My first '06 was a Rem 700 with no recoil pad. Yeeoweee, that thing would punch from the bench. Had a Pachmayer Waffle (1974 technology) installed and it was fine with 150 hand loads up to 2900fps. Got a PAST shoulder pad to shoot from the bench and that took care of that.
Mitigating Rifle Recoil
- Thread starter Beezer
- Start date
I was a bit off on my last post. Let me give some quotes from air gun expert: Tom Gaylord, Settling-in a firing position.
"The big kickers like a 30-06 are going to push you around some. Don't be surprised if you aren't on the target after the dust settles.
Following through means that you continue to hold your aim after the shot is fired. It takes discipline to do it, but it's the only way that you will ever be able to tell where the sights were when the shot fired. It's the only way you will ever be able to call where the shot went.
If you follow through, you should be able to call your shots most of the time --- as long as you don't blink when the shot fires. But don't try to do this with a large-caliber gun the first time. A pellet gun is the best to start with. A 22 rimfire is another wonderful gun to start with.
Once you get enough skill, you can graduate to progressively larger calibers, and calling your shots will almost become second nature.
While shooting a 30-06...nobody can hold the sights on the point of aim while this gun recoils. But if you're watching, you can take a mental snapshot of the sight picture just before the gun fires.
When I'm on a benchrest or even when I'm in a seated or standing supported firing position, it takes time for me to settle-in properly. I keep adjusting things until the rifle is aimed at the target when I'm completely relaxed. Don't get confused --- I don't necessarily mean that I'm holding the rifle loosely; but if I'm shooting a hard-recoiling rifle like the 30-06, you can be sure that I have the butt tight against my shoulder and the thumb of my firing hand is positioned to not break my nose when it comes back at me in recoil!
Rimfire rifles also need to be held firmly for best results, so maybe it's only pellet rifles that are held loosely. The object is to make sure the sights are aligned with the target when I hold the rifle so that when I close my eyes and relax, the sights remain aligned as before. I actually do this sometimes --- close my eyes, take a deep breath and let it out, then look and see where the sights are.
There's one last step to this hold. That's to touch the trigger and make sure the rifle doesn't move away from the target as it's squeezed. Sometimes, this final step is the place where the last little bit of muscle tension gets revealed and corrected."
"The big kickers like a 30-06 are going to push you around some. Don't be surprised if you aren't on the target after the dust settles.
Following through means that you continue to hold your aim after the shot is fired. It takes discipline to do it, but it's the only way that you will ever be able to tell where the sights were when the shot fired. It's the only way you will ever be able to call where the shot went.
If you follow through, you should be able to call your shots most of the time --- as long as you don't blink when the shot fires. But don't try to do this with a large-caliber gun the first time. A pellet gun is the best to start with. A 22 rimfire is another wonderful gun to start with.
Once you get enough skill, you can graduate to progressively larger calibers, and calling your shots will almost become second nature.
While shooting a 30-06...nobody can hold the sights on the point of aim while this gun recoils. But if you're watching, you can take a mental snapshot of the sight picture just before the gun fires.
When I'm on a benchrest or even when I'm in a seated or standing supported firing position, it takes time for me to settle-in properly. I keep adjusting things until the rifle is aimed at the target when I'm completely relaxed. Don't get confused --- I don't necessarily mean that I'm holding the rifle loosely; but if I'm shooting a hard-recoiling rifle like the 30-06, you can be sure that I have the butt tight against my shoulder and the thumb of my firing hand is positioned to not break my nose when it comes back at me in recoil!
Rimfire rifles also need to be held firmly for best results, so maybe it's only pellet rifles that are held loosely. The object is to make sure the sights are aligned with the target when I hold the rifle so that when I close my eyes and relax, the sights remain aligned as before. I actually do this sometimes --- close my eyes, take a deep breath and let it out, then look and see where the sights are.
There's one last step to this hold. That's to touch the trigger and make sure the rifle doesn't move away from the target as it's squeezed. Sometimes, this final step is the place where the last little bit of muscle tension gets revealed and corrected."
Ignition Override
New member
Two birds with one stone:
The slip-on 1" rubbery recoil pad makes my Yugo Mauser enjoyable if sitting fairly upright. My shoulders are skinny (5'11").
The pad gives both Yugo SKS M59 rifles an ok length-of-pull. Spray the pad orange in case it gets bumped loose when walking in tall grass or weeds.
Very hard to see in long shadows, or to know about Where it Fell Off.
The slip-on 1" rubbery recoil pad makes my Yugo Mauser enjoyable if sitting fairly upright. My shoulders are skinny (5'11").
The pad gives both Yugo SKS M59 rifles an ok length-of-pull. Spray the pad orange in case it gets bumped loose when walking in tall grass or weeds.
Very hard to see in long shadows, or to know about Where it Fell Off.
Magnum Wheel Man
New member
agree, that bench shooting will be more punishing...
also you may have gotten a "mountain lite model" when I was dating my wife, her dad was all about the 30-06, & a beginning loader, who liked to stuff the powder in those cases...
I was at the rifle range with them both, shortly after my wife got a new 30-06, to shoot "sliding deer" in preparation for hunting season... turned out the rifle she got, as she's a smaller gal, was a mountain lite Remington 700, & with her dad's hot loads, from a standing position, the recoil knocked off her ball cap, & her sun glasses went flying on the 1st shot... all her dad's old buddies were laughing & asking how much powder he stuffed in those cases...
the mountain lite is a nice rifle, for hunting, light weight, & easy to carry, but pretty tough to shoot regularly at the range...
also you may have gotten a "mountain lite model" when I was dating my wife, her dad was all about the 30-06, & a beginning loader, who liked to stuff the powder in those cases...
I was at the rifle range with them both, shortly after my wife got a new 30-06, to shoot "sliding deer" in preparation for hunting season... turned out the rifle she got, as she's a smaller gal, was a mountain lite Remington 700, & with her dad's hot loads, from a standing position, the recoil knocked off her ball cap, & her sun glasses went flying on the 1st shot... all her dad's old buddies were laughing & asking how much powder he stuffed in those cases...
the mountain lite is a nice rifle, for hunting, light weight, & easy to carry, but pretty tough to shoot regularly at the range...
For shooting on a bench I use a recoil pad under my shirt. I purchased one years ago when I got my first 458 win mag. With my pad I can shoot 458 full house loads from a proper bench. (The hardest thing is to keep from dropping the front off the rest) On a bench I don't care about length of pull, the bench position is it's own thing. Most benches that I have seen are setup all wrong. You don't want the rifle on top of your shoulder or on bone. Find a bench that lets you sit up more. If you are leaning forward with the stock on bone it's going to hurt.
The top 3 things you can do to reduce recoil are
#1 a good pad.
#2 a mercury recoil reducer installed in the stock
#3 a muzzle break. All three together will make a 30-06 feel like a 243.
Beware in the case of the muzzle break however. There is a down side to them. The best ones make the muzzle blast a lot louder.
#1 a good pad.
#2 a mercury recoil reducer installed in the stock
#3 a muzzle break. All three together will make a 30-06 feel like a 243.
Beware in the case of the muzzle break however. There is a down side to them. The best ones make the muzzle blast a lot louder.
This sounds plausible. A standard 700 shouldn't recoil any worse than any other rifle. The Mountain rifles are quite a bit lighter and recoil could be noticeably greater.
Please don't add any weight to a rifle, especially if it is one of the Mt rifles. You will ruin it. There are better ways to reduce recoil anyway. The older versions did not come with recoil pads. Adding a $35 hi-tech pad to the gun will get recoil down to near 243 levels without adding un necessary weight.
This.
Is the new to you 30-06 an older model? Many older guns have stocks that were designed to use iron sights, or small, low powered scopes ...... the stocks on these older guns had a lot of drop, to put the shooter's eye in line with the irons ..... When installing one of today's modern scopes with their larger objectives, sight height increases such that a good cheek weld is impossible without a cheek pad.
If you don't get a good cheek weld, then the gun is gonna smack you on every shot.
JMR40 -
Based on the description of the mountain lite version, I don't think that's what I have. This rifle seems fairly heavy.
Adding weight to the rifle is near the bottom of the list of things to try. A good recoil pad is at the top.
I am beginning to think that I might not have had the rifle tucked snugly into my shoulder (I was wearing a thicker coat, as it was cold that day) and may have bruised my shoulder that way. Combine that with bench shooting and that may be what caused the rifle to seem like it had much more kick.
Recoil pads reduce felt recoil.
Muzzle brakes reduce "actual" recoil (don't know if that's the correct terminology, but you get my point).
Muzzle brakes also have the advantage of minimizing "hop" allowing you to get back on target more quickly. In long range application, I have no problem getting the target back in the sight picture before bullet impact eliminating the need for a spotter.
Yeah, they can be a bit annoying to the shooters on either side- but that's life at a public range. Still far less annoying than some yahoo with his AK or SKS that feels like doing mag dumps next to me.
Muzzle brakes reduce "actual" recoil (don't know if that's the correct terminology, but you get my point).
Muzzle brakes also have the advantage of minimizing "hop" allowing you to get back on target more quickly. In long range application, I have no problem getting the target back in the sight picture before bullet impact eliminating the need for a spotter.
Yeah, they can be a bit annoying to the shooters on either side- but that's life at a public range. Still far less annoying than some yahoo with his AK or SKS that feels like doing mag dumps next to me.
From what I understand, muzzle brakes don't really reduce recoil. They don't reduce the push back into your shoulder. They reduce muzzle rise by directing gasses in a manner that counteracts the muzzle rising which allows faster follow up shots, and easier self shot spotting. There may be some brakes out there that directly reduce the 'push' into your shoulder but I would think that would mean directing gases back at the shooter, for that to happen. I wouldn't exactly want hot gasses and unburnt powder directed at my face. The actual weight of the brake may slightly reduce recoil by adding 1lb or so to the rifle, but the brake itself, is usually not designed to reduce the 'push' which is what tends to bother people's shoulder the most. If flinching is a problem, a brake could potentially help since the gun wont be jumping up as much, but as far as getting the sore shoulder, I don't think most brakes will make that significant of a difference.
A pad and/or adding weight seems to be the best way to cure the shoulder bruising recoil. More weight will both reduce the force and the speed at which the rifle recoils into your shoulder. A pad will give you a nice cushion between the end of the stock and your shoulder.
A pad and/or adding weight seems to be the best way to cure the shoulder bruising recoil. More weight will both reduce the force and the speed at which the rifle recoils into your shoulder. A pad will give you a nice cushion between the end of the stock and your shoulder.
Not to be contrary, but this would be false sir. Muzzle brakes do in fact reduce the felt recoil... which would mean they reduce the push back into your shoulder. Muzzle brakes usually vent the gasses back at an angle toward the shooter on the same plane (parallel to) the center line of the bore. The gasses are not vented directly toward the shooter for the purpose of keeping that hot gas and unburnt powder out of your face. They are typically vented at around 30 degrees or so, which still significantly reduces felt recoil and pushes the gases far enough out to the side to keep out of the shooter's face. They do, however, make the report of the rifle MUCH louder both to the shooter (not as much) and to those off to the side (WAY louder). Muzzle compensators, on the other hand, direct the gases upwards and help prevent muzzle rise as you describe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqlQrb7JhA4
JP ENTERPRISE RECOIL ELIMINATOR
http://www.jprifles.com/1.4.2_re.php
JP ENTERPRISE RECOIL ELIMINATOR
http://www.jprifles.com/1.4.2_re.php
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things that help with recoil.
1. recoil pad
2. muzzle break
3. mag-na-porting
4. adding weight
5. Thick clothing
6. one of those pads that goes on your shoulder
7. Lighter ammo
8. adding a suppressor
9. pistol grip stocks (like on some lever actions) seem to me to recoil less than straight stocks.
10. Some people swear by the mercury tubes in the stock. I am not sure they help any more than just adding lead weights.
That is what I can come up with in about 5 min.
a suppressor will reduce recoil about like a muzzle break and make the gun quieter as well. It helps a lot if you are prone to flinching.
1. recoil pad
2. muzzle break
3. mag-na-porting
4. adding weight
5. Thick clothing
6. one of those pads that goes on your shoulder
7. Lighter ammo
8. adding a suppressor
9. pistol grip stocks (like on some lever actions) seem to me to recoil less than straight stocks.
10. Some people swear by the mercury tubes in the stock. I am not sure they help any more than just adding lead weights.
That is what I can come up with in about 5 min.
a suppressor will reduce recoil about like a muzzle break and make the gun quieter as well. It helps a lot if you are prone to flinching.