A few Husqvarna questions.

[Bushleague]

I have one Husqvarna 1600 rifle, and I like it so much I am thinking of getting another, but I had a few questions. My Husky is a Lightweight Carbine model, a beautiful rifle to carry but in 30-06 it kicks like a mule. I'm entertaining the idea of getting a standard model with a longer barrel, and setting it up with a little more glass for longer range use.

So my questions, to anyone who owns a Husky 1600... how much do the standard length models weigh, and is the recoil fairly tolerable? Thanks.

[Sashi]

I have the longer 1640, I have never fired a 1600 carbine, but I imagine the recoil is the same, as mine kicks like a mule also with 180 gr bullets. I cut the stock back 3/4" and install a good recoil pad, makes it much more tolerable.

[obsessed1]

What makes the husky such a hard kicker? I have a Parker hale in 308 with the Santa Barbara action and a Midland 30-06 with the mauserX1903 action. Neither are what I would consider to be hard recoiling. Both rifles have walnut monty carlo style stocks

[Coiloil37]

I had a 1600 in .308 win and it was the worst recoiling rifle I’ve ever shot. That includes 300 ultra mags and a 338 edge. That little .308 beat my shoulder and hit my cheek every time I shot it. Within a few rounds my shoulder would be yellow and black for a week and my jaw/cheek would be tender. I just figured it was the stock design and have never, ever considered owning another.
In contrast I had a crown grade in 30-06 and it was a beauty to shoot. My advice is sell it and move on.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I had a 1600 in .308 win and it was the worst recoiling rifle I’ve ever shot. That includes 300 ultra mags and a 338 edge. That little .308 beat my shoulder and hit my cheek every time I shot it. Within a few rounds my shoulder would be yellow and black for a week and my jaw/cheek would be tender. I just figured it was the stock design and have never, ever considered owning another.
In contrast I had a crown grade in 30-06 and it was a beauty to shoot. My advice is sell it and move on.

Mine does not beat me up nearly so bad as you are describing, but not having much real use for magnums I would also describe it as one of the harder kicking rifles I've shot. Although it hits the shoulder pretty hard, mine has no muzzle jump and with a low mounted scope my face takes no punishment. I usually try to wear a heavy denim jacket when I shoot it and I don't have any bruises or anything after putting a box of shells downrange, but I do admit that by the tail end of 20 shells the recoil becomes unpleasant. A recoil pad would probably improve things greatly.

As far as a hunting rifle goes I find it to be an ideal fit for me, I guess my main problem is figuring out whether I will get a standard length rifle or another carbine.

[Coiloil37]

Well, I can’t say how it would fit you but I had the standard model and it beat me senseless. As a general rule I’m not recoil sensitive but that one hurt.

[saskbooknut]

I like the longer barrel model and have a Pachmayr Old English pad fitted.

[kayaker]

It might be the drop and comb angle on the original stocks.

I have shot and hunted with a 1640 9.3x62 in South Africa a couple of times. The owner fitted a FN98 stock and bedded it to fill in the voids for the small ring. It has a much flatter comb, parallel with the bore. The rubber recoil pad is nothing special (not a decelerator or limbsaver). That rifle doesn't recoil any harder than my CZ in the same chambering. Not sure of it's weight, but its not excessively heavy.

Those 1600 actions are great.

[Norwest Alta]

Got 2 husqvarna 30-06's and I have to say they are beautiful guns imo but they sure do buck. Probably the 2nd worst rifles I've shot in terms of recoil. The 1st being a canoe paddle ruger in 338wm.

[Sashi]

Who builds an American Classic stock for this rifle?

[huntingfamily]

Here are a couple options for stocks:

https://www.stockysstocks.com/stock-...er-barrel.html

https://www.boydsgunstocks.com/product-configurator

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

Got 2 husqvarna 30-06's and I have to say they are beautiful guns imo but they sure do buck. Probably the 2nd worst rifles I've shot in terms of recoil. The 1st being a canoe paddle ruger in 338wm.

Absolute worst rifle I ever shot was a very old (50's) 760 in 30-06. I've shot many other 760's in that caliber and never found them too bad. Something about the stock design on that rifle defied physics though, that thing gave me a headache halfway through one box. I seriously considered going to the chiropractor the next day.

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Absolute worst rifle I ever shot was a very old (50's) 760 in 30-06. I've shot many other 760's in that caliber and never found them too bad. Something about the stock design on that rifle defied physics though, that thing gave me a headache halfway through one box. I seriously considered going to the chiropractor the next day.

I don't know what it is about some of those older vintage '06's but you are more than likely right about stock design and probably the steel plate on the butt don't help things any.

[Flatlandliver]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

I have one Husqvarna 1600 rifle, and I like it so much I am thinking of getting another, but I had a few questions. My Husky is a Lightweight Carbine model, a beautiful rifle to carry but in 30-06 it kicks like a mule. I'm entertaining the idea of getting a standard model with a longer barrel, and setting it up with a little more glass for longer range use.

So my questions, to anyone who owns a Husky 1600... how much do the standard length models weigh, and is the recoil fairly tolerable? Thanks.

You can put a butt pad on it and that will help but a really light weight rifle and 3006 doesn’t make for a great paper killer. The Husky does make for an accurate, beautiful, easy to carry deer killer though.

[brewster29]

Originally Posted by kayaker

It might be the drop and comb angle on the original stocks.

I have shot and hunted with a 1640 9.3x62 in South Africa a couple of times. The owner fitted a FN98 stock and bedded it to fill in the voids for the small ring. It has a much flatter comb, parallel with the bore. The rubber recoil pad is nothing special (not a decelerator or limbsaver). That rifle doesn't recoil any harder than my CZ in the same chambering. Not sure of it's weight, but its not excessively heavy.

Those 1600 actions are great.

Excessive felt recoil is absolutely due to the shape of the stock. The drop at the heel will cause a lot of muzzle rise on firing, which mashes the comb into the shooter's cheek. This is typical of the European stock designs. The problem gets worse when using a scope since the butt must be held even lower on the shoulder to align the crosshairs. The rifle will rotate around the fulcrum - butt stock - when fired.

There is a very good reason that Weatherby stocks are higher at the butt than the comb- muzzle rise and therefore felt recoil are both greatly reduced.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by brewster29

Excessive felt recoil is absolutely due to the shape of the stock. The drop at the heel will cause a lot of muzzle rise on firing, which mashes the comb into the shooter's cheek. This is typical of the European stock designs. The problem gets worse when using a scope since the butt must be held even lower on the shoulder to align the crosshairs. The rifle will rotate around the fulcrum - butt stock - when fired.

There is a very good reason that Weatherby stocks are higher at the butt than the comb- muzzle rise and therefore felt recoil are both greatly reduced.

I am well aware of what too much drop can do, see my post about that old 760, worst muzzle jump ever. At least with my particular Husky, there is no real muzzle jump to speak of. It simply hits my shoulder sharp and hard.

I do notice however that Huskys have a fairly low comb. I like my scopes mounted as low as I can get them and all is well, but I could see a higher mounted scope resulting in a sloppy enough cheek weld to result in some pain.

At least in my limited experience, there is not enough muzzle jump on these rifles that I would complain about it.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Flatlandliver

You can put a butt pad on it and that will help but a really light weight rifle and 3006 doesn’t make for a great paper killer. The Husky does make for an accurate, beautiful, easy to carry deer killer though.

Agree with the comment on the beautiful deer killer thing, a truly excellent rifle to have in hand for a day of wandering the game trails. I'd just like a rifle as similar as possible, in a large part to practice with more comfortably. Perhaps a 6.5x55 1600 would solve my problem.

[sjr]

Originally Posted by Norwest Alta

Got 2 husqvarna 30-06's and I have to say they are beautiful guns imo but they sure do buck. Probably the 2nd worst rifles I've shot in terms of recoil. The 1st being a canoe paddle ruger in 338wm.

You think the recoil is heavy , you should shoot a 1600 in 358 Norma mag , it will get your attention real quick .

[obsessed1]

[QUOTE=brewster29;3952897]Excessive felt recoil is absolutely due to the shape of the stock. The drop at the heel will cause a lot of muzzle rise on firing, which mashes the comb into the shooter's cheek. This is typical of the European stock designs. The problem gets worse when using a scope since the butt must be held even lower on the shoulder to align the crosshairs. The rifle will rotate around the fulcrum - butt stock - when fired.

I understand poor stock design. Just wondering if they are that different from a Parker or Midland. I have never fired a husky but have done stock repairs on a couple. I never took measurements but they " seemed" similar in drop to my Parker and Midland, yet neither of those rifles are " hard recoiling "

[Norwest Alta]

Originally Posted by sjr

You think the recoil is heavy , you should shoot a 1600 in 358 Norma mag , it will get your attention real quick .

Lol I got no doubt. My 308 Norma mag was fairly torqy. Took the hockey puck of a recoil pad off and put a different one on. It made a heckuva difference.

[roper1]

I just walked in from putting 5-shots downrange with the Husky, 5-shots with my 300 WM. Shot the '06 first so it felt less recoil.

[SuperCub]

Originally Posted by obsessed1

What makes the husky such a hard kicker?

Weight and stock configuration are huge factors. Recoil pads aren't for show either.

[Bushleague]

Well, I picked up another lightweight. This one in .270, and its got a limbsaver on it. I typically don't feel that much difference between a .270 and a 30-06 myself, but in this case I'm optimistic that between the lighter bullets and the Limbsaver I should find the recoil more tolerable when shooting targets. Problem solved

I've got a 1-4x scope on the 06, thinking I'll put a 2-7x on the 270, sort of a "more of the same but slightly different" approach... two nearly identical rifles, set up different enough to have the advantage in different situations but similar enough to be interchangeable. Should cover the majority of the hunting I do quite nicely.

[mryimmers]

I love my 1600's, but I find the 30-06s aren't very pleasent to shoot either. The 6.5x55s are much nicer. (I also don't have any recoil pads)

[Sashi]

Originally Posted by Sashi

I have the longer 1640, I have never fired a 1600 carbine, but I imagine the recoil is the same, as mine kicks like a mule also with 180 gr bullets. I cut the stock back 3/4" and install a good recoil pad, makes it much more tolerable.

I just took mine out to the range today and put (20) 150 gr, and (20) 180 gr bullets through it today, these were loaded from 5% below max up to max with H4895. I found it a pleasure to shoot, I had good groups and no recoil problems.

[1973 Moose]

If you don't mind the extra noise, the cheaper option would be to put a barrel brake on your rifle. my father gave my son when he was 14, a 257 WBY in a Vanguard 2, thinking the lighter weight would be good. well me son fired one round and would not touch the rifle again. I put on a brake then had his 15 year sister fire the rifle. Well then he wanted to shoot again. I now even have a brake on my 340WBY love it.

[-JR-]

I had one of those husky Featherweights , it had aschnabel front end on the stock.
Mine was a 7 mag , I had it nickel plated back in the day.
It did have a good kick while sitting down at the range but I did not notice the kick when i dropped my Ram.

[bezzola]

My 270 win has a good kick to it also

[Bushleague]

Alright, so I put about 30 rounds through mine today, as well as another couple dozen through a .303 brit, which gave me plenty of time to analyse and compare the recoil. Basically I came to realise that the majority of the sting from the Husky was located around the bottom portion of the buttplate, that it kind of "jabbed" me a bit when the gun went off, by simply altering my position just so I could often get the recoil to feel noticeably more comfortable. All of which has me suspecting that the angle of the buttplate in relation to the bore or the rest of the stock... whatever, is largely to blame for the famous Husqvarna recoil. Possibly altering this angle would go a long ways towards taming the recoil a bit, but I'd want to talk to somebody more knowledgeable than myself before I start cutting. Any input from the Husky shooters?

And no... I will not be putting any muzzle brakes on my Huskys, kinda defeats the whole purpose of having a carbine IMO.

[raab]

I got a Husky 1600 in 3006 as my full time big game hunting rig. You couldn't pay me to shoot more then 20 rounds out of it a season though. Thing kicks like a Mule.