Recoil reducers for 1000yd LG stock

[maxpower]

I have been trying a 300WSM LG which still kicks pretty bad even with a brake fitted.
I have thought about the Gracoil and Ken Ruckers recoil reducing butt plates but have not seen them used in competition. What do these do that a thick soft recoil pad like the Limbsaver pad wont do??Has anyone tried them?
How about the mercury recoil reducers which slip inside the butt? Has anyone tried these? Did they have any effect on accuracy? Could you feel any difference?
I would be keen to try these as I have a bit of weight to spare and the rifle is slightly muzzle heavy. I am just worried about whether either might adversely effect accuracy in 1000yd BR.
BTW, I fire semi freecoil and get hammered when the stock hits my shoulder.

 

[deepwater]

I have made and used mercury recoil reducers in 12 ga. shotguns and they worked very well. Besides the additional weight of the device, the mercury bounces off the back of the device and then hits the front wall redirecting the recoil forward. This happens quicky and does reduce felt recoil.

deepwater

 

[watercam]

If you are shooting in NRA F-Class events your brake is a no-no (for the sake of the folks next to you). Contact Steve Blair on this forum. He has a lot of experience with the 300 WSM lately and will have good ideas for you.

 

[Preacher]

I install and use the Graco recoil reducers and they will help with reducing recoil a lot...
I have 2 in my 338 Ultra Mag and it's a pleasure to shoot even with a 16 YO girl pulling the trigger...

 

[johara1]

I hate to say this but they do not reduce recoil, they redistribute the feel of it. If you keep your face down on the stock it will rip you in the face,so now they make them with the comb that moves with it. Only things that truly reduce recoil is a Brake and reduce loads or add weight…….. jim

 

[CJ6]

Have you tried the Past shoulder pads or a homemade version of them. I fixed the kids up with them (homemade from an old neopreme dive suit) for shooting the larger bores. No rifle mods when shooting free recoil. Cut the neopreme to shape/thickness,sew on to shirt/jacket along with cloth (wife used old "duck" canvas shirt for cover patch) works/looks great.

 

[maxpower]

If you are shooting in NRA F-Class events your brake is a no-no (for the sake of the folks next to you). Contact Steve Blair on this forum. He has a lot of experience with the 300 WSM lately and will have good ideas for you.

As this rifle weighs just on 16lb, I wont want to try it in F class without the brake. It is strictly for 1000yd BR. I just haven't heard of anyone using on in 1000yd BR. (or maybe they just aren't visible? Does Steve Blair use either the mercury recoil reducers or the hydraulic damped butt plates in his 300WSM?

 

[maxpower]

Have you tried the Past shoulder pads or a homemade version of them. I fixed the kids up with them (homemade from an old neopreme dive suit) for shooting the larger bores. No rifle mods when shooting free recoil. Cut the neopreme to shape/thickness,sew on to shirt/jacket along with cloth (wife used old "duck" canvas shirt for cover patch) works/looks great.

Yes, I use a shot gun vest when shooting this bad boy, but it still whacks into my shoulder.

 

[maxpower]

I install and use the Graco recoil reducers and they will help with reducing recoil a lot...
I have 2 in my 338 Ultra Mag and it's a pleasure to shoot even with a 16 YO girl pulling the trigger...

+1 ..... my experience with them is similar.

I hear of many people using them in hunting rifles, but have you tried them in an accurate 1K BR gun? Any issues with tune or consistency when used in an otherwise very accurate BR rig?

 

[maxpower]

I hate to say this but they do not reduce recoil, they redistribute the feel of it. If you keep your face down on the stock it will rip you in the face,so now they make them with the comb that moves with it. Only things that truly reduce recoil is a Brake and reduce loads or add weight…….. jim

With one or two of these installed, my rifle will be just up to the 17lb limit. It already has a brake. While they might not change the measured or theoretical recoil, how do you feel they change the Perceived recoil??

 

[maxpower]

Just put some lead in the butt to bring it up to 16.9lb.
What stock is on the gun? I found MBR style stocks seem to kick far less than st-1000 style stocks.

The stock is a Shehane tracker which I will be keeping. I like the stock. How do you think some stocks reduce recoil over other stocks?
BTW, I could always put a lead weight in the back, but by the time I pay to get a bit of lead machined up, I may as well get an off the shelf mercury reducer, as long as they don't affect benchrest accuracy in a bad way.

 

[Steve Blair]

As this rifle weighs just on 16lb, I wont want to try it in F class without the brake. It is strictly for 1000yd BR. I just haven't heard of anyone using on in 1000yd BR. (or maybe they just aren't visible? Does Steve Blair use either the mercury recoil reducers or the hydraulic damped butt plates in his 300WSM?

[br]
No, my rifle weighs 22 pounds, the stock and barrel configuration are optimized and, most importantly, I maintain firm contact with the butt when firing. Remember, kinetic energy is MV2/2. It's that "V" part that will kill you and you do not want it to have a running start at your shoulder. I agree with Jim and Donovan about the devices. What will make a big difference in perceived recoil is a Sorbothane butt pad and firm shoulder contact. That does not address the rest dynamics of a 17 pound .300 WSM. I am pretty confident that it would not work for me but that does not mean it cannot be done.

 

[maxpower]

As this rifle weighs just on 16lb, I wont want to try it in F class without the brake. It is strictly for 1000yd BR. I just haven't heard of anyone using on in 1000yd BR. (or maybe they just aren't visible? Does Steve Blair use either the mercury recoil reducers or the hydraulic damped butt plates in his 300WSM?

[br]
No, my rifle weighs 22 pounds, the stock and barrel configuration are optimized and, most importantly, I maintain firm contact with the butt when firing. Remember, kinetic energy is MV2/2. It's that "V" part that will kill you and you do not want it to have a running start at your shoulder. I agree with Jim and Donovan about the devices. What will make a big difference in perceived recoil is a Sorbothane butt pad and firm shoulder contact. That does not address the rest dynamics of a 17 pound .300 WSM. I am pretty confident that it would not work for me but that does not mean it cannot be done.

I have to agree with you Steve, that shouldering the rifle does give less perceived recoil. My problem is that I think I am not as consistent with my hold as I should be. I think I am subconsciously shouldering the rifle just before touching the trigger, giving me less consistency than when shooting semi free recoil. It is something I have been trying to work on.

 

[Steve Blair]

I have to agree with you Steve, that shouldering the rifle does give less perceived recoil. My problem is that I think I am not as consistent with my hold as I should be. I think I am subconsciously shouldering the rifle just before touching the trigger, giving me less consistency than when shooting semi free recoil. It is something I have been trying to work on.

[br]
I shoot prone, so it's not the same problem. But, I had to completely rework my technique, body position, etc. to shoot mine effectively in F-Class. My Farley front bag is tightened to a strangle hold, rear bag has to be seated firmly and my body in line with recoil. It is similar to what sling shooters do when finding their NPA, natural point of aim. I'm shooting 230 Hybrids at 2865 and that is the limit of what I can manage in rifle handling. The initial load used IMR 7828 SSC at 2950 fps. I could not make it work reliably, too much recoil. My stock is the Manners F-Class, which has a very long fore end and helps with stability. My Edgewood Minigater is turned backwards with the ears flush at the butt to provide the longest possible spacing. Ears are filled and very firm, holding the stock tightly. Both front and rear bags are powdered with hBN to slide smoothly despite the heavy tension. There is more than enough recoil to move freely. [br]
I hope some of this will translate to bench shooting. I do shoot with the same setup from a bench when testing loads and do not find it very pleasant. Fortunately, .300 WSM is very easy to tune and does not require a lot of bench work.

 

[1KBR]

I know my 300WSM used to have a thin hard butt plate which was causing pain and bruising. I switched to a thick soft limbsaver pad and it has been a major improvement. The gun still moves back a lot in the bags, but doesn't hurt so much when my shoulder stops it. I will be keen to hear if the mercury recoil reducers or sprung butt plates work for you.

 

[maxpower]

Just put some lead in the butt to bring it up to 16.9lb.
What stock is on the gun? I found MBR style stocks seem to kick far less than st-1000 style stocks.

The stock is a Shehane tracker which I will be keeping. I like the stock. How do you think some stocks reduce recoil over other stocks?
BTW, I could always put a lead weight in the back, but by the time I pay to get a bit of lead machined up, I may as well get an off the shelf mercury reducer, as long as they don't affect benchrest accuracy in a bad way.

Tracker, is that the st-1000 or mbr tracker? Shoot a 17 lb dasher in an st-1000 and then with a mbr, free recoil, the st-1000 will kick you way harder than the mbr.

Zfastbalibu. I believe my 300WSM stock is the MBR version while my Dasher stock more closely resembles the ST1000. Why do you feel one stock recoils more than the other? I know I can grip the MBR a bit more in the wrist area, but I shoot it pretty much freerecoil at the moment (Though I will be trying firmer holds again to see if I can reduce the perceived recoil)

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I have had both stocks at the same time, both 17 lb dashers. The st-1000 comes back at you considereably faster. It must be the angles of the bag riding surfaces, combined with a lower profile butt. The mbr style just has more drag in the bags. Its not perceived recoil, I dont hold them at all.

 

[Grimstod]

This is a little off the wall but maybe it would help. Working out can help some. We think we even had a bulletin post about this recently. I recommend bench press and shoulder exercises to help. A little bit of core will also help stabilize the upper body. Has helped me a lot. Took the rubber but pad of one of my guns cause I just don't need it anymore.

 

[dkhunt14]

Just put some lead in the butt to bring it up to 16.9lb.
What stock is on the gun? I found MBR style stocks seem to kick far less than st-1000 style stocks.

The stock is a Shehane tracker which I will be keeping. I like the stock. How do you think some stocks reduce recoil over other stocks?
BTW, I could always put a lead weight in the back, but by the time I pay to get a bit of lead machined up, I may as well get an off the shelf mercury reducer, as long as they don't affect benchrest accuracy in a bad way.

Tracker, is that the st-1000 or mbr tracker? Shoot a 17 lb dasher in an st-1000 and then with a mbr, free recoil, the st-1000 will kick you way harder than the mbr.

Zfastbalibu. I believe my 300WSM stock is the MBR version while my Dasher stock more closely resembles the ST1000. Why do you feel one stock recoils more than the other? I know I can grip the MBR a bit more in the wrist area, but I shoot it pretty much freerecoil at the moment (Though I will be trying firmer holds again to see if I can reduce the perceived recoil)

I believe it is because the st1000 has a lower profile and straighter design. The MBR sits higher and I think it doesn't recoil quite as straight. Now I am just judging the st1000 on the ones I have seen. I shoot the MBR Shehane style. In hunting rifles I feel straighter stock design recoils harder. Matt

 

[normmatzen]

Best way to reduce recoil is remove barrel and screw on a 6BRX/Dasher!

Or, if you must have bigger bore, 284 WIN.