“Kick” is another term, and some refer to it as “thump”! Then there are more unpleasant terms like “getting booted” by a rifle or shotgun.
This piece is reserved to centerfire medium and big game rifles, though, with absolute certainty, handguns and shotguns can dish out their own kind of “hurt”!
So the plan is to talk about it in general terms, then in specifics, and finally how it can be modified or managed so that we can learn to shoot rifles and cartridges that will hurt less than we imagined, or the media and scuttlebutt says they’re going to!
< When we’re facing a gang like this that can impost its own kind of hurt, recoil of the rifle quickly fades from memory!
There is that “equal and opposite momentum”, often referred to as “force”. Often it’s calculated as kinetic energy, which is a different formula than momentum or “force”. The rearward movement of the rifle will equal the momentum of the bullet when it leaves the muzzle. For example: a 500gr projectile leaving the muzzle at 2200 fps will have a force of 500 x 2200/7000 = 157 pounds-feet (The usual way of comparing it with any other rifle/cartridge load). For comparison’s sake, a 180gr x 2700 fps from a .30-06 = 486000/7000 = 69 pounds-feet of momentum/force, or 44 % that of the 500gr at 2200 fps. Then there are other mitigating factors as well, such as the amount of propellant used in each cartridge, the weight of the rifles and jet effect of the gases. So the speed of the rifle in recoil, and its weight, determines the amount of kinetic energy involved – the usual way of expressing “kick”. But heavy-slow bullets from a “heavy” rifle slows the momentum so that “felt recoil” often seems less than the KE number suggests it should be. Oftentimes this is expressed as the recoil effect being “heavy but slow”. That’s because the kinetic energy is spread over a longer time period – that is relatively speaking because it all happens, regardless of the KE number, in thousandths of a second.
That was a layman’s way of telling it… a true scientist would give us facts and numbers that would boggle the mind! Be all that as it may, the real hunter/shooter is concerned about the end product felt by his shoulder. That will be discussed a bit later, but for the moment we simply need to know that there are rather simple methods of calculating the energy and momentum of a particular rifle and cartridge in comparison with some others. A simple formula that I use is: 1.75 x pw x bw x fps/rw/7000/64.4 = R (pw is powder weight in grains; bw is bullet weight; rw is rifle weight in lbs; R is recoil in ft-lbs). Some formulas use 1.50 instead of 1.75 which may increase the recoil factor too much for smaller calibers.
< When I was moose hunting with my CZ550 in .458 WM in the far north of Ontario, any concern over recoil was far less than getting my next cup of hot coffee!
Starting out, we may have heard or read somewhere that a typical .375 H&H will “kick harder” than a typical .30-06. But the obvious question is: By how much? Then the formulas can give an estimate of “by how much”. Usually, however, one is instructed, or invited, to fire a few shots from a friend’s .375 H&H at the range. But that may not be factory loads from a standard-weight M70 Winchester, but reloads on the “hot” side of matters from a “worked-on” M70 (or other) to reduce it’s “natural” weight! That would obviously create more recoil – maybe a lot more – than a “natural” load from a “natural” M70 in .375 H&H. To put a face on that: A 270gr factory load from a 9.5 lb M70, in its original form, will have a recoil of about 36.5 ft-lbs of KE, whereas a 300gr from an 8.5 lb “custom” .375 H&H at 2600 fps could have a recoil of around 46 ft-lbs of KE (depending on the amount of propellant used to attain that number – especially if the barrel is shorter than 24″). But that’s 27% more recoil than a “standard load” from a usual .375 H&H. That increase from a particular .375 H&H may very well be enough to discourage the enquiring hunter/shooter from ever looking at another .375 H&H in the future, much less of ever thinking of getting into true Big Bores!
All that to point out that very light rifles, in whatever cartridge, are attractive to the presumed hunter that might spend one-half, or more, of his/her time in hunting on foot in terrain that’s not your typical local mall!
The trend to light rifles for all cartridges has arrived! So has the trend to fast but light bullets in smaller calibers with muzzle brakes. With ATVs in every other garage, nobody wants to “walk it up” anymore! So we have a generation of hunters with rooms full of these types of rifles that all do pretty-much the same thing. So discussions in chat rooms on the Internet revolve around whether to use a 120gr vs a 140gr in their 6.5s – as one example! So – in a sense – we’ve grown up hunters who dislike recoil more than a .308 Winchester, because life in general has treated them with the latest toy that’s painless for killing big game! Exceptions prevail in tough places like Alaska and the Yukon!
To be fair, I must admit that at my age less weight and recoil is attractive! But what is attractive is NOT always – and rarely is what’s best for maintenance of good health and longevity! Somehow society through politics believes it’s a God given right to protect us from any kind of pain! Yet the old adage is still true: “No pain, no gain”. That’s NOT to suggest that anyone should love pain, or want to inflict it on others, but it remains true for humans: We listen and learn best through a measure of suffering. While we may protect ourselves from most physical pain, but NEVER from all other kinds like failure, disappointment, loss, etc. All is either designed or allowed by God for our good, not our destruction!
So, back to our theme: We can only measure recoil by how it “feels” to us. And that’s dependant on a number of factors in addition to the physics of the matter.
< When I shot this moose with my .340 Wby Mag, physics said I was getting “kicked” by 54 ft-lbs of recoil… Strange, but I don’t remember anything about that! But I have fond memories of that hunt with a son!
1> The psychological aspect: People can’t all fit into the same “shoe box”. And that includes the people who call themselves “hunters”. Not only do we have distinct body styles but distinct psychological “styles”. That’s what democracies are all about, and why there is not only hot arguments and divisions over politics in democracies, but near hatred: “I’m always right, and those who agree with me are always right… and the others are just plain wrong!” So it is in the hunting and shooting world, if the Internet is any indication.
The solution to all that in politics and hunting is obviously compromise! Admitting our biases and agreeing where possible and when practical (the best for all concerned). Giving “the devil his due”, so to speak. But “sticking to our guns” if and when necessary for our “psychological factor” to remain intact!
For one shooter, they can’t tolerate recoil over 20 ft-lbs of KE, for another the limit is the .700 Overkill with only God knowing how much recoil that feels like because the shooter’s nervous system can’t tell him because it died at the mere thought of what was about to happen! When I had my motorcycle accident I lost consciousness just before (I’d committed myself to God) and regained it after, at 30 ft beyond the car in a sitting up position wondering what “that” was all about! Likewise for those who shoot the likes of a .700 Overkill! But, there is the sound notion that gradually being introduced to heavier recoil than we’re used to eventually leads to trying yet heavier recoiling rifles. I never started shooting a .458 WM, or its equivalent in recoil until I reloaded .45-70s around the age of 50! A decade earlier I owned my first magnums: 7mm, a 300 WM, a .338 WM, before I owned my first .45-70. And the poor shape of the 1895 Marlin booting me to the tune of 40 ft-lbs teaches a lot about handling 40 ft-lbs recoil from a very badly shaped stock with a rock-hard butt pad! But I came NOT to resent it, but respect it, so much so that it seemed “normal”. Almost anything after that seemed very respectable, like my .340 WBY dishing out 54 ft-lbs seemed mild by comparison with that Marlin in .45-70!
2> The physical aspect: Age may be a factor, health and physical conditioning is another. Size and weight is rarely a factor. When shooting at the range use a very good shield in a shoulder pad and/or a thick towel and jacket. And don’t slouch, as in “bench-rest” style. Sit up straight so your body will move with the recoiling rifle. That means a rifle rest that allows it. If using a scope, don’t “crawl the stock” to get closer to the eyepiece of a scope. Use scopes with long ER’s (eye-relief) of at least 4″. I’ve liked the Burris fixed 4x by 21mm with a long ER of 5.5″. I’ve never been “touched” by the scope on a hard recoiling rifle, either at the bench or in the field. Also, use excellent eye and ear protection, even in the field!
< That fixed 4x Burris on my CZ550 in .458 WM had an eye relief of over 5 inches, enduring hundreds of rounds of “hot” ammo without complaint or failure .
3> The rifle: Its ergonomics (see above) – how well it fits the shooter (most important). A good recoil pad. Change it, or have it changed if its too hard or thin. I had the pad on my Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT (an infamous, hard, thin rubber) changed out to a thick Pachmayr due to loads that equalled a .458 WM. The rifle with ammo and scope only weighed 8.4 lbs. Also a good muzzle brake can mitigate recoil velocity by up to about 20% (or more is claimed by some companies). I now have muzzle brakes on all my big-game rifles. You don’t like the increased noise? There are ways of dealing with that too: Wear some suitable ear muffs, like any person does in factories, machine shops, or even driving heavy machinery! Uncomfortable? Do you shoot at a range? Without ear protection? Live with the pain of a busted ear drum then! AND pull the rifle tight to the shoulder, WITH BOTH HANDS, if it’s a big-bore rifle and cartridge!
4> The load: This can make a huge difference in felt recoil. The difference in felt recoil of two distinct loads from the same rifle can make one pleasant to shoot and the other “ugly”! That’s why some select a lighter bullet over the heavy one. We need to be practical about this, however, Though technically they may have differences in KE in ft-lbs of recoil that favors the lighter bullet, yet in practice the recoil of the rifle firing the lighter bullet may be quicker than the slower recoil caused by the heavier projectile. Remember: it’s the speed of the recoiling rifle that gives a sense of “felt” recoil. There are several nuances to this, but the speed the bullet must attain at the muzzle is quicker from a light bullet than a heavier bullet at a slower velocity at the muzzle.
For example: I’ve currently two loads I’m working on for my new .35 Whelen (22″): 1) a 225gr at about 2750 fps (3779 ft-lbs) over 65 grains propellant, and 2) a 250gr at 2565 fps (3653 ft-lbs) over 56 grains of a different propellant. The recoil based on physics of the 225gr is 36.7 ft-lbs from my relatively light 7.5 lb rifle with scope and ammo ready to hunt. Load 2) shows a recoil of 33.7 ft-lbs. For a big bear or moose I’d choose the second load (250gr) as it has greater momentum and higher SD. Both of those loads, by the way, will be reduced in felt recoil by up to 20% from the muzzle brake = 29.4 ft-lbs and 27 ft-lbs respectively. So a lighter, faster bullet is not always the best choice, especially if we think it will give less recoil!
My choice of the 225gr or 250gr will depend on what I’m hunting and where. The 225 obviously has a better trajectory for longer ranges, and insures adequate expansion all the way to 500 yards, whereas the 250gr will insure some expansion to 400 yards. In this case, recoil is NOT the deciding factor. I see the 225gr (Nosler Partition) as an “all-rounder”, and the 250gr (NP) as a more specialised weight for heavy game at closer ranges – though either will “geterdun” at any practical range.
This brief article surely doesn’t cover “all the bases” but, hopefully, will review some of the finer points in our choices of rifles and their loads for medium and big game based on management of their potential “felt” recoil.
Til the next…
Shalom
BOB MITCHELL
Lovin' The Big Bang 