Recoil Issues C&R Rifles

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Recoil Issues C&R Rifles

Posted: 10/26/2008 11:04:00 AM EDT

Hey all. I would like to pick up a C&R bolt action rifle but have recently had a right shoulder injury that will not be getting alot better over time. Short of learning to shoot left handed what are my options? I hear the 91's/M44s are mules. How about compared to 8mm? or a Swiss? Ive had to move down into 30-06 and 30-30 Managed Recoil rounds for deer hunting if that gives you any idea where my shoulder is at. The C&R would be for rec shooting mostly.

Posted: 10/26/2008 11:13:46 AM EDT

[#1]

Get an SKS. Mild recoil and damned accurate if you can hand load or buy commercial ( not milsurp or east block ) ammunition.

Posted: 10/26/2008 11:40:35 AM EDT

[#2]

One option is to reload your own reduced loads for your favorite gun.

I have a reduced load I use for for a Krag rifle with cast bullets that has almost no recoil. It is accurate at 100 yards and lots of fun.

Another option is the M1 carbine if you decide on a semi auto.

Posted: 10/26/2008 11:54:34 AM EDT

[#3]

There are various mfrs that sell both shooting jackets and strap-on recoil pads that should fit your need. IIRC, PAST is one such mfr, and there are others. Midway and Brownell's are a good place to start. You can also fit a slip-on recoil device to the firearm, either as a stand-alone, or in conjunction to padding that is worn on your body. The same vendors also provide these items.

Posted: 10/26/2008 1:48:48 PM EDT

[#4]

CMP M-44 .22cal C&R + no kick

Posted: 10/26/2008 1:54:24 PM EDT

[#5]

Call me a big pussy, but I have a PAST shoulder pad that I use for extended shooting sessions with my C&R rifles.

Another thought. Your shoulder will heal. The supply of C&R rifles will not improve. Buy now. Shoot later, if necessary.

Finally: think Swedish Mauser. The 6.5x55 round is a great cartridge that's relatively easy on the shoulder.

Posted: 10/26/2008 1:55:51 PM EDT

[#6]

I can shoot any of my milsurps standing up. My meanest recoil comes from my Steyr M95 rifle. It doesn't bother me. I don't bench rest.

Posted: 10/26/2008 2:00:21 PM EDT

[#7]

Think 6.5, as in Swede, Jap, or Mannlicher-Carcano.

Posted: 10/26/2008 2:21:04 PM EDT

[#8]

Get a rubber butt pad and keep shooting.

Posted: 10/26/2008 3:51:10 PM EDT

[#9]

.303 Lee Enfield. Easy on the shoulder, deadly at 500 yds.

Posted: 10/26/2008 4:53:50 PM EDT

[#10]

Great stuff guys. I thought about the recoil pads too. But the rifle needs to start out lower recoil. My shoulder is worsened by the very backwords push that long gun recoil makes. I've always wanted a SKS so that may be one to get. But a bolt action is what Ive been really wanting. Ill take a closer look in to the 6.5's.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It sucks having to go from shooting 12ga 3" sabot rounds to managed recoil stuff but at least it keeps me shooting. Yea theres always the .22, and I can shoot my AR for a while, but I gotta have some vintage bolt action fun.

Posted: 10/26/2008 5:06:43 PM EDT

[#11]

I own Mosins, Mausers, and Enfields. All have stout recoil.

Considered the Yugo M59/66? I know it's not a bolt action but you can make it a straight-pull by turning the gas valve off. The 7.62x39 doesn't "kick" to begin with, and most of the remaining recoil is eaten up by the bulk of the rifle and the grenade launching recoil pad. They are accurate too. My '78 59/66 is my most accurate semi-auto.

If you can find some Czech training 7.62x54r, you might want to pick up a cheap Mosin.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmo013.htm

The stuff is fun to shoot and has little to no recoil.

Posted: 10/26/2008 5:17:59 PM EDT

[#12]

6.5 Sweed

Posted: 10/26/2008 5:23:25 PM EDT

[#13]

I would recommend that you try the Limbsaver recoil pad. I had a severe rotator cuff tear repaired a few years ago but recpi; still hurts and limits my shooting to a few rounds of most C&R calibers. THe Swedish Mauser M96 or M38 is 6.5mm and the recoil is not much more than my ARs. I tried the Past strap on recoil pad and don't like it. The Limbsaver and the Decelerator slipon pads are very effective at reducing felt recoil.

Posted: 10/26/2008 6:30:24 PM EDT

[#14]

Get a semi auto or a .22

Posted: 10/26/2008 6:54:31 PM EDT

[#15]

Yugo SKS. They have almost no recoil.

Posted: 10/27/2008 8:04:41 AM EDT

[#16]

My Mosins hit pretty hard, but a $10. slip on recoil pad works well. My 8mm Mausers punch the hardest of my collection.

Posted: 10/27/2008 9:03:17 AM EDT

[#17]

Those who said the SKS are right. The least amount of recoil, even a bolt action with a recoil pad may be too much for this guy's shoulder if it hurts him that bad.

If it really is hindering you from shooting the bolt action you want, then IMO the only way to go would be an SKS.

Posted: 10/27/2008 1:23:18 PM EDT

[#18]

If you want a bolt gun, .303 is pretty mild, especially in current US made commercial loadings. .303 is about on par with .30-40.

SKS is the way to go if you want don't care if it's a bolt gun.

Classic Arms has some British No4Mk1's in stock right now for $159.95.

They also have some excellent condition Yugo SKS's (M59/66) for $229.95

http://classicarms.us/

Posted: 10/27/2008 2:09:05 PM EDT

[#19]

The Enfield rifles are pretty manageable.

If you would rather go with a Mosin I recently met a guy in one of the local funshops that introduced me to reloading 7.62x54R using 32acp pistol bullets and a light powder charge. I haven't gotten all the details but he says he uses that round for punching paper @50yds and for killing squirrels.

Posted: 10/27/2008 7:48:18 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
The Enfield rifles are pretty manageable.

If you would rather go with a Mosin I recently met a guy in one of the local funshops that introduced me to reloading 7.62x54R using 32acp pistol bullets and a light powder charge. I haven't gotten all the details but he says he uses that round for punching paper @50yds and for killing squirrels.

I'm loading 123gr FMJ bullets for my 303 British. Very accurate and light recoil.

Posted: 11/19/2008 5:51:41 PM EDT

[#21]

I hate shooting any 30-06 or 8mm bolt. The recoil and steel buttplates are brutal. M1 Carbine would be a nice C&R type rifle to re-learn with. As far as I'm concerned all the military bolts pound the clavicle.

When I do shoot the bolts I use a shirt with a built-in shoulder pad and this monster slip-on pad. The big pad was sold by Knights but a similar one is sold by Cabelas.

A gentler recoiling rifle is my 308 Garand using an adjustable Schuster gas plug. Very pleasant to shoot compared to an 03 Springfield.

Quoted:
Hey all. I would like to pick up a C&R bolt action rifle but have recently had a right shoulder injury that will not be getting alot better over time. Short of learning to shoot left handed what are my options? I hear the 91's/M44s are mules. How about compared to 8mm? or a Swiss? Ive had to move down into 30-06 and 30-30 Managed Recoil rounds for deer hunting if that gives you any idea where my shoulder is at. The C&R would be for rec shooting mostly.

Posted: 11/20/2008 11:15:55 AM EDT

[#22]

I would recommend a M96 or M38 Swede, 6.5x55. It is very mild. I use a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad since I had neck surgery. You can shoot the 6.5x55 all day with that on. BTW, 6.5x55 swedes are a dream to shoot. jp

Posted: 11/20/2008 7:15:27 PM EDT

[#23]

I will have to agree and throw my two cents in. The 6.5 Swede is an awesome round, and the SKS is also a lot of fun. If your looking for a deer round, you wont go wrong with the 6.5 by 55 swede guns. the recoil is managable, you can buy current manufacture ammunition, and then you put a "Limbsaver" recoil pad on it, and you will be set. The Limbsaver is the ONLY way to go. There is no other pad on the market that compares.

Posted: 11/21/2008 4:07:49 AM EDT

[#24]

I had shoulder surgery and was very gunshy about recoil. I bought a magnum size strap on recoil pad and didn't look back. Totally tamed recoil up to my 375 H&H. A 30-06 recoil was negligible with the pad. Mine was marketed as Winchester but it is the same PAST pad that you see everywhere, just remember to get the magnum.

Posted: 11/21/2008 4:08:35 AM EDT

[#25]

I had shoulder surgery and was very gunshy about recoil. I bought a magnum size strap on recoil pad and didn't look back. Totally tamed recoil up to my 375 H&H. A 30-06 recoil was negligible with the pad. Mine was marketed as Winchester but it is the same PAST pad that you see everywhere, just remember to get the magnum.

Posted: 11/22/2008 7:10:07 AM EDT

[#26]

As an experienced shotfunner, you're probably aware of this.. but since it hasn't been mentioned, it's worth bringing up.

When it comes to managing recoil on any heavy-hitting gun, stock fit is of great importance. And as it goes, many of the old milsurp rifles were designed for shooters, that on average, had smaller stature than the average American male of today.

The Mosin-Nagants are a good example of this. I'm about 6'3" - pretty average, among taller people - and it's a struggle to hold a 91/30 with any decent amount of control or advantage over the gun. When your arms are all bound up, there's a great loss of mechanical advantage over the recoiling rifle, when the ideomotor reflex kicks in to do its thing.

So if fit is less than ideal, you might consider fashioning a non-permanent stock extension, and then installing a good pad over top of it. In my case, the effect of moving the action a couple inches further ahead plays an equal role, at least, as fitting a quality pad.

I can vouch for the Limbsaver products - excellent products that live up to their claims.

-L

Posted: 11/22/2008 12:50:48 PM EDT

[#27]

i would get a 6.5x55 swede. My M96 Swede Mauser is a low recoil rifle, accurate and you can even reach out and touch stuff with it...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Recoil Issues C&R Rifles

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