Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Recoil question for new bolt gun owner

The Christensen Mesa has a muzzle brake from the factory. I wouldn't worry about recoil much but if your hunting style allows time to put in plugs or muffs before you take a shot I'd recommend doing so.

If Inunderstand your situation, I'd opine a few things.

First, the Mesa rifle has more than a few fans. I'd not sweat alot till you get to shoot it.

Second, I'm not a fan of brakes in any form. They have their place but I'm not sure it's for this application (r.e. elk hunt).

Third, I'd strongly consider a lesser cartridge. Recoil is a personal thing but I've seen good shooters develop a flinch with 300 magnums. I gave up on raw horsepower a while back.

Fourth, you don't need a 300 magnum to kill an elk. A 308 will work fine. Given a choice, I'd opt for a 270, 280 AI, 30-06, 6.5 PRC, etc. Shoot a good constructed bullet, practice with your rifle a bunch, and go kill an elk. The last handful of elk I've shot have been with 308 and 270. I've shot them with 300 SAUM, 300 WSM and they didn't travel any less than those perforated with the lowly 308 or 270.

I fully understand I made several errors in my preparation.

This is the rifle I got so I’m stuck unless I can sell it, which I think I’ll have time to do if necessary.

I went with a magnum caliber simply because I hoped the more powerful round would give me a fudge factor if my shot placement wasn’t 100% perfect. And hindsight being what it is… I realize that the potential recoil on my technique and training will likely make that at best a wash, or worst case degrade potential shot placement even more

My plan going forward… is to do sight in standing with a tripod rest. I’m looking at the primos trigger stick to avoid negatives from shooting prone/from a bench.

The reviews I’ve seen on the Christensen 300s is that at least for shooting in the field, the brake and butt pad are excellent at reducing recoil to manageable levels so I’m hoping that range sessions of 3-10 rounds will let me build up my comfort with the rifle as is and then I’ll start practicing without the brake.

I fully realize I made poor decisions with my caliber selection and I appreciate everyone helping me make the best of the situation I’ve found myself. It says a lot about this community compared to others I’ve been a part of in the past

Don't underrate yourself or your rifle. And don't be tentative with it either. Just when sighting in, if from a bench, or shooting stix, don't shoot a lot at one time. Shoot a couple, take a break. Why I bring a .22 with when I working on a heavy hitter. With the .22, I can still practice breathing and trigger control. Give yourself a chance! Shoot something smaller while the hunting rifle cools off. Looking forward to your range report.

It sounds as if you have surrendered …..before the battle!

You can very likely overcome your issues with perceived recoil!

You will not be able to shoot legitimate, informative groups by using a tripod while standing! Try using a lead shot bag between the rifle butt and your shoulder….to largely mitigate felt recoil!

Or, hand-load the cartridge at a reduced load or have some one load for you……until you become comfortable with the rifle/cartridge!


There are many things you can do……before “throwing-in the towel”! memtb

Exactly, and shooting a big magnum takes a lot of practice to get used to. I damn sure would not be taking any long shots with it, if I were the OP. He sounds pretty insecure about the whole thing. Sounds counter intuitive, doesn't it? You buy a big magnum for the power and reaching way the f out there, right? How many guys actually shoot their magnums way out there in practice? Those that do, know what I'm talking about. Sounds like the OP needs something quite a bit more manageable, something that he can take out and comfortably practice with, and then have confidence when he's on the hunt. No confidence= failure most times.

Like others have posted, you don't need a magnum rifle to kill an elk. I killed my first 10 or so elk with a .30-06, made a one shot, DRT kill on one of my best 6x6 bulls with a 117 gr Sierra GameKing bullet from my .257 AI, and even killed a bull with a sharp pointed stick. My favorite elk rifle now is my .300 Weatherby.

I also put a KDF brake on my .300 Wby and on my .375 RUM, along with in-stock recoil reducers. Both of these rifles are now comfortable to shoot from any position, including prone, either at the range or hunting. I have hunted with both of these rifles on a number of world hunts, and the only thing that a guide said about either of them was if he could have it if anything happened to me.

The only time I've even seen a Christensen Arms Mesa rifle was one time at the range where a guy's wife had one and was very happy banging the 430 yard steel gong with it.

Use the brake for practice. And screw it off when you hunt. You will never know the difference when shooting at game. My .45=70 kicks much harder than any of my .300s. The world is full of wimps.

I quit on magnums years ago. I simply don't care for the recoil of them. I shot them when I had them enough to get used to them but never really enoyed the shooting part. Number of years ago I got a 6.5x06 and with 140gr Hornadys took three elk with three shots. I also have a 6.5x55 and aam quite certain it would do the same thing with the 140gr bullet's. It is about bullet placement AND selecting a bullet that stays together enough to penetrate to the vital on the spot you aim at. Spot you aim at is a catch, you can't hit it worrying about recoil, good chance the bullet you use will not do the job. That is not bullet failure, it's shooter failure! I shoot all cup and core bullet's, I do not use match bullet's on game. I use heavy mid weight to heavy bullet's. The heavier bullet's help keep velocity down to keep the bullet together on impact and during penetration.

I notice a lot of people using much lighter weight monolithic bullet's and I think there's a reason for that. Mono bullet's get more velocity and maintain weight much better. Two thing's penetrate, velocity and weight! But if you were to check I believe most game is killed much closer than we think. And with that if you take a behind the shoulder shot on pretty much anything, the bullet is normally going out the other side, hard to play that down. Thay means everything in is path get destroyed! I have seen a lot of fast fills in my life, even wwith the ehind the shoulder shot. But shoot to far behind the shoulder and it iss a wounding shot no matter what you use. In theory you could go with that 300 mag you bought and a 150gr mono bullet. Lighter bullet is going to reduce recoil and not shed weigh much and will raise velocity. In theory, a 200gr 30 cal bullet that lose's 30% of it's weight drops down to 140gr. The 150gr mono maintains 100% and in theory out weight's the 200gr bullet on exit. Seem's like advantage mono 150gr to me.

I don't shoot monos, I shoot cup and core and I', not gonna send a ccup and core with a plastic tip at any big game animal. I feel plastic tips are for varmint bullet's. Problem being that tip must go somewhere on impact and somewhere is right back into the bullet. Has to effect the proformance of the bullet!

My suggestion is get a cartridge that recoil won't bother you with and select a bullet you shoot well. I shot the 308 a lot of years and bullet of choice was normally 165gr. Up in Alaska I took it while working up there and ended up loading it with 180gr and 200gr bullet's. 180gr out shot the 200gr but the intention was protection while fisshing with friends and I think in close on a bear a 200gr packs more no no. Didn't notice much increase in recoil over the 165gr with 180gr bullet but at 200 gr, while tolerable, there was a good increase in felt recoil. Wouldn't phase me one bit to shoot an elk with that old 308 and a 180gr bullet. Last several years I hunted elk, cartridge of choice was a 30-06 with 180gr Hornady SP. Three shots and three elk. It's not so much what your carrying but how you use what your carrying. A more powerful rifle you don't shoot well will not over come a bad shot!

Since you are stuck with it look for some lighter weight hunting loads. I see Hornady loads some 190gr bullets or if you reload you can build some reduced loads with lighter bullets.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1024395054?pid=327919

That was a bit of a mistake. Don't sweat the .300 PRC until you shoot it. Just go slow shooting it and don't try and burn through all your ammunition at one time. Recoil adds up, and you might think you're handling it but in reality you're not.

Take regular breaks and shoot a .22 lr or .223 every so often to mix it up and overcome any bad habits you might be learning. My bet is you'll be ready by November to kill a elk. If you don't like the recoil, buy a .308 and go hunting anyway.

Don't sweat it. You got a great rifle in a great cartridge. Sight it in, run the data to 600 or so, then shoot it a few times of year to kill stuff with. It won't bust you as hard as you think. Learn to shoot it and let it push you around. You'll be surprised how much recoil you can withstand.

I'll offer a few suggestions that should mitigate recoil. One, I don't like muzzle brakes so only one rifle has one and it'll be coming off soon. Rifle is a .338 Win. Mag.

Look into a PAST Recoil pad. It slips onto your body like a shoulder holster and done a nice job of spreading the recoil impulse over a larger area of the upper body. You can have a gunsmith install a mercury recoil reducer. I haven't used one personally but some of my friends have them on their big boomers. replace the recoil pad with a Packmeyr Decelerator if the rifle does already have one. I prefer them to the Limbsaver. I have two rifles with Limbsavers that have turned to goo.

I've hunted elk and have used rifles from the 30-06 .300 Win. Mag. and my all time favorite, a custom Mauser in .35 Whelen. Some rifles used on unsuccessful hunts include the .270 Win. .280 Rem. and .308. Hunts were not successful mainly because I couldn't find any that were in a suicidal frame of mind. The elk just weren't there. Sometimes it was a case of having a bull tag and seeing only cows. Other times a cow tag and seeing only bulls. Public land hunts can be tough and other public land hunts tougher yet.

I wish you all the luck in the world for success but if there is no success, enjoy the experience of the hunt, good, bad or otherwise.
PJ

Great advice, except I would add that, instead of a mercury weight (which work), you can just throw a heavy bipod on the rifle when sighting it in. You can take it off when hunting. Those recoil pads (Past, Cabela's, whatever) are amazing. They really reduce felt recoil when sighting in. The pads not only spread the recoil over a larger area, they also spread it over a longer time. They work really well IMO. It makes my .340 Wby seem like a 30-06 when at the range.

I think you should cancel your order or at least change the cartridge to 270win or 308win or 30-06. Your fear of recoil is already working on your head, and the 300prc has plenty. Get a rifle you can shoot accurately, without worrying about recoil. Accuracy kills. Ymmv.

If you're shooting a 45-70 you'll be fine with the 300PRC.
Don't get all axle-wrapped thinking about recoil.
Do your breathing properly and squeeze slowly.

Shoot it. Get used to it. Learn trigger discipline, and don't let it scare you.

It's just mind over matter. You'll love the new rifle once you realize it's not out to hurt you.

You don't need pads and stuff hanging off your body or gun. Shoot the dang thing and kill stuff with it. Only thing you need to worry about is keeping your knife sharp. If you want a range toy, get a 12 pound 6.5xwhocares with a 59 power scope. It's a hunting gun. Carry alot, shoot a little.

Yep. If one has to shoot the rifle differently at the range than in the field, you're not only "probably" using too much gun, you most assuredly are.

I haven't surrendered at all. I realized I'd made less than ideal choices. I'm here because I'm looking for ways to work through these choices so that there is as little negative impact to my shooting as possible. "work the problem". I can't do anything about my rifle selection, and there ARE a happy bunch of Christensen owners... and I don't even know yet if mine will be in good working order so there's no point fretting until I see what arrives. Caliber selection, while I can't change this I *can* do everything possible to make sure it does not have a negative impact on my shooting or potential bad habits. I'm not afraid of recoil... but I *am* afraid that not being appropriately prepared for it can cause bad habits like flinching. I'm here hoping for suggestions on how to mitigate that.

I've seen plenty of videos of people managing the recoil of rifles with much stouter recoil than the 300 PRC, I've watched videos of how they do it but getting input on how to accomplish that will be a big help. I know rifle weight, and features will help but as with everything else it's the indian not the arrow