disco stu wrote:I've only ever shot on a bench once. All other times I've shot 308 I've never found recoil much to worry about at all, even as a young teenager shooting SLRs (but they are a heavy rifle). But on the bench I was left thinking that I don't want to have to do that for to many shots. Obviously some difference between standing, sitting, prone type shots compared to on the bench with rests.
I've started reloading and will need to do a session or two at the range soon test the loads and see what suits my rifle best. To achieve this I'll obviously have to take a fair few shots, and also ensure technique is good and I'm not flinching.
Given the 308 has been fine all other times I've shot it, I'm assuming the issue is me and my technique at the bench.
This video offered some advice for technique that lines up with other things I've seen, plus advice from a guy that shoots some very large cartridges.
https://youtu.be/_FhxVS5A3gkMain differences seem to be to get rifle closer to centre of body rather than out next to shoulder joint, and be sitting square to the rifle/target rather than angled
Do you more experienced shooters think following this will help with how I'm finding the recoil, or is there anything else I should take on board?
Some things I've heard conflicting info on its how tight to shoulder it should be, and if I should be really leaning into it. In the video (or possibly another) they seem to say you just pull back into shoulder with trigger hand with a little pressure, rather than getting it real tight. Being a tall bugger I find myself having to lean forward a fair bit to get a bit lower. Would being up straighter mean I go with it more and find it less of a "shock"? Being prone I've got basically all my weight behind it and don't find it an issue, making me think I don't really need to go with it/flex more.
Would really appreciate advice. Not having much luck finding the sort of info I thought would be out there.
Cheers, Stu
Due to arm and shoulder injuries I have become quite recoil sensitive, though .308 is fine. Mosin-Nagant's and 12ga guns are my biggest issue with painful recoil. .303's, .30-06 and 8x57mm aren't a problem so I can only put it down to the stock design.
If you can, build a bench at shoulder height, so you are freely standing behind the rifle. Keep solid contact between your shoulder and your cheek or the rifle will come back and punch you instead of just pushing. Worth remembering to tuck your thumb down beside the stock if it's close to your face.
I think leaning into the rifle/gun is more about the shooting than recoil mitigation, I lean in quite a lot.
I also find that keeping my shoulders squarer to the buttstock can help, I normally roll my body around the left side of the rifle, often I can tuck my left ear into my shoulder (as I don't wear hearing protection, putting a large lump of meat between my ear and the bang knocks a lot of the obnoxiousness out of it). But keeping squarer to the butt allows the rifle, or gun, to roll me rather than just push me back. This might all be an artifact of my specific injuries though. Just try different things until you find what works for you.
If you just need a bit more resilience for test sessions you can get gel pads you can put under your shirt to absorb some recoil and spread the rest over more surface area.
It may simply be that the stock doesn't suit your body structure very well, but I think that can only be determined by trying different rifles.
I also tried several kg of bullets strapped to the butt to more than double the weight of the gun. It certainly helped tame recoil, and it let the gun swing beautifully, but in no way was it practical for regular use