Tips on reducing recoil anticipation/flinch when shooting hard-kicking rifles

E

ezmiraldo

New member
Hi guys!

I'm shooting 30-06 savage, and want to lean how to reduce recoil anticipation (which I might possibly have). Here's what I do:

  • dry-firing at home, and I practicing follow-through (pressing the trigger to the back and keeping the sight picture and everything else the same for 1 sec after trigger clicks).
  • wearing ear-muffs over ear-plugs to minimize sound-disturbance effect.
  • trying to relax my body as much as possible before the live round goes off.

What are some other tips and techniques you can recommend for not flinching when shooting relatively stout caliber loads? I know that 30-06 is no magnum, but I'm a beginner and the kick is noticeable to me.

Really looking forward to your advice, as always! :)
 
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I'd just forget about it. The recoil that hurts happens after the bullet leaves the barrel. It's not going away. Mentally challenge it and it won't bother you any more.

Take a friend to the range with you to load the rifle so you cannot see if he put a live round in it. Then shoot it. You may well be cured after enough clicks on empty chambers then he laughs at your behavior enough to embarras you to stop.
 
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For me it's just accepting it. I know there is a loud bang and a kick and I will be unharmed in the end. I do have more of a problem shooting a 44 mag revolver but for me, acceptance is the key.
 
Yes the 30-06 kicks pretty hard. I have them and like the rifles and I use 150 gr loads now and make sure the rifle has a soft recoil pad.

They say most game can be taken with the 270 or even smaller.

If your rifle does not have a soft Decelrator type pad on it now consider trading it for a 270 or less with a softer pad.
 
Ez, are you shooting from a bench? If so- that tends to compound the felt effects of the recoil. Why? I have no idea, I just know that shooting from a prone mat (maybe a bipod), sitting, or standing feels a whole lot better than from a bench.
 
Focus. Its the key to also being accurate. Focus on what you are trying to hit, control your breathing, and squeeze. That simple. I've shot a few insane rifles in my time and the recoil may hurt my shoulder later but you aren't thinking about that with a grin on your face.
 
If you're bothered by the recoil that much, better back down a ways and work up. Otherwise you'll suffer that flinch for a LONG time.
Alternately, get yourself a strap on recoil absorbing shoulder pad. I use them all the time when shooting anything bigger than 243 from the bench. I'm old and don't have much padding on my shoulder anymore so can't tolerate much pounding. The pad takes care of that nearly 100%. The recoil is still there, it just doesn't hurt.
 
Yeah, pad yourself and the butt of the stock as much as possible.
But, as the others have said, focus on hitting the target, not on the gun or yourself.
One day at the range, there was a couple at the next position sharing a very large caliber, big game rifle.
The small, young woman was hitting with it better than the guy.
When I asked how she managed to shoot that big boomer so well, she said she imagines the target is about to charge and stomp her.
So, the only thing she thinks about is putting a round where it counts.
And she did, every time.
 
Tips on reducing recoil anticipation/flinch when shooting hard-kicking rifles
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Is your rifle causing you pain? If so, assuming you are positioning the rifle correctly on your shoulder, you need to get a good recoil pad. They can make a huge difference and help tremendously. If the rifle is not causing you pain then your problem is mental. Dry firing exercises help but you also need to overcome the reason you're flinching. Is it recoil or noise anticipation, or a combination of both? Again, dry fire practice helps but live fire practice until you finally realize that neither of those are things need to be worried about works best.
 
The October 2014 American Rifleman has an article '10 Ways to Take A Bite Out Of Recoil'. Might be worth a read. Might be a reason to join the NRA if you are not already a member.
 
Thanks folks!

Yep, I'm shooting from the bench. I've got a pad on my rifle stock, and feel zero pain (although I did nick myself in the forehead with the scope once -- yeah, I know...). I think it is more psychological -- anticipating big blast and push into the shoulder. In all honesty, I'm not even sure if I'm flinching in anticipation. My latest group seems to indicate that I might be. But, I'm looking forward to trying some of you guys suggestions, regardless!
 
Another option might be to pack some holes in the stock with lead shot, and sealing it with duct seal before putting the buttplate back on (a couple of 3/4" holes a few inches deep drilled under the buttplate will give plenty of space). The heavier the rifle is, the less recoil will be directed into you, but it also makes the rifle harder to carry in the field. The best option is proper technique, and sucking the stock tightly into your shoulder when shooting, so you don't get slapped when the stock jumps back in the first place.
 
If your using the rifle for target shooting , you could get yourself a clamp on muzzle brake, Witt Machine makes a very good brake, cuts down the recoil 50%. Great company to deal with.
 
Let's try to keep this simple. How are you shooting from the bench? In a low down position or sitting tall and erect? Have you ever noticed that when standing on your hind legs and shooting like a man that the recoil seems to be less? I have my front shooting rest set rather high and us a read pad to match the height. If the range had a "bench" a lot taller to where I could shoot standing with a bench type rest I'd use that. Check out house those old guys who regulate those expensive double rifles chamber to elephant gun cartridges do it. They use a standing rest so the can rock with the kick.
With my stand and sandbag set high enough for reasonable comfort I can shoot say a .300 Win. Mag. for several hours allowing time for the barrel to properly cool with no serious effects from recoil. The rifle has a Pachmeyr Decelerator pad and I also use a Past recoil shield. The second thing is concentrate very hard on the target. The method the lady said she used would work very well. A few years ago in the White Mountains of Arizona, I leveled down on the last cow elk in a herd lasered at 530 yards. I was concentrating so hard on making the shot that when the rifle fired, all I heard was a mild, "poof." and barely a nudge on my shoulder. :eek: If I hadn't seen the elk drop on impact, I would have thought I's shot a squib round.
Look at it this way. If you're as low to the bench as you can get, your body has little leeway to rock with the recoil. AS more erect position makes your body more limber. A good pad like the Decelerator is well worth the cost of installation. MY gunsmith charges $85 FWIW. I bought the magnum size past recoil shield because of some of the big boomers I shoot. I like the challenge.
Paul B.
Edited to add; Be sure you are wearing good hearing protection. Many years ago I bought a Remington 660 with 20" barrel in .308 Win. Damn thing beat me to death. A better fitting stock and pad didn't help one bit. My birthday came up and my kids bought me a pair of those Mickey Mouse ears hearing protectors which I though looked stupid. I wore them the next time I went out to humor the kids and had that .308 along. WOW! What happened to the kick? They worked so much better than the cotton balls I was using. Just something else to check out if you're using something else.
PB
 
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Shoot something with less recoil.

I don’t know if the flinch reaction can ever be eliminated. I have one, I have even seen it even when firing my Anschutz 22 LR target rifles. Flinch is something that has to be consciously worked on, so you don’t flinch before the trigger pull. Shooting on an empty chamber is a good way to verify that you still flinch. Happened to me many times, think the chamber is loaded, pull trigger, see the sights jump, but no bang. The more recoil, the sooner I flinch.

I am of the opinion that Zombies would make excellent sling shooters. No pulse, no flinch.
 
Stop pulling the trigger, seriously.

Ive found most flinchers are those that pull instead of squeeze. You should be slowly increasing pressure and the break should be a complete surprise (relatively speaking), if it is then the flinch doesn't matter as the shot is already off. After practicing this way eventually the flinch leaves and you're making clean shots.

Another thing that can help (but is in fact a crutch) is a light trigger, this helps with the trigger break being more of a surprise. I would start by learning better trigger control.
 
I embrace recoil, and the more the better, also I'm not a sadistic idiot, just like shootin.

Remeber to forget it.......as told to me by a fella who shot big bore stuff like .460 Weatherby mags.
 
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