I bought a Remington 700 30-06 a while back, not because I really needed one just because it had beautiful wood and it was marked down to half price. I went to sight it in today and dang...it kicked a lot more than I thought. I was wearing a T-shirt and that hard plastic butt plate started hurting my shoulder after only about a dozen rounds. If I keep the gun I'll probably have the stock shortened and good recoil pad put on it, but I want to shoot it some and check the accuracy before I spend more money on it. I could try a slip on recoil pad but the stock is already a tiny bit too long for me. Anyone use those strap on type pads that attach to your shoulder? I'm 56 and not normally too recoil sensitive, I can shoot boxes of 12 gauge and it not bother me a bit.
30-06 Recoil?
- Thread starter Farmer17
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RobertJ.
Member
Fold a standard sized towel up into about a 6" x 9" rectangle, and stick it under your shirt, between the butt and your shoulder.
Snapping Twig
Member
06 has disproportionately more felt recoil than other calibers of similar weight and velocity.
Can't say why this is, just that it is.
A search should supply you with relative recoil values.
I was amazed, but there it is.
Can't say why this is, just that it is.
A search should supply you with relative recoil values.
I was amazed, but there it is.
I have a Limbsaver vest for shooting in the summer.
Helps a lot.
Think your 30-06 kicks? Try a 300 Win., they all seem to try to break your shoulder...
Helps a lot.
Think your 30-06 kicks? Try a 300 Win., they all seem to try to break your shoulder...
STOP!
Don't cut the stock and add a recoil pad. It's the best way to ruin a rifle's value should it ever achieve collector status.
When shooting on the bench, use a shooting jacket with a padded shoulders and elbows or you may buy a recoil pad that straps to the shoulder. Another trick is to put a three-pound bag of shot between you and the rifle.
The reason I say this if you are a hunter, the one or two shots you may get at a head of game does not require a recoil pad. You won't even feel the recoil.
Recoil produced by a .30-06, assuming a rifle weight of at least 7.5-8 pounds with scope, is often considered the most the average or casual rifleman can withstand and still hit his target. Heavier guns require more frequent shooting to get acclimated to a rifle that can kill at both ends.
Don't cut the stock and add a recoil pad. It's the best way to ruin a rifle's value should it ever achieve collector status.
When shooting on the bench, use a shooting jacket with a padded shoulders and elbows or you may buy a recoil pad that straps to the shoulder. Another trick is to put a three-pound bag of shot between you and the rifle.
The reason I say this if you are a hunter, the one or two shots you may get at a head of game does not require a recoil pad. You won't even feel the recoil.
Recoil produced by a .30-06, assuming a rifle weight of at least 7.5-8 pounds with scope, is often considered the most the average or casual rifleman can withstand and still hit his target. Heavier guns require more frequent shooting to get acclimated to a rifle that can kill at both ends.
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LittleCooner
Member
Started life with the '06 for deer hunting as a young lad in his early teens. Weighed a whopping total of 110 pounds back in those days. We all shot '06's on deer and the buddies said I was a wimp to complain about the recoil. Then they started making great game bullets. I got out of school and started buying a bunch of guns. Learned that low recoiling 25, 7mm rounds would kill deer just as quick as the '06 and not beat you to death when you needed to pop a few rounds off the bench. Welcome to the common sense club of "i don't like recoil". Keep the gun, enjoy it, I even have a 338 Win Mag I shoot off the bench, but it does have a 1" limb saver recoil pad attached to that exhibition grade custom french walnut stock. Just get one of the slide on recoil pads for the bench time and keep it for hunting only. Want a good mid size American game rifle (deer)? Go buy a 25 or 6.5 or 7mm rifle, only kicks about half as much and will kill the quicker if you use premium bullets. If you hunt, you will come to notice that one or two shots on game, you could shoot a 416 and not know it recoiled.
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I've got a Savage 110..
Light with a composite stock. WHOE! I shot with a padded jacket, but I had to switch to whoever was shooting it. Since it's not a valuable gun I did a 'bubba' stock trim and put on a recoil pad. (I sure wouldn't do a 'bubba' job on your rifle). Anyway the gun is more fun to shoot. Nowadays I load some VERY light loads that are really a hoot to shoot, but I can handle a standard to hot load if I want to. And there's always the old padded jacket. The 30-06 was chosen as a military round because it was thought that was the maximum your average soldier could take under battle conditions. Most military rifles were pretty heavy compared to my Savage.
Light with a composite stock. WHOE! I shot with a padded jacket, but I had to switch to whoever was shooting it. Since it's not a valuable gun I did a 'bubba' stock trim and put on a recoil pad. (I sure wouldn't do a 'bubba' job on your rifle). Anyway the gun is more fun to shoot. Nowadays I load some VERY light loads that are really a hoot to shoot, but I can handle a standard to hot load if I want to. And there's always the old padded jacket. The 30-06 was chosen as a military round because it was thought that was the maximum your average soldier could take under battle conditions. Most military rifles were pretty heavy compared to my Savage.
LittleCooner
Member
Ok, here are some generic values of recoil, in foot/pounds
Your 30 06 in a 8 lb gun with 165gr @ 2900 is 20 ft/lbs
a 284 Win in a 7.5 lb gun with 150 gr @ 2850 is 17 1/2 ftllbs
a 7x57 Mauser in a 8 3/4 lb gun with 139 @ 2700 is 11.7 ft/lbs
a 260 Rem in a 7 1/2 lb gun with 120 @ 2850 is 13.0 ft/lbs
a 250 Savage in 7 1/2 lb gun with 100 @ 2900 is 7.8 ft/lbs
a 243 in 7 1/2 lb gun with 100 @ 2950 is 8.8 ft/lbs
my 338 Win mag in a 8 lb gun with 200 @ 3000 is around 30 ft/lbs.
Shot my 338 last fall off the bench for about 35-40 rounds and was surprised what the 1" limbsaver did to the recoil. it was also cooler and I had a jacket on over a thick shirt. I could have enjoyed shooting several more rounds, but was out of the loads and the gun needed cleaning. Stock design and a hard butt plate can make some guns killers on both ends.
I have a 4 3/4 pound 284 with a limbsaver and Carbon fiber stock that is not all that uncomfortable to shoot from the bench. The carbon fiber does help in recoil reduction along with the design of the stock (one of Melvin Forbes crown jewels of the hunting rifle of the world). Actually ran 20-25 rounds thru it from a bench before with no complaints. I have friends with those steel butplates '06's that I would not shoot 5 times from a bench for a case of beer.
Your 30 06 in a 8 lb gun with 165gr @ 2900 is 20 ft/lbs
a 284 Win in a 7.5 lb gun with 150 gr @ 2850 is 17 1/2 ftllbs
a 7x57 Mauser in a 8 3/4 lb gun with 139 @ 2700 is 11.7 ft/lbs
a 260 Rem in a 7 1/2 lb gun with 120 @ 2850 is 13.0 ft/lbs
a 250 Savage in 7 1/2 lb gun with 100 @ 2900 is 7.8 ft/lbs
a 243 in 7 1/2 lb gun with 100 @ 2950 is 8.8 ft/lbs
my 338 Win mag in a 8 lb gun with 200 @ 3000 is around 30 ft/lbs.
Shot my 338 last fall off the bench for about 35-40 rounds and was surprised what the 1" limbsaver did to the recoil. it was also cooler and I had a jacket on over a thick shirt. I could have enjoyed shooting several more rounds, but was out of the loads and the gun needed cleaning. Stock design and a hard butt plate can make some guns killers on both ends.
I have a 4 3/4 pound 284 with a limbsaver and Carbon fiber stock that is not all that uncomfortable to shoot from the bench. The carbon fiber does help in recoil reduction along with the design of the stock (one of Melvin Forbes crown jewels of the hunting rifle of the world). Actually ran 20-25 rounds thru it from a bench before with no complaints. I have friends with those steel butplates '06's that I would not shoot 5 times from a bench for a case of beer.
m1gunner
US Veteran
The Garand is a very soft shooting rifle. To me the Springfield 03A3 stomps me bad shooting the same round as the M1. Same round, close to the same weight, but vastly different feel.
Do what you need to to sight it in, when you shoot it while hunting, you won't feel a thing.
Do what you need to to sight it in, when you shoot it while hunting, you won't feel a thing.
Power is cool, sometimes I like to shoot really hot ones in my .357. But when it gets down to it a lesser cartridge can take deer and for 'fun' shooting it would be better not to have a gun that takes 'getting used to' to handle. For that I think I'd like something in the 6-7 mm range with velocities about maybe 2600 fps. I'd have to do homework to see what that would be but it wouldn't have near the power of a 30-06.
One thing that pushed the 30-06 is that the military used it and the ammo was common (and for a long time, cheap) and if it was good enough for the US military it's good enough for about everybody.
Update: Aha. A .243 would be about right, and you can use them to hunt deer here.
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I used to shoot national match with the M14 and later with an M1A and still later with an AR-15.
However I'd shoot some local DCM club matches with an M1 Garand, and on occasion with my 1903A1 or my 1903A3. Shooting a course of fire with an '03 will give you an appreciation for the folks who shot national match in the pre-Garand days. A seven pound rifle with a relatively narrow (compared to a Garand), curved steel buttplate generates about as much recoil as the average shooter can tolerate, and that was indeed the general reason why the battle rifle calibers of the era (.303, 8mm Mauser, .30-06, 7.62x54R) all have about the same level of power and recoil.
Ham Slamma
Member
,,,,,,"MAN-UP" and get a 45/70 with a 500Gr bullet!
Most people wont admit it but there are very few shooters these days that can really handle the recoil of a 30-06. When I say handle I don't just mean take it or stand it, I mean take it and still shoot the rifle well. It is a big rifle cartridge heaving out a big heavy bullet and using a lot of powder to get it done. Everything is relative...of course you fell a 7 pound 03 more than an 11 pound gas operated Garand...of course bench recoil is worse...it's way worse than what you feel when you are shooting at a charging grizzly!!!!!!
I don't encourage anyone to subject themselves to unnecessary recoil just to prove something to themselves or anyone else. I shoot blackpowder rifles and pistols three or four times a week, crescent shaped buttstocks can be difficult for some folks to deal with, especially when you use them appropriately which is below the shoulder joint above the bicep muscle. I had problems wearing a t-shirt and shooting my original 1886 Winchester 45/70, I bought one of the P-Pads that strap onto your shoulder and are filled with some kind of gel, it really helped while shooting from the bench with 405gr flying bricks. I have an early 50's model 70 in 30-06 that has the original metal buttplate, it reminds me of my experiences shooting the old Springfield when I was a kid. When shooting that rifle from the bench I have taken to using the strap on P-Pad, it really helps during all the shooting developing a hunting load that also delivers outstanding accuracy. Something you may find helpful is that the new bullets with partition tips deliver a superior knockdown to the older style partition bullets with less weight, therefore a lighter 150gr bullet that recoils mildly will perform as well as the older style bullets in 165gr. weight.
I remember helping a buddy sight in his brother's brand new Model 77 Ruger in 30-06, we both thought we were in for a day of sore shoulders being accustomed to what the 30-06 usually delivers in the course of a day of shooting and of course we were unprepared and were wearing only t-shirts. We had four boxes of 165 gr. bullets and the in the box Model 77, I noticed it had a nice thick red butt pad. We layed over the hood of the truck and sighted in on some targets 25 yds away and started taking turns firing. Turns out that Model 77 was the mildest recoiling 30-06 both of us had ever fired, it was actually pleasant to shoot. I was so impressed I got myself one the following year, very nice rifle.
I remember helping a buddy sight in his brother's brand new Model 77 Ruger in 30-06, we both thought we were in for a day of sore shoulders being accustomed to what the 30-06 usually delivers in the course of a day of shooting and of course we were unprepared and were wearing only t-shirts. We had four boxes of 165 gr. bullets and the in the box Model 77, I noticed it had a nice thick red butt pad. We layed over the hood of the truck and sighted in on some targets 25 yds away and started taking turns firing. Turns out that Model 77 was the mildest recoiling 30-06 both of us had ever fired, it was actually pleasant to shoot. I was so impressed I got myself one the following year, very nice rifle.
da gimp
Member
my wife when she was much younger, at age 26, weighed 120 lbs. at 5'2" & loved shooting USGI M2ball out of a as issued Garand & a as issued 1903 Springfield......her favorite shotgun was my grandpa's old Win mod 97, 12 ga that I put a Pachy recoil pad on for her to use as our "go to gun" on the farm, before I bought a Rem 870 12ga riot gun.. Recoil affects different people in much different ways.......
How well the stock fits has much to do with it too..and the fairly wide butt plates on the Garand & the 1903 helped her manage shooting them too, both off the bench & off hand.............
In 1984 or so, we'd picked up a NIB Rem 788 in .308 Win that came with a cheap scope , and had a very narrow/skinny (might have been birch) pale stock & that weighed about a lil less than 6lbs including the scope...........that puppy hurt me to shoot with Rem factory 150 gr loads first prone & then off the bench. It soon was traded off...... I've shot extended prone sessions with a brother-in-law's Rem 700 BDL in 7mmRem mag & much shooting of our Garand & a 1903 with USGI M2 ball that never bother me a whit..........but that stinking 788 HURT.........
How well the stock fits has much to do with it too..and the fairly wide butt plates on the Garand & the 1903 helped her manage shooting them too, both off the bench & off hand.............
In 1984 or so, we'd picked up a NIB Rem 788 in .308 Win that came with a cheap scope , and had a very narrow/skinny (might have been birch) pale stock & that weighed about a lil less than 6lbs including the scope...........that puppy hurt me to shoot with Rem factory 150 gr loads first prone & then off the bench. It soon was traded off...... I've shot extended prone sessions with a brother-in-law's Rem 700 BDL in 7mmRem mag & much shooting of our Garand & a 1903 with USGI M2 ball that never bother me a whit..........but that stinking 788 HURT.........
gregintenn
Member
Call me a wuss, but a standard 30-06 bolt action rifle has about all the recoil I want in a rifle.
bushmaster1313
Member
I had a Winchester 88 in .308 Winchester.
Traded it afer three shots for a 12 ga. Winchester 97 that kicks a lot less
I would go for the following:
(recoil based on Chuck Howks rifle recoil table atRifle Recoil Table
243 Win. (100 at 2960)________8.8
7mm-08 Rem. (140 at 2860)___12.6
300 Sav. (150 at 2630)________14.8
Nothing beats a 1928 Savage 99G in .300 Savage:
Traded it afer three shots for a 12 ga. Winchester 97 that kicks a lot less
I would go for the following:
(recoil based on Chuck Howks rifle recoil table atRifle Recoil Table
243 Win. (100 at 2960)________8.8
7mm-08 Rem. (140 at 2860)___12.6
300 Sav. (150 at 2630)________14.8
Nothing beats a 1928 Savage 99G in .300 Savage:
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I have never been recoil sensitive. I have fired .30-06, .308, .338 and .416 both actions off the bench and never felt like I was getting kicked hard. I have been bruised afterward but didn't think much of it while shooting. I share my rifles with others at ranges and have to keep in mind that others may react differently to my rifles than I do and caution them to the recoil of the bigger calibers. What I have never understood is adults setting children with punishing rifles just to laugh at them when they get hurt. Same for men setting women up with the same kind of rifle and then not understanding why the women do not want anything to do with firearms.
tbgunner88
Member
Try a 300RUM, you will think the 30-06 tickles after that.
