Author Topic: How bad does the 300win really kick? (Read 3868 times)

Terry1 · « **on:** December 02, 2002, 02:48:38 AM »

I here a lot of horror stories about how bad the 300win kicks. Are they true? Thanks

Zachary · « **Reply #1 on:** December 02, 2002, 04:05:20 AM »

Funny you should ask. I was at the gun range last week shooting my brand new .260 Remington. Next to me was a guy that had a Remington Alaksan Wilderness Rifle from the Remington Custom Gun shop in .300 Win. Mag. We both got there about the same time and we had to wait until the seize fire to put up our targets. At that time, the guy told me that he also had a 7 Rem Mag and asked how much more the .300 Win. Mag kicked. (He too heard horror stories about the .300 Win. Mag.)

I own a Remington Sendero SF in .300 Win Mag, but it has a muzzle brake and special recoil pad from answerrifles.com. As such, the kick is similar to that of a .243. (It also has a very heavy Nightforce NXS scope and, as we all know, or at least should know, the heavier the rifle in a given caliber, the less the perceived recoil will be.)

Getting to the point, I told him, as I will now tell you, that the .300 Win. Mag kicks noticeably more than a 7mm Rem Mag, but is tolerable. When I take off the muzzle brake on my .300, I can certainly feel the kick. In my personal opinion, the .300 is at mine, and perhaps most other peoples', upper limits when it comes to recoil.

Again, it depends on your body size, stock fit and weight, and your personal limits regarding recoil.

BTW, the guy at the range also told me, which I also find to be correct, that the kick from a .300 Win. Mag is sharp, as opposed to heavier calibers which seem to have more of a heavy push.

I recommend that you shoot one before you buy one. Or, you could install a muzzle brake and get a gun that kicks a little on your shoulder, but hits like a freight train on the other end. (Granted, controvery may now arise given that some people, and perhaps arguably so, are very much opposed to muzzle brakes given that they are very loud.)

Hope this helps.

Zachary

ricktile · « **Reply #2 on:** December 02, 2002, 04:43:03 AM »

Personally, I don't find the recoil of the 300 win bad at all. I have a Remington 700 BDL that I use for everything from antelope to elk and it is my favorite hunting rifle. With my handloads I get 3/4" 100 yard groups and have never had an animal get up after being hit by it. Once I get to about 20 rounds off the bench it does start to hurt so I use a kick killer recoil pad when I'm at the range. If you are worried about the recoil just find someone that has one and fire a few rounds through it. My best friend is a scrawny little guy, only goes 126 lbs and his only rifle is a Ruger 300 win mag. If he can shoot his accuratly without it hurting him I think anyone should be able to handle it.

Rick

Terry1 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 02, 2002, 09:07:42 AM »

Nothing kicks harder than a 12 gauge??? Is this true? If so I won't have any problems with a 300Win. I shoot a 12 all the time. Thats what I deer hunt with here in central NY. Thanks

Zachary · « **Reply #4 on:** December 02, 2002, 09:19:51 AM »

Yes, it is VERY true that nothing kicks harder than a 3 1/2" 12 gauge pump shotgun. In fact, the company at www.answerrifles.com told me that the kick from that shotgun (with heavy 3 1/2" turkey loads) is the equivalent to a 458 Win. Mag.

When I first heard this, I thought that this was crazy because I shoot a 10 gauge all the time with no problem. HOWEVER, keep in mind that things are different when you have a scope just a few inches from you eye and you are focusing and concentrating on keeping bullets within an inch at 100 yards. Put another way, do you think that if you put on a scope on that heavy kicking shotgun that you would not flinch? Perhaps not, but I'm sure that I would. For me at least, it's a lot different when you are wing shooting than rifle shooting.

Zachary

Terry1 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 02, 2002, 10:34:17 AM »

I have a scope on my shotgun. In central NY you are not allowed to hunt with a rifle. This forces us to use shotguns and slugs. I have a Remington 1100 with a 24 inch fully rifled cantilever mount barrel with a 2.5-7 power variable scope on it. I shoot saboted slugs through it. It is more than accurate enough to kill deer at a hundred yards.

Terry1 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 02, 2002, 01:50:16 PM »

535 grains

Zachary · « **Reply #7 on:** December 03, 2002, 08:10:40 AM »

Advocate,

Are you sure that the .375 H&H has less muzzle blast than the various .300 Magnums? This can't be right?

Zachary · « **Reply #8 on:** December 03, 2002, 10:53:56 AM »

Advocate,

You mentioned that your .375 H&H had a 25" barrel. Were the barrels on your .300s shorter? If yes, then I guess that might explain the additional muzzle blast as the blast would be closer to your ears from a shorter barrel than that of a longer one.

I also have a brand new .375 H&H. It's a Winchester M70 Classic Stainless, but I haven't shot it yet. Now you got me real curious as to this issue. :-)

Zachary

redial · « **Reply #9 on:** December 03, 2002, 02:10:35 PM »

For me, a rifle's weight and stock dimensions are more important than relative caliber as far as recoil's concerned.

My Rem 700 BDL in '06 and my Browning Stalker in .300 "Long" Winnie weigh just about the same. Both are quite comfortable to shoot due to good design. I'll agree that lightweight 300s have a sharp recoil impulse. I noticed when shooting mine off the bench from a relatively loose position that it wasn't my shoulder that hurt, but my neck! It seems the rifle pushes my shoulder aft quickly enough to leave my head behind somewhat. Doesn't happen when from field positions, only from the bench when concentrating on a REAL surprise break. Neither really hurts.

Redial

Gregory · « **Reply #10 on:** December 03, 2002, 04:19:51 PM »

Quote from: Advocate

Zachary: No, I'm not sure that the .375 H&H had less muzzle blast than the .300 Win Mag. It just seemed that way to me. When I fired my 25" .375 H&H my ears did not ring as painfully or as long as when I fired the .300 Win Mag while hunting without ear plugs.

I have to ask, why do you shoot at the range without earplugs? Are you trying to become deaf?
Greg

Zachary · « **Reply #11 on:** December 04, 2002, 01:46:29 AM »

I'm the same like advocate. I use the earplugs at the range, but seldom use them when hunting.

This applies to hunting with muzzle brakes. Actually, let me clarify that - hunting with ONLY VAIS MUZZLE BRAKES. My Vais muzzle brakes do not bother me, even when hunting. HOWEVER, when I was hunting recently, I used my .300 Win. Mag which has an Answer Products muzzle brakes - which is more effective, but much louder. When I took the first shot shooting a hog with this brake, my hears hurt. I shot the hog again to make sure it wouldn't get up, and my ears really hurt (and this is from a Sendero SF which has a 26" barrel). After that, I started using hearing protection.

Again, I use hearing protection ALL the time at the range (it's mandatory anyway). I don't use hearing protection when hunting, even with the Vais Muzzle brake. But I do and will continue to use hearing protection when hunting with any other type of brake.

Zachary

bearhuntr · « **Reply #12 on:** December 07, 2002, 11:19:23 AM »

Terry 1,
Not trying to be flippant, why don't you just try one if you have the opportunity. I guarantee that it won't kill you and that you might even be suprised. Surely you have an acquaintance or friend that has one. Invite them to the range. If you lived in my area, I'd set you up with it, a .338, a 416 Taylor and a 458 to try out. :-)
best,
bhtr

"when it comes to advice about playing with matches, the burnt finger is the best teacher!"