Rifle for Tender Shoulder

.308 has been knocking over elk for 60 years since its introduction in the 1950's. This cartridge performs the same as 30-06 but with less recoil. I suggest hunting with a good 180 grain soft tip bullet.

MagnaPort of Michigan offers muzzle jump elimination through its patented porting process. This does not mar the bluing nor increase recoil.

Limb Saver is the BEST pad on the market to tame recoil.

Good hunting to you.

Jack
 
Lots of good advice here, and I will add just a bit from experience myself. The more drop you have in the stock, the more recoil you are going to feel, everything else being equal. My youngest son bought a Savage bolt action in 338 Lapua for long range shooting and I was a bit hesitant to fire it, fully expecting a fairly large thump to the shoulder. Imagine my surprise when the felt recoil seemed less than my heavy barreled 308!
The difference seems to be in a very effective muzzle brake combined with a stock with very little drop. I never thought much about muzzle brakes in a hunting weapon, but I am now a believer.
I would recommend an AR style chambered in 308 along with a good muzzle brake. The youngest bought a DPMS in that caliber with a good brake on it. Its accurate with his handloads, 1 MOA with ammo it likes. Nothing much in the way of kick, and not so heavy to carry.
Sure, muzzle brakes make it louder for the shooter, but to me, electronic hearing protection makes the best of both worlds. They take away the sound of the shot, and if you dial up the volume, can hear more of your surroundings.
 
Some things that may be done:

Recoil reducer. It's an insert placed into the stock. Shotgun users use them. Some are mercury and add weight.
Muzzle Brake. Dampens felt recoil but the trade-off is that they are louder.
Reduced velocity ammunition. Less energy, less kick.

You might also consider a semi-auto rifle too like the Browning BAR, Remington M 7400 or 742 or any other commercial gun. You might also consider a straight line configuration stock like an AR-10.
 
Single shot .243 Ruger No. 1 will do the trick.

Recoil is not an issue.

186435d8-b961-4766-9721-ed9ece25859a_zpsf9cbed96.jpg
 
I do shoot some loudenboomerkickenharders up tp including the .416 Rigby that does not have a recoil pad. Note twixt cost and recoil, it doesn't get shot very often. ;) However the two rifles that beat me up more than any other cartridges are my two Winchester M70s in .338 Win. Mag. I mention this because a friend drew and elk tag last year and had a Browning BAR with the Boss system in .338 Win. Mag. and wanted my help getting it sighted in. It had the factory recoil pad and frankly. I cringed at having to shoot that rifle. based on my experience with the M70s. I was very surprised at how well that rifle with the BOSS reduced felt recoil and shooting that .338 Win. Mag. was actually pleasant. I'm thinking of putting a muzzle brake on one of the M70s along with the Decelerator pad.
What did surprise me looking at the various recomendations was no one mentioned the 7x57 Mauser round. I have one in the M70 Featherweight in tghe earlir push feed version and with factory ammo is a real pleasure to shoot. Put a Pachmeyr Decelerator or Limbsaver (I prefer the Pachmeyr)recoil pad on one and it should be a pussycat to shoot. This is with factory level ammo. Federal makes a premium load with the 140 gr. Nosler Partition and that should put any elk on the ground if properly placed. Nice thing about the 7x57 is while at factory level it's quite mild, a careful reload can easily take it to the same level or slightly higher than the 7-08. Recoil at that point is no more than the 7-08 in the same weight rifle plus you have the advantage of using the heavier bullets in 175 gr. weight should you feel the need.
I'm currently working toward a top load for my M70 Feathersweight using the 140 gr. Barnes TSX bullet. If I get what I want, I just might take it on my cow elk hunt next January. I'll still take my .35 Whelen as back up gun rather than it's being my primary.
Learning to shoot from the left side isn't too hard. I taught myself how to do it after trying to turn to an awkward postion to try to shoot a deer right handed and spooked it due to my somewhat clumsy movements.
FRankly, if the OP really would rather go with the 06, find someone with a BAR with BOSS and try it. I have one of those shoulder pads that mount up kind of like a shoulder holster for when I shoot the really big boomers and it helps If the OP goes for the BAR/BOSS combo and the store has a gunsmith on site, have him put a Decerator or Limbsaver of the gun and he should has a package that will shoot good, be accurate and hopefully not beat his shoulder up all that much if any. My shoulder has some arthritis and the big ones get uncomfortable in a hurry. My .404 Jeffery has a muzzle brake and it does tame that one down to about 30-06 level.
Anyway that's my humble two cents worth.
Paul B.
 
A little late on this one but if it were me I'd opt for a 7x57 with a 140 gr bullet, a good recoil pad(not that it kicks) and wear a Past pad. If you didn't care about hunting that much you can't beat a .222. Next to a .22 rimfire it's as easy on the shoulder as it gets.
 
Plus 1 on the 7x57. I'd also give a look at the 140 gr. Barnes TSX for the heavier animals just for spits and grims. I'm playing with them right now for my 7x57 and will also be trying the 150 gr. Partitions. (Just do not have any 140's on hand. :( ) A 140 gr. Sierra Pro-hunter would be just fine for deer but I do believe I'd run with the 140 TSX or 150 Partition for elk.
If the OP can't find a 7x57, I do beieve a 7-08 would work just fine with the bullets mentioned.
Paul B.
 
Rummaging through some old boxes this past month I found an unopened box of 270 130 gr Partition bullets and along with another unopened box of 7mm 140 gr Partition bullets. Those bullets were bought sometime in the very early 70's when Partition bullets looked nothing like they do now but were a sort of gold color with the "waist band". I've already loaded ten of those for my 7x57 to try this week along with the new 140 gr Partitions.

 
Last edited:
I can relate to the tender shoulder. I have tendinitis in my shoulders, and even a good range session with the 223 can have me wincing the next few days. I shoot a 7X57 for the exact reason you are talking about. 30-06 is a good choice considering elk is in the plan. A BAR or other automatic may reduce recoil a bit, but if you want true recoil reduction you will need to move up to a muzzle brake. Click on the link below for Summit Arms, since you are in WA. We can set you up with a top-notch muzzle brake that will give about 50% recoil reduction.
 
My buddy has a 270 that he loads with 150gr partitions. It kicks just as much as my 30-06. I ended up with a couple of boxes of 270 ammo with 130gr bullets and tried them in his gun. If I had known a 270 was as pleasant to shoot as his gun was I would have never bought a 243.

So if I were in your position I would get a 270. I would load 130gr bullets and reduce them down to around 2850fps instead of 3000fps. I bet those would be some pleasant loads to shoot. Even slowed down to 2600fps with a softer cup and core bullet would be fine. This assuming you hand load and I bet you don't, but I bet if you ask around you can find a handloader to help you out with a few boxes of reduced loads. This would be much cheaper than muzzle brakes and all the other add ons listed. I do agree with a good recoil pad and a jacket with a built in pad or some sort of device thats straps on to spread the recoil out. And if you are hunting up north you will most likely have a thick jacket on already.

Hornady has reduced loads for most calbers for youth hunting in their manuels. Remington also has reduced factory loads available for the same use.
 
Back some years ago, I had two shoulder surgeries. A couple of years later, I had another injury and suffered a torn ligament in the same shoulder which hasn't been repaired.

I gave away a .270, .30-06, .300 Win. Mag, .300 Wtby. Mag and 12ga. After alot of research, I bought a Tikka T3 Hunter in 6.5x55 Swede. One of my better decisions.

It'll take down any game on the East Coast and most game on the West Coast. Little recoil and very accurate.

Best of all, my shoulder is holding up just fine.:)
 
There are a few things you can do, which have already been covered here. My advice:

Muzzle Break - Yes, it will be louder, but i think the benefit would outweigh the negatives for you.

Reduced Recoil Ammo - It will help, especially in conjunction with everything else mentioned.

Limbsaver pad - Again, it will reduce the felt recoil.

A Shoulder Pad/Recoil harness - This will help some. By itself it might not make a monster difference, but with everything else mentioned, it will help.

I would think that these suggestions should help you manage the recoil much better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top