Rifle recoil table

Jim Phillips

New member
Chuck Hawk's recoil table on line is great but, in his introduction he states how important gun weigh is when assessing recoil, the gives varying gun weights for the calibers in his table which can be confusing. Is there a similar table where the recoil is given for guns of the same weight? Thanks!
 
That recoil table is obviously for vague comparisons. You might be better served to ask on here about which rifles and calibers in particular you are seeking information on and get some real life opinions. Powder charges and bullet weights can influence recoil a great deal in some calibers also.
 
You are correct. Unfortunately, I love guns and right now rifles have my interest. I am recoil sensitive due to a recently healed rotator cuff tear and a high degree of wimp. I have started buying a few rifles and love my 204 ruger and feel maxed out with my .243. Yes, I agree, I'm a wimp. Sometimes I think about venturing above a .243 but only if it is a rifle I would not shoot 50 times at the range in a day. Other times I think about unusual rounds (for me) like a 222 Remington or 221 Fireball. Often, once I narrow it down to one or two calibers I make a decision on recoiled and how I like the way the gun appeals to me aesthetically.
Primary interests are shooting on my range (350 yards) primarily at 100-200 yards right now. I have just started target shooting in the past 6 months with a rifle. Prior to that I primarily used revolvers for target shooting at my local range. After that, Varmint hunting up to Coyotes which I am also just getting into. Guns I now own are bolt actions in 204 ruger (my favorite), 22 Hornet and .243. I have an AR in 223 but have found I prefer a bolt action.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim Phillips......feel maxed out with my .243.

First off ... you're NOT a wimp because you don't relish having your shoulder and cheek beat on. None of us are gluttons for punishment. I don't enjoy the pounding I get from my .30-06. If that makes me a wimp ... so be it.

There are several calibers out there that are "bigger" than the 6mm but don't have the dramatic increase in recoil that you might think. The 6.5 Creedmoor isn't much more than the .243, as is the 6.8SPC and the .25-06

Are you a member at a gun club that might have members who own any of the calibers that you are interested in that you could get together with and have a few shots in their rifles? Obviously the very best recoil gauge is your own shoulder with the caliber in question.

You may also consider reloading of you don't currently do so. Recoil can be dramatically reduced by tailoring loads on the lower end of the scale.
 
Sounds like we're in the same boat.....I'm nursing the last band of rotator cuff tendon the doc was able to salvage, and run about the same range of calibers/chamberings including .243 Win. Mine has a fairly light synthetic stock/medium contour barrel and I swear it has more recoil than other .243s I've shot, including those that weigh less; but it could be my subconscious "baby-ing" of the shoulder. I am probably going to a Boyd's laminated stock with a wider forend anyway, so we'll see if that makes any difference. At any rate - much as I hate to give up the extra range and wind-resistance of a 6mm - I'll probably eventually go to a fast-twist .22/heavy bullet for longer range coyotes and varmints if the .243 "recoil" is too much of a distraction; mine so far isn't as accurate as I feel it should be, anyway.
Fwiw: Bob Forker puts out a book often seen in the big bookstores Ammo & Ballistics,that gives relative recoil rates of almost all (factory) rounds in percentage. Don't know how "scientifically" he arrived at his figures, but they do seem to be ballpark-accurate imo.
 
KEEP IN MIND: Chuck Hawk's picked his rifle weights counting on real world weights for different rifles. He totally missed the mark on most weights, however, since he seems to use "empty weights" for the rifles, rather than "gross vehicle weights" for them as they would be hunted - i.e. a 7.5lb 243rem rifle might weigh 9.5lbs by the time you add a scope and sling.

ALSO KEEP IN MIND: Even in the same model, a long action rifle generally weighs a half pound heavier than a short action model, due to the longer action. Magnum cartridges tend to weigh 1/4 to 1/2 pound heavier still - often driven by a heavier barrel. So it's not really fair to say that a Remington 700 ADL would weigh the same 7.5lbs for all cartridges in which it might be sold.

The not so simple answer is that you can readily calculate recoil velocity and energy of any rifle - but you do need to know the powder charge.

The OTHER not so simple answer is that you can EASILY CORRECT CHUCK'S TABLE for your own rifle weight. The same formulas below also work for figuring out what your rifle's recoil energy would be if you added or reduced weight.

Recoil velocity is directly proportionate to rifle weight - so if your rifle weight goes up 10%, the recoil velocity goes DOWN 10%. It's a pretty straight forward formula:

Your Rifles Recoil Velocity = Tables recoil velocity / (Your rifles weight/Tables rifle weight).

Recoil ENERGY is directly proportionate to rifle weight, but proportionate to the square of recoil velocity - so if your rifle weight goes up 10% and your velocity goes down 10% as in the case above, your recoil energy goes down 9.1% (which is 1/110%). The formula SOUNDS complicated, but it's really easy once you simplify - it actually ends up exactly the same!!

Your Rifles recoil Energy = Tables recoil energy / (your rifle weight/tables weight).

So Chuck has an 8lb 30-06 firing 165grn pills at 2900fps with 20.1ft.lbs. recoil energy and 12.7fps recoil velocity. If you want to know what that would feel like from a 7.5lb rifle - equal weight to say - the 243win rifle he used (7.5lb, 100grn @ 2960fps with 8.8ft.lbs. recoil energy and 8.7fps velocity):

12.7 / (7.5/8.0) = 13.54fps recoil velocity
20.1 / (7.5/8.0) = 21.44ft.lbs. recoil energy

BUT - again, a 30-06 will likely weigh 1/2lb heavier than a 243win anyway, so that calculation might represent a rifle weight that isn't real.
 
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Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeThat's what muzzle brakes are for...

LMBO..... A suppressor works pretty well also
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: reddog964Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeThat's what muzzle brakes are for...

LMBO..... A suppressor works pretty well also
wink.gif


That's one thing I've not tried, IIRC.
 
Originally Posted By: reddog964Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeThat's what muzzle brakes are for...

LMBO..... A suppressor works pretty well also
wink.gif


Yeah but you'll make a lot more friends at the range with a nice big brake!!
thumbup.gif
 
I switched from a 30-06 to a light weight 25-06 for most of my hunting, not because i can't handle recoil but because i figured there is absolutely no reason to handle the recoil. I have much bigger beatings available in my gun room but decided is silly to think i have to shoot them 90% of the time. Nothing in my freezer cars how macho i was being when i pulled the trigger.
 
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