Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Yet another dumb relative recoil question....

I know this is all very subjective, but i am curious as to the consensus regarding the recoil of the 375 Ruger in Alaskan form vs. the 416 ruger in the same? I find the Alaskan sweet to shoot, a lot less recoil than my 404 jeff. (Win 70). I don't find the 404 or a 450/400 punishing, but those 400 gr. loads at around 2300 are around my max fun shooting tolerance limit. I know this is kind of sissy, but I tried a number of different 458's, and I just found them at full loads with 500 grainers just not fun for me to shoot as much as i would like. And I do like to practice at real world hunting levels; downloads are cheaper and easier I know but that is my preference.How would you experienced guys rate the 416 Ruger in comparison to the above? Any imput (beyond ridicule of course) would be appreciated.
thanks
Rick

The worst kicking gun I've ever owned is Mossberg 500 12 gauge slug gun. The brutal recoil can not be ignored and it affects my marksmanship. But there are even worse kickers out there. Whether one vicious kick is felt as worse than another is entirely subjective. In my opinion once the painful experience has occured, all heavy hitters feel about the same.

Sherwood

I've owned and shot both rugers in the alaskan. The 375 to me was a pussy cat. The stocks on the alaskans fit me perfect which I'm sure has to do with the reduced felt recoil. The 416 ruger kicks more. Its fairly noticeable. Its not what I would consider brutal by any means. I owned a 416 rigby in a ruger #1. That gun kicked alot worse than the ruger. I had it loaded to about 2450 with a 400 grainer. I swear it felt like my 458 lott with that load. Anyways, the 416 ruger isnt that bad, but it definetly is more than the 375.

By the way, the 416 ruger recoiled less than my 375 rum. Different recoil between the two. The rum is kinda violent, the ruger more of a push. If a 400 at 2300fps is your limit, you might want to try and shoot a 416 ruger before you make a purchase. It is an 8lb gun after all. Good luck.

Buy the 375 Ruger. You'll shoot it more and shoot better with it. Being at your recoil limit will probably limit how well you shoot.

It's always going to be subjective, but I have fired the 416Ruger in the Alaskan and it was fine. If didn't feel as "bad" as a couple of 416Rigbys that I have fired. The 416Rigbys felt a bit sharper than my 458WM, but the 416Ruger felt "better" than my 458WM.

I think on paper the 416 has 30% more recoil than the 375.

Thats pretty much my result. The rigby definetly felt more than the ruger.

Apart from the ergonomics of the rifle, it's all-up weight and personal sensitivity, how it IS LOADED is still the major factor.

Thankfully, for the most common Big Bores: .375s, .416s and .458s, there are numerous choices of bullets, with the .375s and .458s well ahead of the others in that department. My personal choice is the .458s (including the .45-70s)because of the great diversity of bullet weights, shapes and construction.

I've looked at the 416s, especially the Taylor and Ruger, but never felt that they had the potential flexibility of the .375s or .458s.

However, I do shoot my Ruger No.1 in .45-70 IMP (long-throated) with anything from 350s to 500s. The weight of that rifle all-up is 8.6 lbs with a 2-7 X 32mm Nikon and 5 rounds on the stock.

Currently, I'm shooting 350 Hornady's at 2255 fps with recoil energy at about 40 ft-lbs, which to me is a mild load. Moving a 350gr TSX at 2500+ fps gets your attention, but that doesn't compare with a 500gr at 2200 fps (72 ft-lbs!). I've shot 400s at 2350 (not max)and you have to hold onto the rifle a bit firmer than a 350 at 2250, but to me it's all relative. It's more psychological than physical, at least for some of us.

With practice, most can be managed quite well. When I shot a bl. bear with the 500gr load, I didn't even remember the recoil... I could have been shooting a .22 LR and there wouldn't have been much difference as far as I was concerned.

A poster above mentioned that they all feel about the same when a certain level is reached. A gunsmith I knew would concur with that... he was formerly a gunsmith-trainer in the military and stated that after firing thousands of rounds daily, it didn't seem to matter what he was shooting... they all seemed the same (No doubt his shoulder had lost all sensitivity by then!!)

Just the facts...

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I own a 416 Alaskan now and have put about 100rds down the tube.
It is a step up in recoil from my M70 375H&H and I questioned myself for the first dozen rounds or so. The recoil is quite manageable once I stopped thinking about it and I would say from field positions, you'll get comfortable with it pretty quick. I shot it from a bench when I zeroed my 1-4x Accupoint and I was near the limit of recoil tolerance from that position... Other than a fine zero, I don't see myself shooting that handy little rifle from a bench though! I am really happy with it so far and I am glad I took the step up to 416. I am shooting the rifle well which tells me I am not flinching... I have several dead golf balls to prove it. I see no need to work up from reduced loads at this point and I will continue to prepare for my trip with full power loads. I will be taking this rifle to Africa in 2013 for buffalo.

BTW, my buddy has a 458 Lott and I feel like my 416 falls about half to two thirds of the way to the Lott in terms of recoil difference between my .375 and that particular Lott. My buddy commented that he felt his Lott was about 20% more recoil than my 416.

Hope that helps
Trevor

Off the bench, a .375 recoils a lot less than a .458, both in Model 70s. If I go for buffalo again, having used both, I'll probably take the .375. It kills very effectively and is easy to shoot accurately. I have never hunted with a .416 but, to me, they seem like neither fish nor fowl. You don't need one for buffalo or hippo, in my opinion, anyway.

I suspect that, once you get to .375 (or maybe lower but that's mostly illegal), the only difference in killing power is shot placement, not penetration or foot pounds. My last PH favors the .375 although he carries a .500 Nitro Express. He says that the .375 is a hunting rifle and the .500 is a stopping rifle and it's good to know the difference.

..............If the load you mention above, namely the 400 gr @ 2300 fps, is your maximum tolerance and fun level, then you should be fine imo with either the 375 or 416 Ruger Alaskan.

That Alaskan Hogue stock, deemed by many as ugly, not too popular, and not well liked because of its eraser type feel, actually imo, absorbs more felt recoil than the woodys and other synthetic type stocks. On several occasions, I have bench fired a buddy`s 375 Ruger African along side my Alaskan. There is a recoil difference.

I happen to like the original Hogue stock on my 375 Ruger Alaskan and don`t consider it to have any negatives for field use. Any user however, should have large hands to better handle the larger pistol grip and the larger fore-end palm swell area. The Hogue stock is not the best for smaller to medium sized hands.

As you mentioned it is very subjective, I got to try both in the same package (Ruger stainless Alaskan 20" barrel) two years ago and again this summer. After several shots with the 375 Ruger I still was enjoying shooting it, but after the second round of the 416 it seem the fun was over.