Recoil

[Rpipe]

I know the obvious, more weight = better recoil, but someone was telling me their Tika had terrible recoil, I know some people react differently, what in your opinion is the best rifle to handle big game calibers

[Dick284]

Weight
Fit
Stock design
Scope to comb ergonomics

If it's too light of package not only does the recoil energy increase, but so does the recoil velocity.

If the length of pull is incorrect for you the recoil will seem worse.

If the stock design leaves you with a smaller cross section of recoil pad the recoil will seem to cut like a knife. If the comb doesn't afford you a proper cheek weld, or the comb is rather sharp, more knife action.

If you mount your scope too high that you can't maintain cheek weld, the recoil will seem like a prize fighters upper cut to your face. Mount the scope too low and you'll be pressing your cheek so hard on the comb that your sinuses will get pounded by the recoil.


There isn't a best or better make model or design accross the board.

It's a case of what's best for you.

[Rpipe]

How do you go about determining these factors?

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Rpipe

How do you go about determining these factors?

How do you find your soul mate?

Hold a few, try a few, and make a decision. And even then after a while it still might not be the best for you.

[Rpipe]

I was more so inquiring about length of pull, height of scope vs cheek weld

[boomstick]

When the sniper was asked by a lady reporter what he felt as he sqeeezed the trigger he replyed ......recoil ma,am recoil ....lol

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Rpipe

I was more so inquiring about length of pull, height of scope vs cheek weld

How does one explain such nuances to a neophyte without quashing their interest?

Invite them to try some rifles.
See I'm left handed, and am short thru the neck with average size hands but longer than expected arms(so my taylor says) I have high cheek bones, and prefer a 13-3/4" length of pull in summer wear, and closer to 13-3/8" for winter wear. I like a fairly low mounted scope (1" tube 42mm obj in low mounts) I prefer a slightly raised comb, with a fairly straight comb to bore line(as opposed to a Weatherby back slash comb)
So if you are a lefty and built like a nose tackle I might be able to help you out.
If you're not, I'd suggest a trip to the gun counter and try try try. Then spend, sell spend sell, rinse and repeat.

[DiabeticKripple]

Throw a limb saver on it. My tikka t3 lite in 7mm rem mag kicks pretty hard, but with the limb saver it softens the blow enough that it doesn't hurt. More of a push than a kick.

[tikka250]

Originally Posted by Rpipe

I was more so inquiring about length of pull, height of scope vs cheek weld

height of scope vs cheek weld can only really be done by shouldering scoped guns. one way is to shoulder the gun with your eyes closed. bring the gun up to where its comfortable on your shoulder then open your eyes from there you will know where you need the scope. if you see over the scope you need it higher you see the bottom lower etc. as for length of pull an easy way is to measure from the pad of your trigger finger to the inside of your bicep. place the gun right at the inside of your bicep then move your finger to the trigger (you did check its unloaded right?) if your finger is positioned on the trigger like when you shoot it fits! if not pick up the next gun and check again.

[Rpipe]

Originally Posted by tikka250

height of scope vs cheek weld can only really be done by shouldering scoped guns. one way is to shoulder the gun with your eyes closed. bring the gun up to where its comfortable on your shoulder then open your eyes from there you will know where you need the scope. if you see over the scope you need it higher you see the bottom lower etc. as for length of pull an easy way is to measure from the pad of your trigger finger to the inside of your bicep. place the gun right at the inside of your bicep then move your finger to the trigger (you did check its unloaded right?) if your finger is positioned on the trigger like when you shoot it fits! if not pick up the next gun and check again.

Thank you!

[Rpipe]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

Throw a limb saver on it. My tikka t3 lite in 7mm rem mag kicks pretty hard, but with the limb saver it softens the blow enough that it doesn't hurt. More of a push than a kick.

More than anything I'd want to know why a gun built with quality as Tika would have the issue in the first place

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by Rpipe

More than anything I'd want to know why a gun built with quality as Tika would have the issue in the first place

Because they made a really light gun for the caliber, and put a hockey puck pad on the back

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Rpipe

More than anything I'd want to know why a gun built with quality as Tika would have the issue in the first place

Wait till the inverted recoil lug bends and galls then let's see your opinion......

T3's are light, they have a small cross sectional recoil pad that resembles a hockey puck, and the comb is like a dull axe edge. Couple that with the latest fad of 50mm obj lenses on scopes, and you've got a recipie for a kicker.

Put a Bell and Carlson stock on it and see the difference.

Btw, how tall is your buddy?

If he's 6' tall or over the stock is likely too short.
If he's 5'10" or shorter I'd wager the LOP is too long for him.

[Rpipe]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Wait till the inverted recoil lug bends and galls then let's see your opinion......

T3's are light, they have a small cross sectional recoil pad that resembles a hockey puck, and the comb is like a dull axe edge. Couple that with the latest fad of 50mm obj lenses on scopes, and you've got a recipie for a kicker.

Put a Bell and Carlson stock on it and see the difference.

Btw, how tall is your buddy?

If he's 6' tall or over the stock is likely too short.
If he's 5'10" or shorter I'd wager the LOP is too long for him.

Are recoil lugs bending an issue? I seen someone discussing it on mewe, I asked the weight of the gun and couldn't understand why it would be so bad, so here I am

[Flight01]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

Throw a limb saver on it. My tikka t3 lite in 7mm rem mag kicks pretty hard, but with the limb saver it softens the blow enough that it doesn't hurt. More of a push than a kick.

I second this. Tikka t3 I had was fairly lite and kick was noticeable. Put on limbsaver and huge difference. Kept rifle weight down and managed the recoil.
But a rifle that fits you is very important.

[Dick284]

I've had two buddies who's 7rem Mag, and 270win both had their recoil keys bend and gall. One ordered a aftermarket titanium key, the othe re stocked his .270, with a Bell and Carlson that came with its own key.

[bat119]

The lug on my T3 9.3x62 didn't bend but there was a slight imprint in the aluminum, replaced it with a steel one. I found the factory stock fit me better than a B&C. I replaced the puck with a limbsaver even 286's at 2400 fps aren't to bad for recoil although you can feel the power.

[Desert Eagle]

I have tried many many rifles. The lowest recoil I have tried is the Kimber guns. Both the Montana and the classic were both very impressive.

[roger]

Use a caliber that shoots the lightest weight bullet you need.
Recoil is directly related to bullet weight.

[purgatory.sv]

But you have long arms and can compensate.

[Attilathecanuk]

After installing the Boyd's thumbhole stock, my savage 111 7remmag recoil was significantly reduced and way more comfortable to shoot.

[JD848]

I thing lotsa guys get caught up in is sitting in a chair at some bench,hunched over like a dog humpen a foot ball,and that's where recoil hits hard,when 90 present of your body is jammed into one spot,thier your spine is curled up and you head is locked in with the spine and bingo you get wacked and twice the barrel lift.There's a reason why boxers have one foot ahead of each other ,to give energy and absorb energy.

Try stand up shooting with the gun and you may enjoy what just pounded the snot out of you,or laying down,you can't carry that bench in the bush so why use it,get a book on shooting positions and learn how not to hurt yourself,plus learn to enjoy the recoil ,let it pound on you,i am way more afraid of a badly mounted scope than any recoil.Any large caliber in a tikka or finnlite the factory recoil pad is history.Plus you don't need a sledge hammer to crack a walnut,same applies in hunting.

[Canuck Bob]

My experience with recoil is limited but I will share what I learned.

The first kicker was a Rem 700 lefty in 7MM many years ago. I installed a receiver sight and it was just no fun. I didn't understand stock fit and the monte carlo style slapped me silly.

The next kicker was a Marlin 444 with a receiver sight. It fit like a dream for iron sights but the stock drop caused it to jump on recoil but the "iron sight" style stock design did not slap. For awhile it wore a 2.5X Leu M8 with 5" of eye relief. This reduced scope whack flinch to zero.

The third kicker was a Ruger 1 Tropical in 375 H&H. Again with a receiver sight. It was medium heavy and the stock design seem to promote straight line recoil. The rifle was a pleasure to shoot ofhand or sitting. All bench sessions were short.

The 444 became my go to hunter for decades. The others are long gone. It fit best. I'm a big guy and a LOP of 14" + works well. The marlin fits much better for recoil than the Win 94, a little under 13.5". A larger butt profile does help.

Also in field position I learned to lock my upper body to the rifle. Rather than taking a punch it was like my body weight was added to the rifle weight, worked for me. Also the muzzle jump was negated a bit as I rotated with it.

Bench resting a heavy kicker sucks. I used to rest on a stuffed pack preferring good sight in over minimal group size. A straight back upright rest position similar to sitting field position sure improved the heavy weight fight. Ear plugs and ear protectors together helped a bunch, specially when the guy down the line has a ported Super Snort 338. Heavy kickers are also big boomers, often overlooked.

I prefer a low mounted scope so the stock fit must work there. Scope height is a personal thing. But I wouldn't want it too low with a high comb stock. Ring height changes is still one of the cheapest adjustments.

Before moving the 444 along I planned one of those strap on recoil shoulder pads, PAST I think.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Canuck Bob

My experience with recoil is limited but I will share what I learned.

The first kicker was a Rem 700 lefty in 7MM many years ago. I installed a receiver sight and it was just no fun. I didn't understand stock fit and the monte carlo style slapped me silly.

The next kicker was a Marlin 444 with a receiver sight. It fit like a dream for iron sights but the stock drop caused it to jump on recoil but the "iron sight" style stock design did not slap. For awhile it wore a 2.5X Leu M8 with 5" of eye relief. This reduced scope whack flinch to zero.

The third kicker was a Ruger 1 Tropical in 375 H&H. Again with a receiver sight. It was medium heavy and the stock design seem to promote straight line recoil. The rifle was a pleasure to shoot ofhand or sitting. All bench sessions were short.

The 444 became my go to hunter for decades. The others are long gone. It fit best. I'm a big guy and a LOP of 14" + works well. The marlin fits much better for recoil than the Win 94, a little under 13.5". A larger butt profile does help.

Also in field position I learned to lock my upper body to the rifle. Rather than taking a punch it was like my body weight was added to the rifle weight, worked for me. Also the muzzle jump was negated a bit as I rotated with it.

Bench resting a heavy kicker sucks. I used to rest on a stuffed pack preferring good sight in over minimal group size. A straight back upright rest position similar to sitting field position sure improved the heavy weight fight. Ear plugs and ear protectors together helped a bunch, specially when the guy down the line has a ported Super Snort 338. Heavy kickers are also big boomers, often overlooked.

I prefer a low mounted scope so the stock fit must work there. Scope height is a personal thing. But I wouldn't want it too low with a high comb stock. Ring height changes is still one of the cheapest adjustments.

Before moving the 444 along I planned one of those strap on recoil shoulder pads, PAST I think.

Ahh!, the venerable 444 Marlin. My favourite actually when we saddle up the nags, nothing fits inside a leather scabbard better than a Marlin 444. My hunting partner brings his single shot .300 WM and I bring my 444. Truly though, this ain't a bench gun, it's a shoulder cannon. Mine launches 265 gr flat points.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by JD848

I thing lotsa guys get caught up in is sitting in a chair at some bench,hunched over like a dog humpen a foot ball,and that's where recoil hits hard,when 90 present of your body is jammed into one spot,thier your spine is curled up and you head is locked in with the spine and bingo you get wacked and twice the barrel lift.There's a reason why boxers have one foot ahead of each other ,to give energy and absorb energy.

Try stand up shooting with the gun and you may enjoy what just pounded the snot out of you,or laying down,you can't carry that bench in the bush so why use it,get a book on shooting positions and learn how not to hurt yourself,plus learn to enjoy the recoil ,let it pound on you,i am way more afraid of a badly mounted scope than any recoil.Any large caliber in a tikka or finnlite the factory recoil pad is history.Plus you don't need a sledge hammer to crack a walnut,same applies in hunting.

Guys will hunch over a bench because of either load development or because they simply like to punch paper into tiny little groups or shoot for points and learn to steer their bullets into the V ring given wind conditions. Those same guys who choose to hunt, also make their shot count when it needs to be. So, don't be so quick to negatively look upon target shooters who hunch over a bench. Some of us have learned both the external and internal ballistics of our equipment and are somewhat capable of making ethical clean kills of our quarry. I personally hunch over a bench and put trigger time on paper to ensure that my kill shot will be just that.

[newhunterjp]

Originally Posted by Dick284

Weight
Fit
Stock design
Scope to comb ergonomics

If it's too light of package not only does the recoil energy increase, but so does the recoil velocity.

If the length of pull is incorrect for you the recoil will seem worse.

If the stock design leaves you with a smaller cross section of recoil pad the recoil will seem to cut like a knife. If the comb doesn't afford you a proper cheek weld, or the comb is rather sharp, more knife action.

If you mount your scope too high that you can't maintain cheek weld, the recoil will seem like a prize fighters upper cut to your face. Mount the scope too low and you'll be pressing your cheek so hard on the comb that your sinuses will get pounded by the recoil.


There isn't a best or better make model or design accross the board.

It's a case of what's best for you.

Right on the money... Id add that shooter frame also plays a role...