Shoulder Hematoma

[JaoeyP]

If you bruised your collar bone, you are not holding the rifle in your shoulder properly.
Also agree that you should have a pad on the rifle butt. QED.

This was my first thought. When I first started shooting centerfire rifles I made this mistake a lot. Stick that butt in the meatiest part of your shoulder. Pads help but will not fix the problem if the rifle is tucked into your collar bone.

 

[XTR]

I've gotten more bruises from my crossbow than anything except my 45-70. (and I'm not so sure I should have told that)

 

[T-shooter]

Nothing like a good muzzle brake for recoil reduction. With a 10 lb rifle shooting hot 208g .308 loads, I can fire 50+ with zero pain or sting. Plus I shoot with a very loose grip (just lightly touching my shoulder) allowing the butt to jump back into my shoulder. The stock is a Boyd's with a rubber pad, but it's fairly hard so not much cushioning there. I'm using a Witt brake and since the barrel isn't threaded, it's a clamp-on. No problems in several years of use.

 

[K22]

Lots of good advice shared here. Ordered a PAST pad today to help distribute recoil. Normal loads for the rifle are reduced H4895 (150 @ 2600) but I was trying to prove a point hence the max load. Not shouldering properly is acknowledged. I promise not to shoot till it's healed but will start a new thread for all recurring injuries. As for the rifle, no brakes or mufflers on a '56 Savage 99, and the steel butt plate stays until it's my wife that gets hurt.

You will find, if you try it, that the 125 grain bullet produces less felt recoil. My reduced load is running somewhere around 2600 or a tad less and has significantly less feld recoil that my 150 grain loads. Check the Hodgdon web site, they have reduced loads using H4895.

However the PAST pad may solve your problem. I experience a similar problem many years ago shooting my Dad's pump Rem 30-06 with 180 grain full house loads. The rilfe also had a steel butt plate. My shoulder was black and blue so bad it look like I got beat with a club. It took month to fully heal so don't rush it.

 

[chop house]

put a small extra sandbag, loose fill, in with your range gear and you'll always at least have something with you.

assuming you are talking about off the bench, use it under your elbow most of the time, and like a PAST with the cannons.

 

[Prose]

The 150 grain loads at 2600 are fine even with the steel butt plate. It was the hot load and the poor grip that got me. We've taken several deer in the high 200 lbs over the years in Northern Minnesota and the 125's are a bit iffy considering the SD.

As for the range bag...
Both my little girls were napping (1 and 3) so instead of shooting inside the tree line at the bench I carried as much as I could into the field outside the tree line and did my shooting there. One trip, because I'm a guy and that's all I needed to forget some stuff. Combination of a card table and a chair sinking into the mud and the slip on pad that I forgot, plus the unfounded accusations of being accident prone and switching from my 260 created the perfect storm.

 

[wapiti25]

Try a LimbSaver slip-on pad