Recoil Comparison Question

[chomondely3]

How does free recoil in lbs compare with these two options?

I am interested in seeing how the extra weight and lower muzzle energy and no muzzle brake compares to a lighter rifle with higher muzzle energy and a muzzlebrake. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Option 1
.243 Win
Weight of Rifle, inc scope, sling etc: 7.5 lbs, no muzzle brake
85 grain @ 3100 fps

Option 2
6.5 CM
Weight of Rifle, inc scope, sling etc: 5 lbs, 13 oz, with a muzzle brake
120 grain@2900 fps

I have arthritis in the shoulder so free recoil and weight are now issues for me.
I am hunting Texas whitetails at 300yds or less.
How will I get a deer 300yds away into the truck if two pounds of rifle weight makes a difference to me?
I will ask my hunting buddies to help and simply lie to them as to how far away it is and how much cactus there between the road and the deer.

 

[300_whisper]

I would play with this calculator.

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

Depending on brake I would take what ever that value is and multiply it by the % reduction the brake guarantees minus 100.

So take the 6.5CM for example.

That calculator gave me 17.17 pounds of recoil energy. So let’s say a standard radial brake guarantees 30% reduction. So you would do:

(1 - .3) * 17.17 lbs = 12.02 lbs recoil energy in the 6.5CM.

If you do a 4 port or some high end brake you can do 50%

(1-.5) * 17.17 = 8.6 lbs

I think recoil velocity is what hurts more so than actual lbs of recoil. I could be wrong though.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Free recoil and hunting dont go together so pick the one you can carry/ shoots best/ most practical

 

[300_whisper]

Free recoil and hunting dont go together so pick the one you can carry/ shoots best/ most practical

good point...for true Texas white tails (not the corn feed, high fenced ones) a .223 shooting heavies will get the job done. No need for brake and can be had in a very light rifle. Or maybe even a howa mini in 6.5 Grendel.

 

[Old Navy]

Option 2
6.5 CM
Weight of Rifle, inc scope, sling etc: 5 lbs, 13 oz, with a muzzle brake
120 grain@2900 fps

Is the weight above correct?

 

[Uthink Uknow]

Sure seems a bit light to me also, Frank.

 

[Hohn]

I have shoulder and hip problems also and I find the 6.5 comfortable enough I can burn 100 rounds at a session. My rifle is heavier, up near 10#, but the 6.5 is surprisingly light recoiling. If you need a bit less, just load those 120s down closer to 2700 and it will still work great with a bit less snap.

 

[jdh47]

Brakes are noisy so you would need to compensate for that or suffer hearing loss to boot. Both chamberings in similar weight rifles are going to be close in recoil comparison with the .243/100 gr. loading vs the 6.5 cm/120 gr loading. The .223 or 6.5 Grendel will be less.
I would ick a rifle and chambering you can live with weight wise. A suppressor will act as a brake with the benefit of noise reduction at the expense of added muzzle weight. Everything's a tradeoff.

A .223 AI with a small suppressor shooting heavy bullets is interesting. A friend of mine is having a blast shooting them to 1K ringing steel.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have shoulder and hip problems also and I find the 6.5 comfortable enough I can burn 100 rounds at a session. My rifle is heavier, up near 10#, but the 6.5 is surprisingly light recoiling. If you need a bit less, just load those 120s down closer to 2700 and it will still work great with a bit less snap.

Felt recoil to me is in direct relationship to bullet weight more so than powder charge. On small whitetails I would use the lightest bullet available with a lower end powder charge.

 

[DangerRanger]

Fwiw I am loading 70 grain monos in a 243 and recoil is comparable to a 223.

 

[wiuprof]

I can appreciate your dilemma, as I'm in my 70's and weight of the rifle is a consideration. My lightweight carry gun for my Wyoming antelope hunts is this
Savage Lightweight Hunter model in 260 Rem. If recoil is any concern, it could always be loaded down to "6.5 Grendel" velocities. This rifle with 4.5x-14x scope
weighs less than 7 pounds.

 

[Forum Boss]

Three thoughts:

1. A very good after-market recoil pad WILL make a difference in perceived recoil, and pain into arthritic shoulder.

2. If the arthritis is one-side only, you might consider adapting to opposite shoulder shooting. I did that for my shotgunning because I am left-eye dominant. Many hunting stocks are essentially ambidextrous.

3. For deer I think I would prefer the 6.5 mm chambering... and yes a suppressor will reduce felt recoil. But then you have the expense, and delay for approval.

 

[chomondely3]

Thanks for all of the great information and the site to play with the numbers.
The weight of option 2 is close. A Kimber Mountain Ascent with a light weight scope is about there. I might be a few ounces low now that I think about it.
As with many on this forum, I was trying to justify a new expensive rifle.
And yes, I have taken many does and a few bucks with a .223. As is often the case with hunters, the deer are smaller and not as far away as I thought during discussions at the campfire.
I ALWAYS hunt with ear protection! I have missed only a few shots while fooling around with the muffs.

 

[Forum Boss]

Faster than muffs. Wear around your neck. Very easy/quick to insert and remove:

 

[Evan]

I'd look at the 6.5 caliber 100gn Partition to knock down deer with ease and deliver less punch to your shoulder in that 6.5 Creedmoor. You can load it down or hot rod it to whatever is comfortable to shoot.

I don't like brakes and will leave if someone near me is using one; the blast and extra noise are unpleasant for other people but not so much the person using it. Do you hunt alone? That could be a consideration.

 

[K22]

I have a significant spinal condition that gets worse each year so I've had to adopt lower recoil loads to reduce the stress on my spine for deer hunting.

I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the 243, 85 grain Sierra BTHP on deer if the shot is keep broadside and slightly behind the shoulder but all my experience has been with shots under 200 yards. I put a Hogue stock with a full bedding block on my Rem 700 and it significantly reduced felt recoil. It has a generous recoil pad.

My Tikka 243 and Browning X bolt are lighter and felt recoil is greater but very tolerable especially using a shoulder pad that I got at Cabela's which helps reduce the felt impact.

I also developed a reduced load for my 308 Win. I'm using 125 Nosler BT's with 40.0 grains of H4895 which give me a muzzle velocity of about 2,600 f/s out of a 24", 10" twist barrel. With a winter hunting coat and shoulder pad underneath felt recoil is mild.

 

[MikeT49]

Limbsaver makes a recoil vest, it's ambidextrous. Helped me shooting 3 1/2" turkey loads.