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Recoil

12K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  HillBilly44 
#1 ·
I am looking into buying a new rifle soon and I've narrowed it down to 3 choices. .300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua Mag, or .375 H&H. Now my question is, how is the recoil on these rifles? Assuming they are relatively heavy with a scope and all. The biggest rifle I've ever shot is my Remington 700 in 30-06, I mostly shoot 180gr bullets in it though sometimes I'll put some 220gr through it. The recoil from this doesnt bother me at all. Recoil has never really bothered me but I was just curious.
 
#3 ·
The 300 Win Mag doesn't kick nearly as much as the heavier calibers, although it smacks a bit.

The 375 H&H pushes the heck out of you, but it doesn't have the sharp jab of the 338 Lapua.

The 338 Lapua is a punishing caliber to shoot, even in heavy rifles. If you are recoil conscious, you WILL develop a flinch shooting the 338 Lapua, and probably shooting a 338 Win. I would much rather shoot my old Mdl 70 in 375 than my Ruger All Weather SS 338. It is an early SS All Weather with that Guillotine of a stock. :twisted: I did have an early Ruger 77 walnut in 338 that was very nice to shoot, but still came back so as you'd know it.

If all your hunting will be in N. America, I would go with the 300 Win Mag...a proven winner and great caliber.
 
#4 ·
Yac,

I've not shot a 375,but have shot the other 2. Both are managable,if you don't have any bad habits where recoil is concerned(flinching or jerking the trigger). The 338 that I shot was a Ruger and it surprised me. The recoil wasn't as bad as my 300. I've just gotten a barrel for my Encore in 300. I need to tell ya that this is not meant to be shot often and for extended periods. I had stated in a earlier post that the recoil wasn't that bad but have since changed my viewpoint on this. Get one that has a decent pad on the back and you should be fine with any of the 3. If scoping it, get a scope that has plenty of eye relief just in case.

HWD
 
#5 ·
My question would be the caliber options here.... the .338 Lapua and .375 H&H are similar in terms of energy, and would be used on similar game (BIG stuff). The .338 would be the long-range rifle of choice, and the .375 would be preferred if the shot was shorter (less than 100 yards or so).

The .300 mag isn't even close to being in the same league as the other two calibers - why would it even be a consideration if you're thinking about the other two?

It's kind of like "Should I buy a Ferrari F40, a Porsche 930, or a Chevy station wagon?"

Edited... I also notice that you already have an '06. If you're willing to face the ugly truth, the .300 Win Mag won't do anything the '06 can't do just as well.
 
#6 ·
wwb,

The 375 H&H has the same basic trajectory with a 270 PSP as an '06 with a 180 PSP, making it a viable 250-300yard round. That 338 Lapua is a great long range hard hitter, for sure. It also comes back at you pretty hard. :shock: :twisted:

When I take a 375 to Africa I take two scopes for it, both on QD Leupold Weaver type mounts. One is a 1-4 VariXII 1X4, and the other is a Leupold VariXII in either 2X7 or 3X9. I sight the 1X4 in for 100 yards and the more powerful scope in for 250. This way I can shoot the 1X4 out to 175-180 comfortably, and I can shoot the higher power rig from close in all the way out to 325 comfortably.

You have some merit in what you say about having an '06 and not needing the 300 Win Mag. :wink: :idea: If the hunter already has an '06, he should consider the 338 Lapua or 375 H&H, only IMHO. I'd go for the 375 because it is legal for what I hunt in some places where the 338 isn't, and due to the fact that I am a reactionary old F#rt who likes old things. :lol: I also happen to be very impressed with the various 338's from 338-06 to the 340 Wby. I think the 338 Win is one of the very best all time calibers. That Lapua is a burner and will take anything, anywhere! :D
 
#7 ·
wwb said:
The .300 mag isn't even close to being in the same league as the other two calibers - why would it even be a consideration if you're thinking about the other two?


Edited... I also notice that you already have an '06. If you're willing to face the ugly truth, the .300 Win Mag won't do anything the '06 can't do just as well.
well the 30-06 is the biggest rifle I've ever shot. So I'm really not too familiar with bigger guns. Thats why I was thinking maybe the .300 Win Mag, however, I've forgotten about it and I've narrowed it down to the .338 Lapua Mag or the .375. I dont know how the recoil on these will be but I'm a big guy and have never had any trouble with recoil ( I have a .454 Casull and some of my shotgun loads have over 25 ft-lbs of recoil).

luv2safari said:
You have some merit in what you say about having an '06 and not needing the 300 Win Mag. If the hunter already has an '06, he should consider the 338 Lapua or 375 H&H, only IMHO. I'd go for the 375 because it is legal for what I hunt in some places where the 338 isn't, and due to the fact that I am a reactionary old F#rt who likes old things. I also happen to be very impressed with the various 338's from 338-06 to the 340 Wby. I think the 338 Win is one of the very best all time calibers. That Lapua is a burner and will take anything, anywhere!
why isnt the .338 allowed to be used for hunting in some areas where the .375 would be allowed? Heres the thing too about these rifles. I really couldnt use either of them for much here in Ohio. We can only use shotguns with slugs for deer so most of the shooting will be target shooting and the occasional picking off of a groundhog, this is why I"m kind of leaning towards the .338 Lapua. However, I'm thinking maybe the .375 because I would like to go and hunt outside of Ohio at some point (moose), and I like big guns. I do have a good job so maybe I should buy both? :D

Actually does anyone have any recommendations on a .338 Lapua mag? Who makes guns in this caliber and which would be the best. Same for the .375, which would be the best gun to get this in?. Thanks
 
#9 ·
i personally like the weatherby mark 5. all of their mark 5's now come with a pachmayer decelerator pad factory installed which helps with the recoil.

for an extra 150 you can have the factory upgrade of the acubreak put on which reduces 53 percent of the recoil.

this with the pachmayer make for a not so sharp shooter on the other end so to speak

if i was to go with a semi auto or lever i would go with a browning myself.

the bar safari 2 with a boss also reduces recoil greatly

i origionally am from ohio as well and always hated using those stupid sabots to get any descent shooting.

now i am in this frozen tundra called wisconsin which is no better but atleast i can use my riffles.
 
#10 ·
Big Yac,

The 338 isn't legal many places for:

Elephant
Lion
Cape Buffalo
Hippo
Rhino

Whereas the 375 is...

Since I've shot off all the remaining High Desert Rhino here in Nevada, and most of the Cape Buffalo, I use my tiny 338 Win most of the time any more... :wink: :wink: :roll: :lol:
 
#11 ·
p.s.

some of my shotgun loads have over 25 ft-lbs of recoil).
http://weatherby.com/images/products/g_accessories/acces_accubrake_charts.gif

your recoil is around this without an accubreak
300 wby has 39.2
340 wby has 44.2
30-378 wby 55.1
338-378 wby 46.3
375 wby 46.1
378 wby 71.1
416 wby 83.5
460 wby 99.6

now just by throwing the accubreak on the hardest hitting one being the 460 wby will be reduced to 46.8

416---39.2
378---33.4
375---21.7
338-378----21.8
30-378----25.9
340---20.8
300--18.4
 
#13 ·
Re: re: Recoil

luv2safari said:
Big Yac,

The 338 isn't legal many places for:

Elephant
Lion
Cape Buffalo
Hippo
Rhino

Whereas the 375 is...

Since I've shot off all the remaining High Desert Rhino here in Nevada, and most of the Cape Buffalo, I use my tiny 338 Win most of the time any more... :wink: :wink: :roll: :lol:
I havent noticed too many elephants or cape buffalo here in Ohio...except my brothers wife , oh that was mean :D

actually I'm now thinking I might just go all out and buy one of each rifle, one in .338 Lapua and one in .375

I know theres absolutely no need for such a rifle in Ohio, but I figure, one cant have enough guns and I still would love a trip out of Ohio to hunt, so Id always have a rifle on hand.
 
#15 ·
:D I shoot a Ruger Mark II in 338 Remington Mag and utilize a 210 grain Federal Premium round that shoots three shots within a quarter on the target. The recoil in my old Ruger 7mm Remington Mag would literally break superficial blood vessels in my shoulder it bucked so hard. Never really feel the recoil in my 338 but you can see from my signature that it has lots of customizing features to solve this issue.

Traded off my Ruger 7mm tang safety model for a Weatherby Vanguard Stainless in 7mm Remington Mag. with a synthetic stock. It hardly bucks at all with a Federal Premium 165 Sierra Boattail round. So, all rifles shoot differently.

Didn't help your decision but at least our comments give you food for thought. Good luck on your choice. Semper Fi
 
#17 ·
Re: re: Recoil

luv2safari said:
.....I also happen to be very impressed with the various 338's from 338-06 to the 340 Wby. I think the 338 Win is one of the very best all time calibers.
In several trips to Alaska with 2 different outfitters and a couple different guides, as well as a couple unguided trips with Alaska residents I've become friends with, I've found the .338 Win to be by far the most common caliber among both the guides and the residents... that says something.

They don't poke fun at me for showing up with an '06, though... they just make sure that I have either 200 or 220 grain loads.
 
#18 ·
There is a reasonably priced solution to heavy recoil...the Knoxx Rifle CompStock. Based on the Hogue OverMolded stock, the CompStock mechanism is installed in the stock and net peak recoil is reduce by more than 55%.

We installed the CompStock mechanism on a Bell & Carlson stocked .460 Weatherby loaned to us by the factory (located just down the road from us). We also got several hundred rounds of the 500 grn. Factory ammo for it. In the company of the former marketing director and the factory engineers we demonstrated our product. The factory guys wouldn't shoot the gun at all so our technician, Mike, shot it with the CompStock and the Accu-Brake. He shot three rounds and the offered the rifle to the factory techs. They fearfully tried it and found it pleasant to shoot. Then we removed the accu-brake. They absolutely refused to touch the rifle. Mike shot about forty rounds in a very short time...then the rear sight fell off from overheating.

All in all, we shot up about 60 rounds of the $8/rnd ammo and enjoyed it. Craig Boddington came around and shot it and wrote it up in Guns & Ammo. His comment, "Wow!"

The worst thing about the whole experience was when the Marketing guy said they weren't interested because "most people who buy Weatherby Rifles just buy them to look at!" The guy is no longer their Marketing Director.

There is new video on the Rifle CompStock page that shows the stock in action. Take a look if you get the chance.

CaCrusin

http://www.knoxx.com 8)
 
#19 ·
Big Yac said:
wwb said:
We can only use shotguns with slugs for deer so most of the shooting will be target shooting and the occasional picking off of a groundhog
If you hit a groundhog with either of these choices, i think all you would see would be pink mist...

Also, i was under the impression that muzzle breaks were frowned upon, or even illegal in areas where you would hunt the big 5.

Finnally, IMO, 25 ft-lbs of recoil is not much at all, especially when compared to the recoil from the calibers you speak of. Granted a .338 WM from an A-Bolt is the biggest ive ever shot, and it wasnt too bad, but i wouldnt want to target shoot all day with it.
 
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