Any info and help in reproducing a "managed recoil" 308 round--

[Homerange]

Within reason felt recoil is a product of how much you shoot. I hate getting my shoulder bashed and refuse most opportunities to shoot large calibers that are brought to my range.
Doing stuff I shouldn't have in my teens left me very recoil conscious and it's taken decades to learn to shoot reasonably with larger centerfires. Purchase of a 223 was the best thing I ever did, cheap and fun to shoot and helped me immensely to get over my centerfire aversion.

To tell a little story:
A good mate that can shoot well (places in local comps) was up one day and shooting quite reasonable groups. Now this guy while not real lightly built is thinner than your average guy and I asked his secret as to how he manages recoil. After some discussion his secret was to shoot and shoot. At the time I'd acquired some more rifles and as a byproduct of additional shooting for load development and near the end of that I found that I had no further need for the sissy pads I'd been using as my muscles had become trained to managing recoil.
Shotgun shooting is much the same, if not doing it frequently your "trained" muscles forget their lessons and you always feel it the next day.


Brakes and cans do significantly reduce recoil but amongst other shooters brakes are a curse especially if used prone as they kick up all manner of crap towards scope lenses and actions.

 

[savagedasher]

My advice would be to put a can on it it reduces recoil and saves your hearing.
Larry

 

[snert]

I shoot a 125 grain sierra 308 and a min load varget and in a M88 winchester (designed to impress the winchester logo onto your shoulder from the buttplate) it is a pussycat. in a 700VS with a pad it is very mild. i am going to assume your friend is not going to be motivated to brake, buy, change...he just wants his ol' gun not to bite so he can keep shooting paper with it and remember his youth. Try loading some of teh 125's (cheap) or even the 110 (not as accurate for me) and try a powder that is listed in the book for it, with a low pressure in comparison to others.

 

[pete1955]

I am assisting an elderly (80 y.o.) friend in putting together a reduced recoil round for his bolt 308. Rem carbine with 20" barrel.
Looking to get near the Rem. Managed Recoil round -I know they use a 125 gr. bullet, since he is not a hunter and will only use it on paper the terminal performance is not an issue. Really looking for a good choice of powder to go with.
I have a large selection to choose from so any suggestions are appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

Gary

Since your friend is not hunting you can use loads from the Speer manual with 100 to 110 bullets. Or use the loads at the Hodgdon's site with Trial Boss or H4895, in the past I would.use a lot of SR4759 but I think they stopped making it so I switched to Trail Boss powder. The Trail boss powder with light bullets really makes the butt plate softer.

 

[jimbires]

I did this a few years ago for a young girl that was new to shooting . I used a 125 grain nosler ballistic tip , IMR4198 powder , 25.0 min 1969 fps -- 29.0 max 2185 fps . this info is from speer # 13 loading manual . if I remember right the next step up is using the H4895 60% at the mininum . the IMR loads are very gentle recoil . I thought the load shot well . be sure to work seating depth to bring out the accuracy .

 

[gary0529]

I did this a few years ago for a young girl that was new to shooting . I used a 125 grain nosler ballistic tip , IMR4198 powder , 25.0 min 1969 fps -- 29.0 max 2185 fps . this info is from speer # 13 loading manual . if I remember right the next step up is using the H4895 60% at the mininum . the IMR loads are very gentle recoil . I thought the load shot well . be sure to work seating depth to bring out the accuracy .

Thanks everyone for thoughts and opinions--I talked him into getting a "can" --money was not the object but he was concerned about the 6 month wait for the paperwork to go through--anyway, we went down to the LGS and he got the paperwork started and hopefully he will be happier in 6 months or so.

This is a man who was an experienced bench rest shooter and was good friends with Ed Shilen from back in the late 50"s,so he knows his way around guns, it is just that age is catching up with him and he turned to me for suggestions.
Now we wait to see how the suppressor helps him out along with some light for caliber bullets.

Thanks again.

Gary

 

[Homerange]

If he's never used a can he'll be somewhat surprised as to how much bite they take out of a recoiling rifle.
If he's not going to be lugging the rifle around you might consider cans not made from the various alloys but rather a stainless one..........why ? Mass, add more mass to a rifle and it recoils less.

 

[jlow]

Even with a light bullet and reduced charge, felt recoil on a .308 load will still be noticeably more than almost any .223 load, even one with heavy bullets. It may not solve the immediate problem, but it might be worth considering a change in caliber.

My 223 always feel like squirrel farts when I shoot it immediately after shooting my .308. Still, there is a huge difference in recoil when the .308 barrel has a brake on it. Ditto for the .308 immediately after shooting the .338L....

 

[B Nettesheim]

175 match bullet of your choice and about 10 grains of trail boss. This produces almost no recoil and you will hear the firing pin fall. Good job on keeping the old man going.

 

[snert]

squirrel farts....

 

[ireload2]

Lighter loads, a heavier rifle, a smaller caliber, a heavier scope - anything but a brake. I would quit shooting if all I could shoot was a rifle with a brake. I have a rifle with a very large and effective brake and it will run anyone off an adjacent table including Weatherby shooters with brakes.

 

[DRNewcomb]

Find some SR4759 and an old Speer reloading manual.

 

[SheepDog]

At the local range if you are shooting with a break you have to move outside the covered area. There are three benches set out from under the cover so the blast doesn't tear the insulation up. It also makes it more comfortable for those of us shooting without such devices.

 

[SheepDog]

The BEST way (IMHO) to prevent or cure flinching is to dry fire practice about twice as much as you shoot live ammo. That and consciously recall the basics with every shot. Breathe, sight alignment, target acquisition, slowly squeeze the trigger. If it doesn't surprise you when it goes off you are pulling too fast.

 

[wboggs]

Hodgdon 4895 data and Nosler 125 BTs. Will go into 1/2" groups with very little recoil. Combine this with a break and you have an unbeatable combo. Have used it to take deer out to 200 or so.

 

[jlow]

At the local range if you are shooting with a break you have to move outside the covered area. There are three benches set out from under the cover so the blast doesn't tear the insulation up. It also makes it more comfortable for those of us shooting without such devices.

Very doubtful that any brake will tear insulation up. If it is that strong, you will be physical at risk.

Having people shoot a gun with a brake outside a shelter is actually a good idea because it is the overhead structure that cause most of the brakes to be so loud as it traps the concussion and reflects it back. I personally would rather shoot my gun with brakes outside.

 

[mic2377]

The combination of a can and light bullet/reduced load will completely transform his shooting experience. It will be like shooting a 223, without the muzzle blast. Cans generally help moderate recoil somewhat and they certainly add weight as well. Most of the time with some load tuning there is no loss of accuracy.

I also made some 30-06 loads with h4895 and Sierra 125's. They worked great and were very pleasant to shoot.

 

[bobinpa]

Hodgdon 4895 data and Nosler 125 BTs. Will go into 1/2" groups with very little recoil. Combine this with a break and you have an unbeatable combo. Have used it to take deer out to 200 or so.

H4198 works great with 125 gr Nosler BTs also! Very mild recoil.

 

[Intheshop]

4895 reduced loads.It's my go to with cast in 30-06.

As posted above,combined with a decent 125,it should be a pretty easy.....shoulder and handloading.....work up.

And ditto above on dry fire practice.

 

[DRNewcomb]

You need to be careful when making up greatly reduced loads for large-volume rounds. Ignition can become erratic and dependent on cartridge position. There are powders that have lower density than the usual made for doing this. I have some SR4759 but I don't know if it's still made or not. I know that Trail Boss is made to replace black powder in cartridges and is "fluffy" but I don't know if it's nasty like Pyrodex or clean burning.