3031 and the 150 Partition give 16 pounds of recoil energy at 11.36 ft/sec recoil velocity. For comparison purposes, a 7-08 with a 140 gr bullet at 2800 fps in a 7.5 pound rifle all up gives 14.7 pounds of recoil energy at 11.23 ft/drc recoil velocity. Check out some of the faster burning powders like 3031 with a medium weight bullet in that '06. It may surprise you a bunch how smooth they are. My 120 pound daughter and 130 pound wife shoot them easily.

For what it's worth - if I were you - and had a 30-06 I loved, and couldn't handle the recoil anymore, I'd load it with a downloaded light bullet that shot well.

If you used either the 130 grain downloaded Barnes TSX, you'd still get all of the penetration you could ever want - and be able to continue to shoot your favorite rifle.

It's amazing the recoil reduction one can get with small loads of fast burning powders and light bullets. You'll still have flat trajectory too.

A load of between 43 and 47 grains of a fast burning (and reliable igniting) powder like H or IMR 4895 will give you velocities between about 2600 and 2800 fps and will recoil in a way that might amaze you.

Look up the reduced loads on the powder manufacturer's web sites and go from there, for the loads to get started on.

Such loads will recoil LESS than factory 243 loads - and make a bigger hole to boot.

You can have your cake and eat it too.

260..260..260..260. Enough said.

Doc

I should have added - get a CALDWELL "LEAD-SLED" for all bench work with ALL of your rifles.

I CAN shoot well off of a bench - with all rounds I own (up to some lightweight 30-06's and 7mmSTW's and 300Weatherby's) using stiff loads over heavy bullets - but I CHOOSE not to.

Once you've had the pleasure of using such a rest - you won't want to go back to letting your shoulder take any abuse any longer.

I even use mine for sighting in my .17HMR.

Obviously not for recoil reduction - but because it's a nice rest to shoot off of.

Buy one of these:

Shooters Friend Recoil pad



They are simply the best recoil pad on the market, IMHO, and will tame the 30-06 down to where you will hardly notice it.

Big? yes. Ugly? Heck yes!!! Effective and under $20? Double dog heck yes!!!!!!

See my "Neat pictures..." post - under "Ask the Gunwriters" showing how a 130 gr. TSX does when fired out of a thirty caliber.

How about a 257 Roberts? A 100-grain bullet at 2900 fps or so would work on deer out as far as I'd be interested in shooting it, while still giving you the possibility of heavier-than-243-bullets if you want them. This has been the traditional recoil-reduction answer for 70 years or so, and the round's just got better with +P cases available. Ruger makes one in Hawkeye that is close to the same controls you have on your M70. Keep them both for a short time while you try out the Ruger, and then sell the one that needs to go.

Jaywalker

Consider the .260 Remington. I have one in a Sako 75 Finnlight that I love. You mention deer hunting, but if elk are possibility, you may want something heavier like a 7-08. I have a Remington 788 with an 18.5 inch barrel that is a very reasonable rifle recoil-wise. I also do not like 30-06 recoil and .260 and 7-08 are more than comfortable.

7-08 is to 7X57 as the 260 is to the 6.5X55.

Tons of old timers in Sweden, Norway and Alaska are shooting moose with the 140 grain 6.5 bullet, and taking home meat every year.

I'm a gun nut, but there is no real difference in the 7-08 and the 6.5-08/260 Remington on the hitting end, that I've seen.

the managed recoil loads are the answer, I think. You can buy a case of them for less than a new rifle.

If you reload, just load from the slow end of the book, and use a 150 grain cup and core bullet.

I went against my own advice. Although I crave a .260 and I am wearying of the recoil of my .300WSM I ordered a box of Barnes TSX 130s the other day -- I live in a small town and you simply cannot buy anything besides Sierra, Speer, and Nosler off the shelf. Before I part ways with the .300WSM (beautiful rifle, a BLR in brushed stainless and grey laminate) I will try these 130s. Advice welcome.

You MIGHT think about a muzzel brake & a decellerator or one of the other "priemium" pads...The combo will work wonders...