Softer-shooting than .308?

Not that kind of girl..... ;)
haha, whaaaaaaaaaaaat is that thing she is holding , a massive sturgeon or something ? 😎 😀

Ayways, best of luck guys, and i hope you that you've found some useful inspiration in this thread and find a good solution :)
 
haha, whaaaaaaaaaaaat is that thing she is holding , a massive sturgeon or something ? 😎 😀

Ayways, best of luck guys, and i hope you that you've found some useful inspiration in this thread and find a good solution :)
That is a wels catfish at the Ebro in Spain. Almost 20kg heavier than Sam is, but she was able to land it after a proper fight...

We got some new ideas and views out of the reactions and that will help us along.
We still have some time before we need to decide, so we will let you know when we are a bit further along with the thought proces.
We really need to do some inquiring about availability and prices of the ammo for different calibers, that is also an important factor, so good to have that time available.
 
when you have decided on a calibre and sourced some ammunition make sure you buy plenty because next time you want some it might be even harder to find. But make sure you test fire some and check it groups ok befroe you buy hundreds of bullets 👍
 
when you have decided on a calibre and sourced some ammunition make sure you buy plenty because next time you want some it might be even harder to find. But make sure you test fire some and check it groups ok befroe you buy hundreds of bullets 👍
Was thinking the same. We will probably test a couple different brands that have good availability before buying in bulk.
 
You can play around to your hearts content with


You can try out lots of different bullet weights, velocities etc. Note that powder weight is also included.

What’s not included is effect of different powders. Fast powders will build pressure and accelerate the bullet rapidly resulting in a snappy recoil , slower powders give a slow and steady long acceleration down the barrel resulting in a long shove type recoil. All things being equal a high velocity out of a short barrel will be snappier than the same velocity out of a long barrel.

Having dislocated my left wrist (my trigger hand) and have open surgery with lots of internal stitches plus pins to hold it all together, at one stage in my life I thought it would be very difficult to shoot again. However I worked hard on my physio and slowly built up my trigger hand again. It doesn’t like recoil so I do like a long open grip where my trigger hand doesnt take the recoil. I really don’t like the recoil of a thumbhole or M16 style free pistol grip. And I use my forehand to soak up the recoil. With shotguns I have gone back to using side by sides, where all the trigger hand does is lift the butt and slap the trigger.

20 years later my left hand does hurt at times - especially when its wet and damp. I prefer light recoil especially when shooting lots. But will happily shot heavy recoiling guns on game, but its usually only one or two shots at a time and you don’t notice those.

Targets are another matter. Its why the 223 and 22lr was invented.

A good friend lost the use of his left hand when a tool cabinet tipped over crushing his hand. It is now a painful claw. He still hunts. I got him shooting again with a 22 lr using sticks, and if needs be resting the front of the rifle on the back of his left forearm for an offhand type shot. He does use a thumb hole type stock in a Blaser R8. He is happy enough with a 7x64 and a 9.3x62 - but just one or two shots at a time.
 
You can play around to your hearts content with


You can try out lots of different bullet weights, velocities etc. Note that powder weight is also included.

What’s not included is effect of different powders. Fast powders will build pressure and accelerate the bullet rapidly resulting in a snappy recoil , slower powders give a slow and steady long acceleration down the barrel resulting in a long shove type recoil. All things being equal a high velocity out of a short barrel will be snappier than the same velocity out of a long barrel.

Having dislocated my left wrist (my trigger hand) and have open surgery with lots of internal stitches plus pins to hold it all together, at one stage in my life I thought it would be very difficult to shoot again. However I worked hard on my physio and slowly built up my trigger hand again. It doesn’t like recoil so I do like a long open grip where my trigger hand doesnt take the recoil. I really don’t like the recoil of a thumbhole or M16 style free pistol grip. And I use my forehand to soak up the recoil. With shotguns I have gone back to using side by sides, where all the trigger hand does is lift the butt and slap the trigger.

20 years later my left hand does hurt at times - especially when its wet and damp. I prefer light recoil especially when shooting lots. But will happily shot heavy recoiling guns on game, but its usually only one or two shots at a time and you don’t notice those.

Targets are another matter. Its why the 223 and 22lr was invented.

A good friend lost the use of his left hand when a tool cabinet tipped over crushing his hand. It is now a painful claw. He still hunts. I got him shooting again with a 22 lr using sticks, and if needs be resting the front of the rifle on the back of his left forearm for an offhand type shot. He does use a thumb hole type stock in a Blaser R8. He is happy enough with a 7x64 and a 9.3x62 - but just one or two shots at a time.
Actually thinking about it, having spent the last couple of days in remote part of North West Scotland walking up to hill lochs across typical deer stalking country, and catching wee brownies, recoil is the least of the worries. Hound, Mrs Heym and myself are very pleased that its blowing and ****ing with rain. Could hardly get down the cottage stairs to put the Hound out.

Feel that really well exercised feeling which is good.
 
Happy to be proved wrong by any physics teachers on here but I dont think your right.
I did do physics A Level , got an A ;) and newtons laws of motion are key.
P=MV
momentum = mass x velocity. so if both bullets weigh the same and are going the same speed terminally then the momentum/ recoil is the same

the only think that can sway this is the fact it is not happening in a vacuum so BC will come into effect but not be a compounding factor??

Ultimatley the calibre doesnt really matter so much , its all about keeping rifle weight up as much as possible and bullet weight down. Not worth getting too technical about it :rofl:
This is technically correct in terms of newtons first law
The moment backwards is equal to the moment (m*v) of the bullet
But more importantly would be the second and third derivative of the speed
Commonly known as acceleration and 'jerk' (I kid you not)
I.e. how quickly the bullet is accelerated and how fast that acceleration ramps up to full
This will make a massive difference to how the calibre affects you (does it push into your shoulder or hit you like a hammer)


So while the muzzle energy is important different calibres can be softer or harder hitting
 
This is technically correct in terms of newtons first law
The moment backwards is equal to the moment (m*v) of the bullet
But more importantly would be the second and third derivative of the speed
Commonly known as acceleration and 'jerk' (I kid you not)
I.e. how quickly the bullet is accelerated and how fast that acceleration ramps up to full
This will make a massive difference to how the calibre affects you (does it push into your shoulder or hit you like a hammer)


So while the muzzle energy is important different calibres can be softer or harder hitting
I have noticed this. In my 7x65r I get a lot less recoil if I use IMR 4831 compared to the quite a bit faster burning IMR4350, even muzzle velocities are about the same with the same bullet.
 
This is technically correct in terms of newtons first law
The moment backwards is equal to the moment (m*v) of the bullet
But more importantly would be the second and third derivative of the speed
Commonly known as acceleration and 'jerk' (I kid you not)
I.e. how quickly the bullet is accelerated and how fast that acceleration ramps up to full
This will make a massive difference to how the calibre affects you (does it push into your shoulder or hit you like a hammer)


So while the muzzle energy is important different calibres can be softer or harder hitting
Sounds logical, but how does this translate to 6.5 and up calibers with factory ammo?
 
Don’t know if it’s been touched on but maybe shooting using a tripod might help. With it attached via an Arca rail just in front of the mag well it totally changes the handling and felt recoil - depending on how you position yourself.

Yes not as easy to carry for quick deployment like sticks but not insurmountable either.
 
Don’t know if it’s been touched on but maybe shooting using a tripod might help. With it attached via an Arca rail just in front of the mag well it totally changes the handling and felt recoil - depending on how you position yourself.

Yes not as easy to carry for quick deployment like sticks but not insurmountable either.
In the field I use quad sticks and at the shooting range the Blaser bipod. 👍
 
Sounds logical, but how does this translate to 6.5 and up calibers with factory ammo?
as i understand it, it means that íf you have 6.5 vs 30 cal of similar bullet weight, you can acellerate the 30 cal to a given x speed in less barrel length, but to do so optimally the powder will likely be quicker burning, and thus the shot will feel more snappy on the shoulder than had you acellerated a 6.5 of the same weight to the same speed, but in a slightly longer barrel and with slightly slower burning powder.

So, if you buy a pack of cartridges of the same bullet weight and type in both calibers, and the 30 cal is quoting a higher muzzle velocity for the same barrel length, it wil likely feel more snappy than the 6.5 when shooting.

So all in all, get a 23 or 24 inch 6.5 barrel, and shoot a 6.5x55 or 57 cartridge, with 120 grn bullets, to around or less than a mid 50ies k psi pressure, and you'll probably be going as gently as you can go whilst still being ok for biggish game in the NLs.
 
Last edited:
when you have decided on a calibre and sourced some ammunition make sure you buy plenty because next time you want some it might be even harder to find. But make sure you test fire some and check it groups ok befroe you buy hundreds of bullets 👍
I would be looking at the terminal effect before i bought more than a box personally , not just the accuracy on paper . I could afford to drop a little accuracy if i was getting better terminal effect . Example 60 grain Nosler Partition instead of 50 grain cup and core in my 223 , we often forget we are not ringing gongs at long rage or indulging in 100 yard bench rest . A 3 inch group on paper isn't impressive but that will drop a Roe buck every time if its in the right aim point
 
I would be looking at the terminal effect before i bought more than a box personally , not just the accuracy on paper . I could afford to drop a little accuracy if i was getting better terminal effect . Example 60 grain Nosler Partition instead of 50 grain cup and core in my 223 , we often forget we are not ringing gongs at long rage or indulging in 100 yard bench rest . A 3 inch group on paper isn't impressive but that will drop a Roe buck every time if its in the right aim point
Very likely a lot more rounds will be shot at paper than at deer in our case. So 2 different types of ammo is also an option, also with regards to cost
 
Very likely a lot more rounds will be shot at paper than at deer in our case. So 2 different types of ammo is also an option, also with regards to cost
I only shoot quarry now and zero . That said there is no real difference in cost The best and worst at either end will be about equal , best target ammo is likely more costly than best hunting perhaps ? As a guess
 
I only shoot quarry now and zero . That said there is no real difference in cost The best and worst at either end will be about equal , best target ammo is likely more costly than best hunting perhaps ? As a guess
Good enough target ammo is pretty affordable, no need to have the best of the best. Always good to have an excuse... 😁
I was not planning on saving on ammo when not shooting paper. No excuses there.......
 
Back
Top