I'll tell you one NOT to get and that is a Mossberg bolt action. I shot one of my buddies at the range. I went through about 20 rounds and it will beat the snot out of you. I think its the weight and the straight stock on it. It really puts the energy right back into the shoulder.
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30/06 Recoil Question
- Thread starter dts686
- Start date
Recoil is extremely subjective, and varies from rifle to rifle (rifle weight and stock shape, plus butt material), and even person to person with the same rifle (some of us have more padding in the shoulder, either fat or muscle).
Shooting position also makes a big difference, you will feel less recoil standing than sitting at the bench.
In short, the answer is, there is really no way of knowing until you try it.
Shooting position also makes a big difference, you will feel less recoil standing than sitting at the bench.
In short, the answer is, there is really no way of knowing until you try it.
warbirdlover
New member
emcon5 is correct.
And your tolerance to recoil can change over the years. I used to be able to shoot my .300 Win Mag all day at the bench with no problem. Let's say a 20 round box of ammo or more. Now as I'm older I feel the recoil much more so put a limbsaver pad on it which really helped. I had my rings loosen up sighting in a new scope on it a couple weeks ago so ended up firing a box of ammo through it and my shoulder hurt. I can still shoot tight groups but I pay a price for it. When hunting I don't even feel any recoil with it.
I bought a new .270 Win this year and will be using that as the main rifle with the .300 Win Mag as the "backup".
Shoot what you can handle.
And your tolerance to recoil can change over the years. I used to be able to shoot my .300 Win Mag all day at the bench with no problem. Let's say a 20 round box of ammo or more. Now as I'm older I feel the recoil much more so put a limbsaver pad on it which really helped. I had my rings loosen up sighting in a new scope on it a couple weeks ago so ended up firing a box of ammo through it and my shoulder hurt. I can still shoot tight groups but I pay a price for it. When hunting I don't even feel any recoil with it.
I bought a new .270 Win this year and will be using that as the main rifle with the .300 Win Mag as the "backup".
Shoot what you can handle.
A thought came to me on another post,and I think it is worth repeating.
Recpil is somewhat like hot/spicy food.
A lot of recipes call for 2 or 3 drops of tobasco in a pot.Most folks don't begin with sprinkling chili peequin on their eggs,or eating pickled jalapenos.Over time,they can become accustomed,and even enjoy the heat.Same with recoil.
In the 30-06 league,after a long session on the bench,you could get some surface bruise,and even some ache the next day.I can think of some very fond memories that left me a little sore and achified next day.Smiling,too!!
If the rifle fits,if the scope has good eye relief and is set up right,and if you use good technique,the rifle is not going to hurt you.It may bounce you,but you won;t get injured.Fatigue will set in,and after 30 or so rounds,the recoil may begin to penetrate.So,stop,rest.
The battle with recoil is a mental one.Ear protection helps.Noise is part of what your mind says "No" to.If you can lose fear of recoil,knowing uou will be OK after the shot,and,rather tthan resist recoil,learn to ride it,the fear/anticipation goes away.I find it helps to total,y focus on tne crosshairs,see them on the target till recoil moves the scope,and recall the image of the crosshairs on target.This is follow through,calling the shot.
Now,you might not want to start cooking your first pot of chili with serranos,pequin,jalapenos,habaneros,an ancho and a few fresnos just for bulk...But,later,that may become your signature chilii.
While you are getting comfortable and aquainted with your rifle,and finding out what works for you,you might be ahead to use reduced recoil factory loads,or handloads.
When you are ready,step up to full power.When you body/muscle memory,etc stuff says ":This is OK"
Learning to roll a kayak,a person has to get past being upside down under water with water up the nose,before execute the roll.
Its no big deal.A lot of folks use .44 spl loads to practice with their 44 magnums.
Have fun!
Recpil is somewhat like hot/spicy food.
A lot of recipes call for 2 or 3 drops of tobasco in a pot.Most folks don't begin with sprinkling chili peequin on their eggs,or eating pickled jalapenos.Over time,they can become accustomed,and even enjoy the heat.Same with recoil.
In the 30-06 league,after a long session on the bench,you could get some surface bruise,and even some ache the next day.I can think of some very fond memories that left me a little sore and achified next day.Smiling,too!!
If the rifle fits,if the scope has good eye relief and is set up right,and if you use good technique,the rifle is not going to hurt you.It may bounce you,but you won;t get injured.Fatigue will set in,and after 30 or so rounds,the recoil may begin to penetrate.So,stop,rest.
The battle with recoil is a mental one.Ear protection helps.Noise is part of what your mind says "No" to.If you can lose fear of recoil,knowing uou will be OK after the shot,and,rather tthan resist recoil,learn to ride it,the fear/anticipation goes away.I find it helps to total,y focus on tne crosshairs,see them on the target till recoil moves the scope,and recall the image of the crosshairs on target.This is follow through,calling the shot.
Now,you might not want to start cooking your first pot of chili with serranos,pequin,jalapenos,habaneros,an ancho and a few fresnos just for bulk...But,later,that may become your signature chilii.
While you are getting comfortable and aquainted with your rifle,and finding out what works for you,you might be ahead to use reduced recoil factory loads,or handloads.
When you are ready,step up to full power.When you body/muscle memory,etc stuff says ":This is OK"
Learning to roll a kayak,a person has to get past being upside down under water with water up the nose,before execute the roll.
Its no big deal.A lot of folks use .44 spl loads to practice with their 44 magnums.
Have fun!
+1 Kaigwy,, if you teach,(or get taught) to use proper form, That's really the most of it.
Let's go back to the Op's original question Is a limbsaver or a similar product going to take the recoil out?
Actually he'll be fine with the Vanguard recoil pad. It's nothing compared to our 700 with a hard plastic buttplate.
Let's go back to the Op's original question Is a limbsaver or a similar product going to take the recoil out?
Actually he'll be fine with the Vanguard recoil pad. It's nothing compared to our 700 with a hard plastic buttplate.
I can't imagine anyone complaining about the recoil of the 30-06, especially in a Garand! I'm not real big, suffice it to say most here likely weigh more and are taller, but 30-06 I've never had an issue with, ESPECIALLY with a rifle as heavy as the Garand. I do have a limb saver on my .308 because I like to limit the recoil as much as possible on lighter rifles.
OP you should be good to go with a limb saver on the 30-06. Getting the Weatherby in .308 would nearly match the ballistics and save you a bit more recoil as well.
OP you should be good to go with a limb saver on the 30-06. Getting the Weatherby in .308 would nearly match the ballistics and save you a bit more recoil as well.
I think recoil is also 90% subjective: If you think a gun will kick you hard, it will, or it will seem like it did. Adding to this, if you are scared of it, you won't be concentrating on the things you are supposed to: proper shooting position and sight picture. If you are using poor position/tecnique (not pulling the rifle firmly into your shoulder or having your head up bobbing around like a bobble-head doll instead of in firm contact with the stock like it is supposed to be) you are not only increasing the felt recoil, but also decreasing positive feedback (hits on target)....... I don't even notice recoil when I'm shooting at deer or prairie dogs.....
In my own experience, recoil pads vs. military butt plates, are not a significant factor. One of the worse offenders for me was a Model 70 Winchester in .308 Winchester to which a added a recoil pad. It was still miserable to shoot off the bench, as was a Ruger 77 in .270 Win., and of course a Ruger 77 in 30-06.
Also, it is not, in my case anyway, perception, ie., thinking that it is going to kick...I get the black and blue to prove it.
Still further, I do not "...get used to it...", I have been kicked and bruised by 30-06 and slightly lessers since 1962, never got used to it.
The problem is, I shoot from the bench a lot, developing loads, experimenting and acknowledge, that when hunting, recoil is not a problem...but for every round touched off at game, being a hand loader, there many more that have to fired from the bench.
Also, it is not, in my case anyway, perception, ie., thinking that it is going to kick...I get the black and blue to prove it.
Still further, I do not "...get used to it...", I have been kicked and bruised by 30-06 and slightly lessers since 1962, never got used to it.
The problem is, I shoot from the bench a lot, developing loads, experimenting and acknowledge, that when hunting, recoil is not a problem...but for every round touched off at game, being a hand loader, there many more that have to fired from the bench.
The Weatherby stock design will push the recoil away from your face into your shoulder. Get a pad like you talked about and you'll be fine. I'm with the others on recoil being mostly mental. Long years of duck hunting with 3" Mag 12s gave me the "trained immunity". The '06 in an 8# combo is the practical limit for many. When shooting 10 shot strings for new loads over the chrony, I supplement a Past Shoulder Pad. Magic.
Colorado Redneck
New member
Shoot a 22 rifle a lot and often
Sight in your 06 in July, and don't go over board. The more you shoot a bigger caliber gun the worse a flinch tendancy can get. If you do develop a flinch, work hard to overcome it. And that won't happen by shooting 100 rounds in a session. Then put the 06 up till hunting season. Shoot the 22 rifle every time you can and shoot lots and lots, concentrating on form and your routine for each shot. Don't get sloppy. Squeeze the trigger every time, making the actual release of the firing pin a surprise. If you have snap caps for the 06 you might benefit by dry firing that gun often.
I have watched many shooters that cannot shoot their rifles because of the recoil and muzzle blast. And these people often will shoot a lot of rounds in a session. I have never seen a shooter recover from a developed flinch by continuing to shoot the same recoiling gun in the same session.
Sight in your 06 in July, and don't go over board. The more you shoot a bigger caliber gun the worse a flinch tendancy can get. If you do develop a flinch, work hard to overcome it. And that won't happen by shooting 100 rounds in a session. Then put the 06 up till hunting season. Shoot the 22 rifle every time you can and shoot lots and lots, concentrating on form and your routine for each shot. Don't get sloppy. Squeeze the trigger every time, making the actual release of the firing pin a surprise. If you have snap caps for the 06 you might benefit by dry firing that gun often.
I have watched many shooters that cannot shoot their rifles because of the recoil and muzzle blast. And these people often will shoot a lot of rounds in a session. I have never seen a shooter recover from a developed flinch by continuing to shoot the same recoiling gun in the same session.
For me just knowing I'm not shooting a NEF single shot, breakdown shotgun with buckshot or a slug in it keeps me from thinking too much about the recoil of a 30.06. I've shot many shotguns with far more recoil problems than any 30.06 I've shot. But then again I've seen people that shot my 30.06 once and wouldn't get within 10 feet of it after that apparently thinking it was going to jump up in their arms and go bang. Go figure.
I think you have to learn proper techniques when you're young and can quickly recover from being knocked in the shoulder hard a few times. If you learn to deal with recoil then it's not as bad as when you're older and things don't heal as quick. That's the people I see having the worst time with a 30.06 or any gun that "kicks like a mule" as we used to say. I've had bruises put on my shoulder before. Any combination of a heavy charge and a light gun results in a lot of recoil. Shotguns can be among the worst if you have a really light shotgun. But even that isn't something that bothers me a lot still today. I had a guy going on and on about how hard his 3.5 super magnum Mossberg kicked telling me how no one would ever shoot it 3 times in a row. He said it until I just had to show him he was wrong. After the second shot he starts telling me I've proved my point and that I didn't have to punish myself shooting it again yadda yadda yadda. Yeah right. He didn't want me proving him wrong but I did anyway. I got a bruise but so what. I've had bruises before.
I think you have to learn proper techniques when you're young and can quickly recover from being knocked in the shoulder hard a few times. If you learn to deal with recoil then it's not as bad as when you're older and things don't heal as quick. That's the people I see having the worst time with a 30.06 or any gun that "kicks like a mule" as we used to say. I've had bruises put on my shoulder before. Any combination of a heavy charge and a light gun results in a lot of recoil. Shotguns can be among the worst if you have a really light shotgun. But even that isn't something that bothers me a lot still today. I had a guy going on and on about how hard his 3.5 super magnum Mossberg kicked telling me how no one would ever shoot it 3 times in a row. He said it until I just had to show him he was wrong. After the second shot he starts telling me I've proved my point and that I didn't have to punish myself shooting it again yadda yadda yadda. Yeah right. He didn't want me proving him wrong but I did anyway. I got a bruise but so what. I've had bruises before.
Shoot the 22 rifle every time you can and shoot lots and lots, concentrating on form and your routine for each shot. Don't get sloppy. Squeeze the trigger every time, making the actual release of the firing pin a surprise. If you have snap caps for the 06 you might benefit by dry firing that gun often
+1 to not getting sloppy. The lack of recoil in a .22 can cause some people to develop bad habits, like not pulling their gun tightly into their shoulder and getting their cheek in good contact with the stock....... young guys used to shooting intemediate carbine cartridges like 5.56 and 7.62x39 in semi-autos often never learned to hold a real rifle properly- they certainly did not teach it to me in the Army in the 80's and 90's..... instead the BRM cadre made a point of demonstrating that the m16a1 had no recoil to speak of, by firing off a a mag on full auto, with the butt in their crotch.........
Flatbush Harry
New member
First, +1 on all of Kraig's advice.
Second, you sound like a shooter with limited experience. The easiest answer to your first rifle is to go with a caliber that produces less recoil. High on that list are the .308 Win and it's derivatives (i.e., 7mm-08, .260 Rem and .243 Win). All are useful hunting alternatives for deer sized game and are much lighter recoiling rounds in rifles of reasonable weight than the .30-06. I hunt and shoot targets with .308s in bolt action and semi-auto rifles as I do with .30-06s. Game will not know the difference but you will find the .308 more comfortable and the others more comfortable still. Indeed, the 7mm-08 is a ballistic twin to the 7x57 Mauser round that WDM "Karamojo" Bell frequently used to dispatch elephants. It is an excellent round for beginning hunters and shooters and is widely available in factory ammunition.
Third, many shooters listen to advisors that recommend more rifle than needed. When I teach (and I'm an NRA rifle instructor), I recommend starting with a .22LR single shot bolt action rifle for its lack of recoil and safety. It is an excellent starter for learning fundamentals, positions and practice and is very cheap to shoot frequently. Once fundamentals are learned the move up to a heavier caliber is usually much easier. I started my 8-year old grandnephew and 14-year old nephew that way and both now shoot my AR15 and Rem 700 in .25-06 quite comfortably. Both have shot one of my M1 Garands (though a bit big for my grand nephew) and one of my .30-06 bolt actions. Neither complained though the acknowledged it kicked considerably more than the .25-06.
In all, get good training, get lots of shooting practice and choose a caliber consistent with the type of shooting you plan to do. My grandnephew enjoys shooting my Win 94 in .45 Colt...it is both nostalgic and virtually recoil-free.
Good luck,
FH
Second, you sound like a shooter with limited experience. The easiest answer to your first rifle is to go with a caliber that produces less recoil. High on that list are the .308 Win and it's derivatives (i.e., 7mm-08, .260 Rem and .243 Win). All are useful hunting alternatives for deer sized game and are much lighter recoiling rounds in rifles of reasonable weight than the .30-06. I hunt and shoot targets with .308s in bolt action and semi-auto rifles as I do with .30-06s. Game will not know the difference but you will find the .308 more comfortable and the others more comfortable still. Indeed, the 7mm-08 is a ballistic twin to the 7x57 Mauser round that WDM "Karamojo" Bell frequently used to dispatch elephants. It is an excellent round for beginning hunters and shooters and is widely available in factory ammunition.
Third, many shooters listen to advisors that recommend more rifle than needed. When I teach (and I'm an NRA rifle instructor), I recommend starting with a .22LR single shot bolt action rifle for its lack of recoil and safety. It is an excellent starter for learning fundamentals, positions and practice and is very cheap to shoot frequently. Once fundamentals are learned the move up to a heavier caliber is usually much easier. I started my 8-year old grandnephew and 14-year old nephew that way and both now shoot my AR15 and Rem 700 in .25-06 quite comfortably. Both have shot one of my M1 Garands (though a bit big for my grand nephew) and one of my .30-06 bolt actions. Neither complained though the acknowledged it kicked considerably more than the .25-06.
In all, get good training, get lots of shooting practice and choose a caliber consistent with the type of shooting you plan to do. My grandnephew enjoys shooting my Win 94 in .45 Colt...it is both nostalgic and virtually recoil-free.
Good luck,
FH
Marquezj16
New member
Weatherby Vanguard Sporter 30-06
My first rifle is a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter in 30-06 with the stock recoil pad. When I was learning to shoot, my form was sloppy and it kicked me around a bit. It wasn't so much that I had to stop shooting right then and there, but definitely after 20 rounds, I was ready to call it a day.
I improved my form with lots of research and advice from other shooters and now I can shoot it all day without a single thought about recoil. However, I know enough not to shoot it one round after the other until my shoulder is sore.
So I'll echo the advice of others before me. Practice good form, make sure the butt is pulled-in tight to your shoulder and start with 150 gr ammo. When your shoulder starts to feel sore, take a break or call it a day.
Also shoot in the same position you will use when hunting (off-hand, kneeling, sitting, prone or using a shooting stick). A lot of guys miss their shot, because they only shoot from the bench when sighting in.
My first rifle is a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter in 30-06 with the stock recoil pad. When I was learning to shoot, my form was sloppy and it kicked me around a bit. It wasn't so much that I had to stop shooting right then and there, but definitely after 20 rounds, I was ready to call it a day.
I improved my form with lots of research and advice from other shooters and now I can shoot it all day without a single thought about recoil. However, I know enough not to shoot it one round after the other until my shoulder is sore.
So I'll echo the advice of others before me. Practice good form, make sure the butt is pulled-in tight to your shoulder and start with 150 gr ammo. When your shoulder starts to feel sore, take a break or call it a day.
Also shoot in the same position you will use when hunting (off-hand, kneeling, sitting, prone or using a shooting stick). A lot of guys miss their shot, because they only shoot from the bench when sighting in.
Recoil is part and parcel of shooting high powered rifles (and pistols) and is something that must be managed. I am one of those people who have not much problem with recoil, but that may be from shooting 'deer rifles' since I was a kid. If it makes any difference I am 5'8" and weight about 160.
As has been stated, proper form is a necessity. Hug that gun close to you.
Actually muzzle blast is worse that recoil, IMO. Lots of recoil-shy folks I know have less problem when wearing muffs.
Anything up to and including 7mm Mag. is easily managable. Shooting any high-powered rifle from a bench is going to get your shoulder sore, but c'mon, it's part of it! When you get sore, quit - just like any physical activity.
Personally I feel little difference between say, a .308, a .270 or an '06 and a 7mm Mag.
My stated opinions are those of a hunter who shoots from a bench mainly during sight-in for hunting season. For varmints and such during the off-season I shoot .22 centerfires and the recoil from them is really negligable.
For anyone who hunts deer, elk, bear and moose and is recoil-sensitive I'd recommend a 6.5X55 or a 7X57. Plenty of power with minimal recoil.
George
As has been stated, proper form is a necessity. Hug that gun close to you.
Actually muzzle blast is worse that recoil, IMO. Lots of recoil-shy folks I know have less problem when wearing muffs.
Anything up to and including 7mm Mag. is easily managable. Shooting any high-powered rifle from a bench is going to get your shoulder sore, but c'mon, it's part of it! When you get sore, quit - just like any physical activity.
Personally I feel little difference between say, a .308, a .270 or an '06 and a 7mm Mag.
My stated opinions are those of a hunter who shoots from a bench mainly during sight-in for hunting season. For varmints and such during the off-season I shoot .22 centerfires and the recoil from them is really negligable.
For anyone who hunts deer, elk, bear and moose and is recoil-sensitive I'd recommend a 6.5X55 or a 7X57. Plenty of power with minimal recoil.
George