May 29, 2010, 11:05 AM | #1 |
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Recoil management
As i age i find it harder and harder to manage the recoil of my .300 win mag. So far i have added about 2.2 pounds of weight in to the stock. I was thinking that i may need to add a muzzle break, i am reluctant to do this. So i am looking for the pros and cons of them. The biggest negative about them would be the huge increase in noise of course. I use this rifle to hunt with and i also like to shoot it at longer ranges, at present when i put it on a rest i get about 6 inches of muzzle jump. Would a break eliminate this if it was the right design?
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May 29, 2010, 11:32 AM | #2 | |
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May 29, 2010, 11:51 AM | #3 |
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This seems like and obvious question, and I don't mean to be presumptuous, but do you need a 300WinMag for your style of hunting?
Even mild recoiling 7mm options can cleanly kill an Elk at distances farther than most guys can shoot.
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May 29, 2010, 12:22 PM | #4 |
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I personally dont see a need for that caliber for myself even when hunting the same game, but I guess if I did I would have mercury sticks (probably two) of them glass bedded inside the stock to tame recoil. You may want to read up on these. Atleast thats another option. They sell them in the Brownells catalog for that same purpose. I'm pretty sure they probably have a website also. Go to thier website, click on rifle parts. In the search box, type "mercury" and hit "enter". I just checked and they do have them. Maybe they may be for you.
Last edited by farmerboy; May 29, 2010 at 12:31 PM. |
May 29, 2010, 01:31 PM | #5 |
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Browning 300 with B.O.S.S. system recoil is not that bad i.m.o.
Barrett M82A1 with muzzle brake recoil is not that bad i.m.o. me like muzzle brakes a lot..... |
May 29, 2010, 01:37 PM | #6 |
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No disrespect, but if you keep adding weight to your rifle, you will be packing around the equivalent of several rifles before you tame it enough to equal the recoil a 308 or 7X57 or 7-08, and you would still have the blast of a magnum. I shoot a 7X57 that weighs 7 lbs 2 oz fully loaded including the scope, and I can shoot it in a T-shirt. As for killing power, I have only ever lost 1 animal in over 30 years of hunting with it. Think about it.
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May 29, 2010, 02:25 PM | #7 |
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recoil management
I have shot this rifle for 20+ years. I have taken rocky mountain bighorn sheep, elk, and even deer at over 600 yards with it. This is the rifle i hunt with. I was only looking for opinions on the pros and cons of muzzle brakes.
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May 29, 2010, 02:48 PM | #8 |
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I am in the same boat, getting older and not liking recoil or handling it as I did as a kid. I have a Marlin .444 instead of 45/70 to first of reduce recoil but be in the same ball park with a big bore rifle capable of woods defense against all comers. I added 1.5 pounds of lead weight and I also put a LimbSaver recoil pad. I then added a Kick Killer lace up over the LimbSaver recoil pad in part ot protect the soft rubber of the LimbSaver. It now shoots as 20 ga to me in felt recoil. I do not find it excessive long or out of balance and it shoulders quickly especially with the leather cover of the Kick Killer pad. The recoil with high powered rounds is similar to that of the 300 wsm in many recoil charts. Weight makes a huge difference as well as smart use of recoil pads. I would never go to a muzzle break since the little hearing I still have left is also precious to me as well.
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May 29, 2010, 05:32 PM | #9 |
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I'm going to suggest that you go ahead and get the brake. When you do, get yourself a set of electronic hearing protectors that you can wear while hunting. Even a single shot is enough to cause damage, and it adds up.
Mercury sticks are good. recoil pads help. PAST jackets and pads are good. Bottom line, though, is that all the padding does nothing to stop that rifle from recoiling, and you are still shoved. Right now, I'll guarantee you, I wouldn't fire a 300 magnum with my shoulder in the shape it is in, and I'm only 50. Since you're going to be doing gunsmithing for that brake, at least consider having it rebarreled to a short magnum with an integral muzzle brake. You could reduce your actual recoil to the level of a very minor cartridge , keep almost the same ballistics, and still have your old beloved rifle. |
May 30, 2010, 11:20 AM | #10 |
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Recoil Management?
I'm 71 and have lost a great deal of muscle content.
The last time I shot my 30-06 I ached... |
May 30, 2010, 03:07 PM | #11 |
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If the recoil is bothering you that much I would go with the brake, and forget the weight issue. Your going to pick up a much more louder report. You may gain a little accuarcy also. If your target practicing you would be wearing earing protection. For that one big game animal shot you probably wont even notice it. But that's just my thoughts on the matter. Drop the weight, and get a brake or ported.
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May 30, 2010, 04:24 PM | #12 |
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Since your in the reloading section you probably reload? No reason you have to load near max, unless called for. I download my 300WSM some & do fine. I've been downsizing to a 243 for deer hunting lately. The 95 grn partition has been great.
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May 30, 2010, 05:34 PM | #13 |
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I think you would be real happy with a decent muzzle break. Someone mentioned earlier about the Barrett muzzle break. Look into a design like that. Yes it will put blast in about a 45 degree arc on both sides of you, but no big deal on that. I will tell you that they make a .50 cal basically have no kick. Good luck. Another good one is the ROBAR .50 muzzle break.
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May 30, 2010, 05:54 PM | #14 |
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For reducing recoil in even the biggest and baddest of the calibers I have a two word recomendation. Trail Boss. It tames my .41 Rem mag shooting 210 grain LSWC to feel like powder puff .38 spcl. I use it to fire form the brass for my .357 Wildey Magnum. (.475 Wildey Mag. necked down to .357) I was surprised at how it took down the recoil level. It actualy grouped very tight at 25 yards. I do not own a chrono so I could not tell you what velocities are. There was a write up on loading rifles with Trail Boss in last month's Handloader. When I start loading for rifle calibers I will have to get some of the big jugs of it.
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May 30, 2010, 10:32 PM | #15 |
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It's a brake, not a break. You don't want to break the bank to get a brake!
My 300 WSM Browning A-bolt would make me sore after a load testing session. Yes, it's much less than a 300 Win. mag., but it's solid rubber pad had no give to it. I put a decelerator pad on it, in combination with a past magnum recoil shield, it now is pleasant to shoot. Adding lead to the stock would defeat the reason I bought it, because it's so light. I got real sick of totting a heavy barrel .280 around. A brake will help, but the noise is awful. Hearing protection is a must, even while hunting. My son lost considerable hearing from shooting his B.O.S.S equipped 7-08 while deer hunting. Of course, shooting the ma-duce and the mark-19 in the Army hasn't helped.
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May 31, 2010, 01:08 AM | #16 |
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Muzzle brake, NO. If you were shooting bench rest I would say yes go ahead. But you are hunting and you want the gas to go straight out the barrel and push that bullet for the most effective energy for a clean kill. This part you will not like, but it needs to be said. Like you I am past the point of no return, I can not climb those mountains as if I was 22 anymore, I am over three times that age. And time does take it's toll, open heart surgery, cataract surgery, high blood pressure and diabetes all add to the aging process. Like we always tell our kids, it's time to grow up, maybe it's time to take our own advice. There isn't any animal in North America out there that can't be taken with a 270 or 30-06 short of a Polar Bear or Grizzly and Grizzlys are illegal to shoot in the lower 48 states. 20 year old rifle, hell it's younger than we are but it needs to have the headspace and throat checked or retired. And if I had to walk 6 football fields to recover an animal I shot, I wouldn't have taken the shot, I don't have to prove that I can do it at the expense of some poor animal. Even if it ment eating or not having meat on the table, I still wouldn't do it. Some times I reminisce about my first car, a 1955 Ford, now there's a pile of rust. But when I retired my favorite 7mm Rem Mag, I did not look back, besides it's fun to break in a new gun. Take this as a friend talking to you, not someone that is trying to take your 300 Win Mag away, just put it up on the wall, it will bring back many good memories. Your Friend Jim |
May 31, 2010, 01:22 AM | #17 |
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What a great post Jim, I was thinking some of the same things for myself. There comes a time to put down the 300 and retire it. So well said, thank you.
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May 31, 2010, 01:18 PM | #18 |
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Keep in mind that the rifle doesn't have to go. For less than the cost of a new one of top quality, the old can be rebarreled and reconditioned into a lower recoiling round.
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May 31, 2010, 01:43 PM | #19 |
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Thats a good point! (keep the ole' rifle and have it rechambered) if they kick is getting too harsh. If not, wear a kick reduction pad(the magnum 1"). Get it ported- which I'm not a fan of because the noise is harsher than the kick. Or use the mercury sticks. I still have my first Marlin 30-30 I started with when I was about 7 and still kill a deer with it about every 5th year. I have a Win. pre 64 in 30-06 my Grandpa gave me before he went to Heaven. It kicks like a "Mule" but I dont want to do a single thing to it to change it from its original condition. When I shoot it on the table (plinking) I will shoot it with a pad. It's what I hunt with every year! Ask me to leave it at home because of the kick-NEVER!!!!! I will use it to hunt whitetail as long as I can hunt,or until it gets stolen or whatever. If it ever kicks too much when I get older, I'll just wear more clothing. When I do have to retire it, I'd be honored if my son would pick it up and continue on with it. If not, I'd give it to someone who will...
Last edited by farmerboy; May 31, 2010 at 04:25 PM. |
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