Changing rifles because of excess recoil.

[elkhnter]

I bought a new Winchester 338 w/ a 26" barrel from Cabelas. Took it to the range, shot 2 boxes of ammo through it and just could not get a consistent grouping. Spoke to some folks that are more into guns than I and went back to the range and shot another 2 boxes through it. I used a gun sled, shot off a sleeping bag, and shot it fee hand. Still could not get any consistent grouping. I even took it to a Gun Smith and he stated that something was not quite right. I went back to Cabelas and told them what I did and what I perceived as an issue. I was wanting to return it, but put the "money" towards another gun in their store. I was even willing to put additional money towards a "replacement" gun. Cabelas told me, "no". If there was an issue with the gun … I would have to contact the manufacturer directly. This pissed me off. I equate it to purchasing a car at a dealership. If the car is a "lemon" … I'm going back to the dealership to make good on their sale. If the dealership said, "no, … you need to contact Ford/Chevy/Dodge and deal with them directly; I would be pissed. So, suffice it to say, I will never buy a gun at Cabelas and I have steered away from Cabelas as a whole (this includes Bass Pro). I now shop at Scheels.

Anyone want a Winchester 338 w/ a 26 inch barrel . Make me an offer.

What do you want for it?

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I hand load and shoot my .270 most of the time with 130gr bullets...at least 3 days a week in the summer.
I use the .270 for sitka blacktail deer, dall sheep, black bear, caribou.
My magnum rifle is a 300 H & H which does not kick much, but brass is much more expensive and hard to find compared to the .270 Win.
I hand load the 300 H & H with 180gr bullets for moose and grizzly bear.

They have about the same felt recoil since the 300 H&H is a couple pounds heavier than the .270 Win.

Both are 1970s vintage Remington 700s, same trigger pull, same old Leupold 3X9 scopes, both sighted 3 inches high at 100 yds.
Virtually the same ballistics:
)

 

[GlockZ]

My go rifles are either my 270 or 30-06, unless the weather has a 50% chance or better of precipitation, then I bring out my 300WM because it is the only stainless rifle I own. Luckily for me, recoil hasn't been an issue yet.

 

[longbow51]

My wife has a Remington VLS in .260 with Leupold Mark 4. Heavy rifle, but she is strong and doesn't care. It is bug-hole accurate. 19 deer and one antelope with 21 shots (one clipped a branch).

While the .260 is a low-recoiling round the real key for her is rifle weight. As someone mentioned, the current trend is to build sheep rifles even though 99% will never hunt sheep. Much easier to hold a heavier rifle steady, particularly when you're breathing hard.

 

[specneeds]

I hunt with traditional weight rifles 9-10 lbs with scope, sling loaded. They point & shoot wery well for me. I’m guessing most hunters who grew up hunting started & some stayed with that weight rifle. I could certainly lose a pound or so before their shooting characteristics suffered. Below 7 lbs every rifle I have felt didn’t point or hold steadily enough for me to be comfortable. New hunters hear all the buzz & often buy something the can’t really shoot well and assume they aren’t capable. Practice makes perfect but if you can’t do it from a bench good luck off a knee.

I understand the motivation to go light. At the end of the day elk hunting they feel like 14 lb lumps of lead. And I’ve chosen to walk the extra mile to bring the truck back with my buddy’s lightweight 30-06 because my darn 300 Weatherby felt so heavy after packing out an elk quarter 3 miles. The gun’s primary mission is to shoot accurately the lighter you can get that done the better.

 

[brokfut]

Had a 30-338 win mag built in '94 as a dedicated elk rifle. Killed elk and mule deer with it. Had a 280 Remington built in '96 as a mountain rifle for deer. After shoulder replacement, had the 30-338 braked and added a recoil pad. the 30-338 is much kinder on my 70 year old body then the 280 Remington. Range sessions are short so the noise with protection is minimal. Hunting, one shot is tolerable since I use ear protection there too. Not getting rid of a super accurate rifle over a little extra noise. Scoped and loaded the magnum is just 8.5 pounds so not overly heavy even for an old man.

 

[Mosquito]

Had a 30-338 win mag built in '94 as a dedicated elk rifle. Killed elk and mule deer with it. Had a 280 Remington built in '96 as a mountain rifle for deer. After shoulder replacement, had the 30-338 braked and added a recoil pad. the 30-338 is much kinder on my 70 year old body then the 280 Remington. Range sessions are short so the noise with protection is minimal. Hunting, one shot is tolerable since I use ear protection there too. Not getting rid of a super accurate rifle over a little extra noise. Scoped and loaded the magnum is just 8.5 pounds so not overly heavy even for an old man.

I sure hope im still hunting at 70 + . Thats awesome

 

[EastTNHunter]

My daughter killed deer with a 30-06 when she was a dainty 10 year old. 125gr handloads in the 2800fps range. Elk probably need a little more than that, but I think that you get the point. 130gr TTSX at 3000 FPS or 150gr Accubonds at 2800-2900 FPS should be very tolerable elk medicine.

 

[TheJason]

Elk probably need a little more than that,

Not really. When my daughter was 14 she killed her first elk with a .243 and 85 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

 

[D4570]

Not really. When my daughter was 14 she killed her first elk with a .243 and 85 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

That has been my go-to elk set up for years.
BUT now I'll use my 8mm RM.

 

[mtmuley]

I'm not gonna change rifles because of recoil. I'll brake the RUM first. Can't believe I said that. mtmuley

 

[nontyp]

I shot a .300 wm for the first time last week. Honestly I thought the recoil was very manageable. I was expecting much worse. Having grown up shooting slugs out of shotguns, I think a 12 gauge 870 with 3” slugs puts a .300 to shame.

 

[brokfut]

Mosquito: I have been on a diet for last 3 month getting rid of an excess 15 lbs so I can do my solo hunt this year. Will be hunting in unit 31 along the Snake River. Climbing up from the river to get elevation and glassing all the folds and drainages. Gonna be a bitch but really looking forward to it. I have found some natural tanks up a couple of draws that deer will be using. Hope this isn't my last trip but if it is, it's been a good run.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

The biggest advantage I see in not using a Magnum is a little lighter rifle and higher magazine capacity.
I currently hunt with three Rifles.
6mm Rem
.264 Win Mag
300 H&H
If I had to have one rifle I would go with a .280 Rem because of the high BC bullets, for Elk Nosler 160gr AB. Deer I would look for a Nosler 140-150 BT or Hornady bullet.

 

[JTHOMP]

If you have to go up in size I’d recommend a good recoil pad. I couldn’t handle the recoil on my .308 light weight gun that kicked hard and sharp. I posted a similar thread and that was a few people’s recommendation. Since adding a limbsaver recoil pad the gun fits me better (I’m a taller lanky guy) and I can shoot and stay on target. Sighting it in use to be punishment. Now it’s fun to shoot.


It’s a $22 on amazon right now. It’s worth a try.

 

[CubSlayer]

I bought a .338 Federal stainless rifle this year and was surprised at how low the recoil was. This seemed odd - until I weighed the rifle: 9.5 lbs. Damn, I wish I had chosen a lighter model. I also went a bit heavy on rings and the scope.

Later, I bought my girl a lightweight .308. Was worried she would not handle the recoil, as this is under 7lbs with everything. Doesn't seem to be a problem.

 

[nordicStalk]

How many of you have changed from a magnum caliber to a gun with less recoil? The gun I shoot the most is a 7mag and the gun I go to for other things or less recoil is a 7mm-08. Big difference. I do not like brakes so I won't install one. I have not stopped hunting with the mag yet but might in the near future and the recoil really isn't that bad with the best recoil pads and getting the gun to fit. I have 4 friends that are all over 65 (like me) and none of them shoot their 30 caliber magnums any more. One guy started with a 300 Weatherby mag then a 300 win mag and now a 7-08. Another had a 300 win short mag and he now shoots a 280. 2 others have 300 win mags and have gone back to their 30-06. A couple added brakes and the noise is excessive. I think in all of the cases I mentioned it is about the muscle mass or lack of muscle mass as some guys are pushing 80 and cannot stand the recoil. If you are less than 60 you probably dont care. If you are 70 you might be starting to think about a 308 instead of a 300 mag.
I have noticed on here recently some posts about 300 mags and was just wondering what percentage of shooters have decided the magnums aren't needed for their type of hunting?

Not the kinda answer you asked for, but another way is to get a silencer. It does wonders with recoil as well as it saves your hearing. I picked one up last year and I dont know how I ever survived without it.

I use it on my .308 and a 9.3x62 rifles. The change is huge especially on the 9.3 (I used to dread zeroing that one in). The .308 also improved a lot, but the biggest improvement is the ability to stay on a small target with a high magnification scope through long shots.

 

[buffybr]

Technically not a magnum, but for over 20 years my "anything larger than a deer" rifle was my .30 Gibbs (a blown out .30-06 that shot 180 grain Partitions at 2900+ fps, about .300 Win mag velocities).

Then in 2000 I bought my first "real" magnum rifle, a 7 mm Remington. Five years later I bought a .375 RUM (pictured in my avatar) and after the first day at the range with it the recoil was so bad that I had a KDF muzzle brake put on it. A couple of years later I also installed a recoil reducer in it's stock. That tamed the recoil enough that I was able to work-up sub moa loads with three different bullets for it, and I took it on two African hunts. It's recoil was manageable enough that I was able a number of animals with it from prone positions, including several at over 300 yards like a Klipspringer and a Baboon.

Then in 2010 when I was 64 years old, and having wanted one for 40 years, I bought a .300 Weatherby Vanguard. Before I fired the first shot through it I had a KDF brake installed on it and I put a recoil reducer in the stock that I made for it. That tamed it's recoil down to the recoil level of my .308 Vanguard.

Now the two rifles that I hunt with the most are my 7 mm RM and my 300 Wby. Both have each been on more than three international hunts. The 7 mag is Stainless in a plastic stock so if I expect wet weather I take it. My .300 Wby is blued in a fancy walnut stock so it's more of a fair weather rifle, but it's my favorite.

I won't change down from my magnum rifles, but I have changed my hardest kicking rifles to bring their recoil down.

 

[mannmicj]

I just got a .270 Win which I have been wanting for years. I think it's all about what gun you feel the most comfortable with and are the most accurate.

As someone else stated, bullet placement is the most important factor. It's your hunt and your choice.

 

[Single Malt]

I bought into the magnumitis craze about 15 years ago and bought a 300 Win mag. Killed lots of critters, but after having a rod placed in my clavicle a few years ago, I can't stand the recoil anymore. I tried being a tough guy, but have recently decided the heck with it. The question now is 308 or 708?

Both are excellent choices. I've chosen the .308 due to the availability of ammunition, it's well-developed cartidge with a wide variety of bullet grains and types, and it shoots what my AR-10 shoots. Having said that, the 7-08 is a wonderful, versatile cartridge and doesn't kick as hard. Long range ballistics are impressive as well. In the back of my mind, I'm still thinking about the 7-08...