Yikes. Is .308 recoil a surprise for all rifle noobs? (or just me?)

A 308 is a relatively light kicker. Not much harder than a 30-30 which barely has any recoil at all. Snug it up good and you won't know it's there.
 
A 308 generates around 16-18 ft lbs of recoil in most rifles with most loads. About double a 30-30 which is around 10- 12 ft lbs. A 30-06 is in the 19-20 ft lb range, 300 mags are around 23-25 ft lbs. A hot loaded 45-70, 40-45 ft lbs. If you are used to a 223, at around 4 ft lbs, a 308 can be quite a bit.


Those numbers are for "actual" ft. lbs of recoil and do not reflect "felt" recoil which can be worse. Many guns have much better stock designs that make recoil feel much lighter than it actually is. CZ's and most 30-30's stock designs are older designs that amplify felt recoil and actually hurt worse than the numbers would indicate. More modern designs with straight combs, wide buttplates, and a more forward balance don't hurt nearly as bad. I have a 5 lb. Kimber in 308 that does not hurt to shoot as bad as my 7 lb. 30-30. Stock design is the reason.
 
Just out of interest, can shooting .308 do any long-term damage, such as retinal detachment etc? Just want to know, in case I need to avoid it, until the recoil is
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Well one of the guys I know had to get shoulder replacement surgery. But he had been shooting many many years and had shot lots and lots of rounds.

Recoil on the bench is harder than off hand. The body can't absorb the recoil as well.

Fold up a towel for your shoulder while zeroing the gun. As soon as you have zero, get off the bench and shoot from field position.

Wearing just a T-shirt was probably a mistake.
 
You can buy a shooting vest or jacket for not a lot of money and it is well worth it no matter what gun you shoot. Get one that fits well, It should be snug across the chest but give you free movement of your arms. If it's shirt sleeve weather and I'm going to be shooting more than a few rounds I will take a vest instead of my jacket because I'm old and more easily bruised than I used to be. I don't need no flinching to develop at this stage of the game. It ain't sissy, it's common sense.

My shooting jacket is the canvas Marine style and when I shot competition I used to wear the heavy leather jacket. Not fun when it's 110 on the firing line and you are on your belly shooting long distance. The tough guys shooting in their shirt sleeves didn't last long and rarely finished the match.
 
.308 is more recoil that I like, I know that much. Other people might shoot it all day. It's just not fun for me.

Of course, I've been deer hunting with 12ga slugs my entire life and shooting 12ga since I was 12 or so. I guess I've had my fill of guns that beat me up and don't do anything that I can get with a lot less recoil.

That said, a good recoil pad and/or padded jacket as mentioned by others will do wonders.
 
You mentioned that you tensed up which will increase the felt recoil. Think of getting a shot in the arm. It hurts much less if the arm is relaxed vs. the arem being tight and tense. This is one reason why some kids scream when they get a shot.

It could be that you do not have the butt of the rifle on the right place of your shoulder and that it was not snug against the shoulder. When a shooter is uncomfortable shooting a firearm, they tend to tense up and also try to put distance between themselves and the firearm. The result is the butt typically is not tight against the shoulder. They also end up fighting the recoil by trying to anticipate when it is going to come.

It is also possible you were not using proper form, posture and balance.

Any of the above has the potential to increase the felt recoil.
 
I think Buzzcook was the first to nail what I was thinking. It will seem tons better when you get it off of the bench. Once you get into a good sitting or standing position- the recoil perception is much much less. Sadly enough though, you'll have to tough through it to get your sighting in done. But getting past that part opens a whole new world of shooting- and that's geting good at positions.

Also, do you have access to anything like this in your neck of the woods? http://www.champchoice.com/cat-Cloth_Coats-467.aspx For as little as there is to them- they make a huge difference. They're pretty popular in several areas of Europe.
 
James, don't feel bad about it. I had the same experience with my first rifle, a .270 WSM. The recoil seemed harsh, and the muzzle blast added to the "felt" recoil. I added a limbsaver recoil pad and the problem was solved. Now I just recently purchased a. 308 Win for a long-term project precision rifle build, and the recoil is not a factor. With the .270 experience behind me, the .308 is a walk in the park. Maybe it is the practice, maybe it actually recoils less, either way, a good recoil pad and some practice will cure that fear of recoil!

Best of luck!

Sent from my HTC One X
 
I found that my shoulder was much more recoil resistant after I started hitting the gym more frequently. An unexpected benefit of overhead presses; more meat right where the butt rests, in addition to the usual benefits of getting in shape :)

TCB
 
In the same boat as Brian.

I grew up getting punished by 12 gauge slugs because of OH's deer laws. I am at the age where light recoil is a welcomed.

Lots of cartridges to choose from that do what the .308Win does, only better, and with less recoil.

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
 
As barnbwt noted, pumping iron does help with shooting. In addition to becnh presses, shoulder work builds up the delts which are where the buttplate rests.
 
This is one reason why some kids scream when they get a shot.
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Oh yes. Kids. They scream... Not me, though. No, no!! I never scream, errr..... NURSE!!;)

As it happens I did a double take on that sentence. Initially I read it it as "This is one reason why some kids scream when they get shot."

I thought to myself.... What the heck does he expect?!
 
Thanks for all the input and the recoil pad/shooting jacket/rolled towel message is coming in loud and clear: will definitely try them in the towel, pad, jacket order....

Pulling the rifle in tight:
I did pull it in as tight as I could: one thing I remember from shooting clays. Was it tight enough? I think so.
However, I got some fairly unforgiving injuries to my upper body courtesy of a car driver who was unable to notice 300kg of bike and biker before he pulled out, so it means that my right arm flexion is not as strong as my left and so, it may not be as tight in the shoulder as is the case for "intact" shooters.

Bench shooting:
Yes, I thought this may result in more punishment, but right now my barrel control is such that trying to hit a target at 20m was hard enough!! If my goal was to zero the scope, I needed stability. It was the same with pistols. Now I'm a respectable shot with those...
 
One of our local matches is a military bolt action rifle match. I like to shoot my 1903A3 rifle in 30-06. Gotta admit after a 56 round match which includes two rapid fire stages, I have gone home feeling punished.

A friend loves those Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles and fires them in the 200 yard matches while wearing a "T" shirt for a top. After firing 56 rounds from that brute, he has gone home with a blue shoulder. Of course, all vegetation forward of his firing line position is charred to the roots, as well.

Hey....there's your answer! Shoot about 50 rounds of 7.62x54R and when you return to the .308, it'll feel like a .22LR!

Flash
 
I took my .308 bolt out a few weeks back for first time.

I was shocked at how little recoil it had.

Lots of time on the shotgun may be blame?
 
My shooting jacket is the canvas Marine style and when I shot competition I used to wear the heavy leather jacket. Not fun when it's 110 on the firing line and you are on your belly shooting long distance. The tough guys shooting in their shirt sleeves didn't last long and rarely finished the match.

Hey Grump, That's how I did it, too. I have a nice leather shooting coat that I cinched up for standing/offhand only. As soon as that stage ended, I stripped that coat off and wore my USMC canvas coat for the rest of the match. In sitting position, I unbuckled the bottom two buckles on the coat.

I have two of the USMC coats. I got them at ShootingMall.com but I went there tonight and couldn't find them. They actually make them for the Marine Corps. If I find them, I'll post it.

Flash
 
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Recoil is percieved differently by different shooters

What may be minor to one person might cause the next guy a bit of discomfort. And the flinch reflex is one of the most frustrating darn things there is about shooting, to me.

Recoil pad is the biggest issue, and rifle weight is second. Adding a really good pad is number one. Weight can be added fairly easily by drilling a hole into the stock from under the butt pad, and inserting a snuggly fitting lead rod. A pad and a pound of added weight will help immensly.

Shooting from the bench makes recoil worse, as stated by others. If you can latch onto a weighted shooting rest like the "Lead Sled" and sight in with that, it will help decrease any flinchitis that may set in if you take 10 rounds to really get dialed in. If you start flinching you may spend all day trying to get sighted.

Good luck!
 
Years ago my right shoulder was rebuilt, the MD took all the padding off the front of my shoulder leaving a groove. I can't handle recoil well as a result. I've found, for me, having the rifle fitted to me like you would a better grade shotgun helps. A slightly wider butt stock helps more.
 
As suggested above, a sandbag between the butt and your sholder will take out the bite by both adding weight and spreading out the recoil over a larger area. Don't let all the macho talk get to you. If it hurts, you will develop a flinch. Sand bags are easy to make. Don't use sand. Cut off sections of the legs of an old pair of jeans or work pants, sew up one end, fill with cheap non-clumping cat litter, and sew up the other end.
 
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