Synthetic vs wood

[Caper28]

It seem that my Remington 721 will not shoot straight anymore. So I bought a Savage 111 .270, it was going to be for the girlfriend when she starts hunting. She just passed her hunter safety a few weeks ago. We had it out to the range yesterday and the recoil from this gun is unreal. I've never fired a .270 with so much recoil. The girlfriend has a bad shoulder and after one shot out of this rifle her sholder started to bother her.

Is this because of the synthetic stock. If I replaced it with a wood stock would it reduce the recoil.

[honda450]

It is true the mass of the rifle is directly porportional to the weight of the bullet being shot and the velocity of the bullet. I really do not think that a somewhat heavier stock will improve things drastically. A good pad would fix things somewhat. A reduced charge and a smaller bullet would also help.

[Dick284]

Recoil for the most part is a function of gun weight, cartridge performance and stock design.
I'll ask you this, is your girlfriend 5'9" or taller?
Does the rifle fit her is what I'm at here, poor fitting stocks and light weight will make a rifle seem like it kicks way harder than it should.
Will a wood stock help, well maybe, it will add about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound to the overall weight of the rifle, not enough to turn it into a ***** cat recoiler for sure.
Enough with the Q&A.
Here is my recommendations.
Trade the rifle for something smaller, like a 6.5x55, or 260 or 7x57 or 7mm-08(note the absence of the 243 here)
get it in a model that will fit her such as a youth ot ladies model.
If you dont want the trading hassel switch your lady to the Remington managed recoil ammunition. Also get the stock sized and fitted with a good pad like a Limbsaver or Decellerator.

[honda450]

gotta love those 7-08's

[Cordur]

It's probably because of the recoil pad. Those 111's with a hockey puck recoil pad become a complete *****cat with a limbsaver. Got one here that after taking to the range the first time wasn't going back without a changing the recoil pad. I don't even mind my Maverick 88 with slugs fired as fast as I can in 5 shot volleys but the 111 .270 just beat me to hell. I'm 6'1" 185lbs and I usually could care less about recoil. This rifle weighs enough for the caliber if you ask me. But if you really want to increase it the weight just fill the stock with some dense foam or probably even sand would do the trick. I'd imagine if you filled it with sand and then put a nice recoil pad on it you'd think you had a .22 short. Course you'd probably have to carry it for her

[209x50]

Rifle weight is important. Weight affects recoil on roughly in a 1:1 ratio. If your wood stock is 20% heavier, the rifle will kick about 20% less.
Muzzle velocity and payload, (bullet and powder) also affect recoil but in a 2:1 ratio. Increase the muzzle velocity by 10%, recoil increases by 20%. Increase bullet weight by 10%, and the free recoil goes up about 20%. Reduce and it works the same way.
Stock fit and recoil pads are really the only two things that make recoil more manageable by reducing the felt recoil or changing the dynamics of how the gun behaves under recoil.

[bigg_sexy1]

Muzzle brake, and change the recoil pad, and this will shoot like a completely different rifle.

I have a Browning stainless synthetic rifle in .270, that I got when I was 14. When I first got this rifle the recoil was quite harsh, I would say that it hit harder than my dads 7mm rem mag, which is also stainless synthetic. To cure the problem I had a muzzle brake installed, and this year put on a limbsaver recoil pad. With these products my rifle is an ABSOLUTE ***** cat, and has been a pleasure to shoot for the last 14 yrs. Now my wife is getting into hunting as well and will be shooting my .270. She is pretty small and shoots it all day long with no problem.

[Donny Bear]

Like dick said make sure the stock is a good fit ad the recoil pad limbsaver decelorater a quality one I had my wifes synthetic A bolt shortened put on the decelorater and she could shoot it all day oh by the way 25-06 115 gr bullet so it would never have had the same recoil as the 270 with the 130 /140 gr bullet but if you change the caliber it deserves a look IMO

oH THE WIFE IS 5'7" LESS THAN 120

If your wood stock is 20% heavier, the rifle will kick about 20% less.

Not quite.If the entire rifle including scope is 20% heavier,the rifle will recoil approximately 20% less.In order to increase the weight of the entire rifle including scope,you will have to increase the weight of the stock by a great deal more than 20%,most likely by over 50%.

[Caper28]

I think i'll try and replace the recoil pad, like mentioned, it's like a hockey puck. The girlfriend is 6' 190 Lb. The problem is her sholder. She injured it a few years ago and the 111 has too much kick for it. Thanks for all the good info.

[cmfic1]

Muzzle brake, and change the recoil pad, and this will shoot like a completely different rifle

Here we go again on the brake thing. Do yourself a favor, go with Dicks suggestion with a more "shooter friendly cartridge", and totally forget about the brake idea. You want her to develop to be a good shot, not one that flinches due to muzzle blast every time she squeezes off.

At the very least, make sure the stock fits, put a quality pad on it & hit the range. Burning lots powder has an amazing effect on ones shooting ability.

[209x50]

Originally Posted by stubblejumper

Not quite.If the entire rifle including scope is 20% heavier,the rifle will recoil approximately 20% less..

Correct, thank you, a slip of the key board. If your stock increases the weight of the rifle x% (pick a number) the added weight reduces the recoil by x%.
As pointed out not very often would we increase the weight of a gun by a huge amount to duck recoil.
Similarly if you look at the insignificance of a couple of grains of powder you see the holes in the "soft recoiling" short fat cartridge theory.

As pointed out not very often would we increase the weight of a gun by a huge amount to duck recoil.

Very true,and while adding weight in the butt stock as some suggest will reduce recoil,it will also change the balance of the rifle which if anything will increase muzzle lift during recoil.When I had my 300ultramags built,I had heavier than normal contour barrels installed and the result was less recoil and muzzle lift.

[Caper28]

What causes a rifle to have so much kick. Compared to my other .270, it has the same barrel lenght, I'm using the same cartridge and my other rifle has a metal plate on the butt not a recoil pad. My other rifle has a wooden stock and weight about 2 Lb more.

My other rifle has a wooden stock and weight about 2 Lb more.

That extra 2lb is a big factor.Below is a recoil calculator.
http://www.huntamerica.com/recoil_calculator/

[Donny Bear]

Check the differance in the alignment of the combe of the stock the more in line with the barrel the more straight back the recoil. so it is dispursed over the full area of the butt reducing felt recoil the lower the combe the greater the lift on the muzzel the less surface area of the butt contacts the shoulder when shooting increasing the felt recoil and as SJ says weight and balance. lots of factors.

[Dick284]

Recoil pad for sure, but just make sure you adjust the stock length so it does'nt become too long for her.(dont just slap a pad on the end)
Also let her shoot some of the manged recoil offerings from Remington.
See Here:
http://www.remington.com/products/am...ged-Recoil.asp

[bigg_sexy1]

Another option to manage recoil would be a Knoxx stock. I do not have, or know anyone with first hand experience with these stocks, but the videos on their website have me convinced. Would be worth checking out.

knoxx.com

the Shooting Edge in Calgary is the Canadian dealer.