Stock Design and Felt Recoil

Trubkir17

Trubkir17

Hammer Time Executive member
I was at the range yesterday. I got in a conversation with the gentleman shooting on the bench next to me. Long story short I shot a 3 round group from his rifle (300WM, 200gr bullets, hand loaded to better than factory).
I was expecting Dick Butkus to tackle me when I pressed the bang switch but it was much less than that. He shot two shots from my gun (7mm RM, 139gr bullets, factory load) and complained that it kicked too hard.
We didn’t have a scale there but just hefting the guns mine might have been heavier.
I noticed after shooting his rifle that my rifle did kick a lot harder. It is hard to describe but my rifle was “faster” in recoil and my reticle goes up more significantly. I also felt that the fit of my rifle wasn’t great.
This long winded preamble is to ask what you guys look for in rifle stock design to shoot some of these magnums more comfortably?
 
I don't know what to look for but I can tell you that anything made by Rossi will kick like a mule because of their design
 
I look for a stock that has the comb lower than the heel and with a neutral pitch.
 
I have been shouldering my rifle and have found some issues. First issue is I have to pick my head up but I can't put lower rings on to get the scope down so I will have to build up the cheek weld area. Second issue may be related to the first but 1out of 4 times I shoulder the gun I'm fighting with my eye relief. I gotta believe this adds to felt recoil
 
Well I was trying to keep "models" out of the conversation to try and prevent the Ford vs Chevy arguments. My stock is a mid 70s Winchester M70 XTR
 
I have a Winchester 88 in 308. It kicks like a mule. I think I have figured out the problem. I do think finding a good stock is important. My CVA Scout in 45/90 has an amazingly forgiving stock from the factory. I put a Bell and Carlson on my 6.5 Creedmoor and it made much more of a difference than I thought it would. Finding a good fitting stock really increases the pleasure of shooting.
 
I've bought a lot of very lightly used Remington 700 magnums because the original owner couldn't stand to shoot them. One in particular was a 40 year old 338 Win mag that came with the original box of Winchester ammo with 15 rounds still in it :oops:. Fella said he just couldn't stand to shoot it, put it in the safe and left it there. I never even fired it until I re-stocked it. Found a great load with 205 shock hammers and it's now the only personal rifle I own with a factory barrel on it.
 
les said:
I have a Winchester 88 in 308. It kicks like a mule. I think I have figured out the problem. I do think finding a good stock is important. My CVA Scout in 45/90 has an amazingly forgiving stock from the factory. I put a Bell and Carlson on my 6.5 Creedmoor and it made much more of a difference than I thought it would. Finding a good fitting stock really increases the pleasure of shooting.
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Yes, I think I have too much "Drop" in my stock. I am not sure just adding a cheek piece riser to the stock will fix the base design flaw. I didn't really want to modify this gun because it was my Dad's that was handed down to me. I think though, he was a practical dude, so he would want the gun to function rather than spend time in the dark safe because other guns are more comfortable to shoot.
 
Mountainman said:
I've bought a lot of very lightly used Remington 700 magnums because the original owner couldn't stand to shoot them. One in particular was a 40 year old 338 Win mag that came with the original box of Winchester ammo with 15 rounds still in it :oops:. Fella said he just couldn't stand to shoot it, put it in the safe and left it there. I never even fired it until I re-stocked it. Found a great load with 205 shock hammers and it's now the only personal rifle I own with a factory barrel on it.
Click to expand...
Yes, my rifle also has a barrel issue. I have checked it multiple times and it is close to 1 in 11". The gun has historically had trouble with heavy bullets. It has a ton of free bore as well.
 
Another comparison here are CZ550 Magnums.
They say the European inspired Hogs Back stocks recoil differently to the Straight style stocked rifle called the American Safari. My American in .375H&H is nice to shoot but they say .375 tends to be a slow push.

My brother's Browning X bolt in .308 has what I described as a "Snappy" recoil seems sharp compared to other .308 rifles..
 
I am thinking that I will have to do a lot of reading and go to a couple of LGS's and shoulder some different rifles. I am hopeful I can find a couple that have a comfortable fit, and then try to figure out what I need to do to get this rifle feeling better.
 
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