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Thread: Softening the thump of a 308
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29-03-2022, 06:15 #21
Re: Softening the thump of a 308
[QUOTE=treeman;1455320]
Originally Posted by Andrew Leigh;
[UOne too many wasted sunsets and one too many for the road .........
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29-03-2022, 08:52 #22
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29-03-2022, 16:16 #23
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
I developed a flinch when shooting my 9mm towards the end of last year. Affected very roughly 1 shot in five if i didn't really concentrate it away and took a while for me to realise that it was a chicken tug. After 35+ years of shooting handguns it popped up out of nowhere but was not evident when shooting my rifles or even the spiciest of my home brewed heavy slug loads. If you can avoid it afflicting a youngster getting into their shooting rhythm its very well worth it.
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29-03-2022, 20:29 #24
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
There are several things that contribute to or diminish perceived recoil. To list a few:
Load, weight, stock shape, recoil pad thickness and softness, fit, suppressed or not, muzzle brake (not mussel break!), the shooter's build, experience, grip, stance and shooting position. Don't underestimate the importance of ear pro. There may be more.
I let my kids shoot my rifles if they beg me to. No encouragement, so they don't feel they have to do it if they don't want to. They start off with an air rifle. Then progress to a 22. Next is a 223. So far they have shot everything up to my 375, but just as many shots as they want to, which usually is just one. Guess what are their favourite rifles? No prizes for those who guessed the 22 and 223.
So my advice would be to let her choose what she wants to shoot and the number of shots she wants to shoot. If you don't have a 223 (or similar) yet, you should hurry up and get one urgently. You might even like it yourself...
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29-03-2022, 20:42 #25
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
We actually all flinch. It is a natural reflex. The reason why we practice shooting is, amongst others, to learn to control our flinches. Figure out what it is that makes you flinch more, and work on eliminating or controlling that. It may be recoil, blast or even something else. For me it helps to double plug with noisy guns like revolvers, comped pistols and braked rifles. Also I need to concentrate hard to keep my eyes open after each shot. With the right practise you can control your flinch to the point where it seems gone. Then keep practising to keep it gone.
I have a friend who shoots pretty well. Then one day he had to put his dog down (long sad story). He did not have his ear pro available, so he just did what needed to be done urgently. It took him 1 shot with his EDC pistol. At our next club shoot he discovered that he had suddenly developed a huge flinch. All it took was 1 shot without ear pro. He is now working on getting that flinch under control again. It may take some time.
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29-03-2022, 21:48 #26
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30-03-2022, 13:39 #27
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
Fit a comb riser for a start. I think people underestimate the effect of cheek weld on recoil. When your head is not moving with the rifle, its basically just you shoulder that takes all of the recoil, but if your head moves with the rifle, you are putting your whole upper body behind the rifle (if that makes sense)
I also have a hogs back stock on my 308 and I am using a combo of these on it:
https://zimbi.co.za/product/beartoot...ck-smooth-new/
https://www.hornady.com/shop/accesso...dy-cheek-piece
I just use the sponges of the Beartooth kit underneath the Hornady cheek piece, and I think it works pretty well. The problem I had with the Beartooth neoprene alone was that it tends to shift a bit. At some point I want to take a piece of wood and try and shape it to fit over the stock, underneath the cheek piece.
Also with the hogs back stock, the center of gravity of the file is very low and towards to butt, which makes muzzle tend to jump instead of recoiling straight back. I found putting a big (12" - 25") bipod on the rifle, even when shooting off a bag, helps with the muzzle jump and makes it easier to shoot well.
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30-03-2022, 15:25 #28
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
I use 150gr with 40.5gr S335 and a Helber silencer, definitely reduced the kick and noise on the 308.
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30-03-2022, 16:41 #29
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
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Yes the Hogsback kind of stock does make for a less pleasant recoil, my 308 N/M came with one of those stocks and it was used for one range session only. Those stocks are designed for a different manner of shooting over open sights and are not best suited for scoped weapons.
I never thought of a bipod as a recoil reducer, actually half embarrassed at missing that obvious utilization of what you have at hand.
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30-03-2022, 18:22 #30
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Re: Softening the thump of a 308
The thing with BP rifles is, they have more of a push and less of a kick to their recoil. So you can "ride" the recoil better.
Resist the urge to download the 308 too much. I have seen damaged rifles due to reduced loads with handgun powder. A start load should be perfectly safe, but at some point below that there are risks.
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