velvalco

I took my ruger M77 30-06 out today to fine tune the scope, not only am i disatisfied with the performance, my shoulder hurts. I shot a 4.5 in group at 100 yards and have a bruised shoulder.

This one may be going on the trading block for a .308 soon ( i heard the recoil is lighter on the 308, anybody got an opinion?)

deputy125

i usually take a beating on a trade so i try to avoid it.

does your rifle have a good recoil pad on it? A decent pad such as a pachmyer decelerator can make all the difference in the world. these are available in "pre-fit" and grind to fit.

http://www.pachmayr.com/prefit-pads.php



for a slip-on pad, i like this one size fits all one here
http://www.shootersfriend.com/

it is ugly as sin, but it is soft and very wide which helps alot.

as far as a 308 recoiling less.......yes, on paper it is supose to. But there is a lot of other things that come into play such as stock fit and weight. I have never compared exact models side by side of an 06 and 308 to see for myself. But if a rifle don't fit, it will beat you to death.

i shoot a 308 carbine in a ruger 77 RSI mkii.....love it and it don't bother me with the std factory pad....but it fits.

shot a browning 270 rifle that was too long in the stock........it was absolutely painful.

sheepdog

...I fired two bolt actions in the same day...the .30-06 smacked the piss outa me...the .308 was fun...haven't fired another -06 since...one was a 700...the other a 70....around 1968....long live .308...my firm but only mildly experienced opinion...

b.roberts

SA receivers make for a 1/4-1/2 pound lighter rifle. In my experience, .308 and 30-06 rifles kick about the same, especially with bullets that weigh 165grs or less. The very slight difference in power seems to be more than made up for with the .308 weighing slightly less. If you have the "boat paddle" stock on your M77, I feel your pain from here. I fired one of those in .308 and it was the most painful rifle I have ever fired. My M77 in 30-06 with the traditional synthetic stock was uncomfortable for extended shooting sessions off a bench. Much more than ten rounds from a bench and my shoulder would be sore. It did not hurt at all for offhand shots. I still took the factory recoil pad off and replaced it with a limbsaver pad. That change, alone, made shooting from the bench much more comfortable. My brother in law hunts with a sporterized m1903. That is the lightest kicking 30-06 rifle I have ever shot. So, as deputy125 was saying above, it really comes down to stock design, plus weight of the rifle. Adding a good recoil pad can really help when you are shooting from the bench. Within reason, I don't care what the caliber is, you won't notice the recoil when shooting at large game animals. I sure don't.

b.roberts

Forgot to add, that 4.5" group is probably pain induced, not the intinsic accurracy of the rifle. It is really, really hard to not flinch if pulling the trigger is hurting you. Next time put something between the rifle and your shoulder. I have even used a spare pistol rug or an extra sand bag when the rifle had an inadequate, or no, recoil pad.

tx gun runner

Note .... there is no recoil pad on this rifle which is under 7 lbs . I don't shoot heavy recoil guns because I have bad shoulder . This gun don't recoil because of stock drop in butt .

velvalco

Yes i have the Boat Paddle allweather stock, so the recoil is more with the boat paddle stock?

I would agree that the large group is due to flinching. I fired 12 rounds, and i had to stop. I don't normally fire so many rounds, but i had just replaced the scope, and couldn't seem to dial it it.

deputy125

this one fits the ruger paddle stock
http://www.lymanproducts.com/cgi-bin/sc ... t-pads.php

you can find it cheaper if you shop around

if you have been shooting it "as is" with that narrow profile and hard pad.......that is indeed painfull for about anything over a 243

deputy125

here it is at midway for a few bucks less
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=548948

Snuffy

I have to agree with gun runner, I had a 270 in a 77 it beat me to death. The drop of the comb on the stock is too high thus more felt recoil. You can get the Limb saver from packmyer which will really help you, but there is going to be more felt recoil with that stock. The normal recoil from a 30-06 is 36 foot pounds the 308 is 34 foot pound. To me about the same.
One cheap way to stop the recoil from bench shooting is place a 25 pound bag of shot between your shoulder and the butt stock. Learned that little trick years ago when a fellow shooter was sighting in Weahterby 460. Took the recoil out of that rifle. He let me shoot it, and I can tell you it works.
It doesn't take much on the drop of the comb on a stock to either make it a fun rifle to shoot or a beater. Been there don't that and got the shoulder to prove it, can you say ouch!!!!

gunman42782

My 77MK2 in 30/06 does not kick bad at all. It has a Houge rubber stock with a great recoil pad, as well as a heavy barrel.

Bountyhunter

I've owned both and don't think the 308 kicks much less. Like has been said, it's the individual gun that makes the difference. Get the gun a nice new stock that fits you well and have fun with it. The last gun i shot that left me a bruise was my 12 gauge. Pump 5 quick shots thru that and you'll know you were shooting.

sheepdog

...that Hogue's sharp, Gunman...looks good on every rifle I've seen it on....

gunman42782

Thanks. The rifle looks different than the picture now. I need to take another pic. I have painted the barrel black with some stuff I bought from Brownells, and put a Harris bi-pod on it.

sheepdog

...I've wanted a .308 for the last few years...for a longer range experience...but seems most of them are shipped with no iron sights now...and I don't like scopes...what are the options there??? I've never bought a bolt action gun...yet...

Johngoboom

5 rounds of a 12 Gauge Bad??? Try running though 100 or so heavy hunting rounds in a day out of one...Then you'll know what "pull flinch" really means.

Velvalco....Everyone here has gave you good advice. I'm a recoil junky. I've yet to run into a gun where I couldn't shoot it at least a few times before I waved the white flag. And that includes a 6 1/2 lb Ruger M77 .375 H&H that was turned into a "Mountain Gun". But if you know your the flinchy type, and every one is to a certain extent, I can tell you get a good pad, and good rest like a Caldwell Lead Sled. They can make all the difference on the bench.

The worst gun I have is a Mosin Nagant M44 with the old steel but plate. About 10 rounds of that, and you know you're going to have a nice bruise on the shoulder.

gunman42782

Here is a pic of the gun with the barrel painted.



You are right about most of the guns not having iron sights anymore. Hard to find a bolt gun with iron sights.

velvalco

I've never had much problem with recoil, enjoy shooting 12 gage and 45/70, and i made it through 12 rounds of 180gr before i waved the flag. My main concern is if it's going to beat the crap out of me, i would like it to be at least accurate...lol

Gunman, how is the accruacy of your M77? I like the houge stock.

velvalco

i purchased a limbsaver (based on great reviews) for the M77 hopefully it will be here before deer season. I like the look and feel of this rifle, i just want it to be reasonably accurate without beating me up. I'll try different loads to test accuracy after season. I admit i was using standard off the shelf elcheapo wally world winchester 180gr soft points. i have a box of hornady 180gr, i may try some 165gr and 150 gr to see if accuracy is better....of course all this after my shoulder isn't so ripe.

If the accuracy doesn't improve (i'm sure most of it was flinch) i'll trade it off, after watching the hog killing video, i've got a hankerin for a dpms panther 308...lol i'm way too easily influenced by things to go boom videos....

gunman, how accurate is your ruger 30-06?

Snuffy

I believe the limb saver will help you a great deal. Each rifle has what they like and don't like, if you reload you can taylor your loads to the rifle and your shooting style. My M 77 older model loves 165 boat tails 1/2 groups at 100 yards.