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Author Topic: .243 recoil  (Read 904 times)

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Offline moosie

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.243 recoil
« on: December 17, 2009, 09:53:34 AM »
I purchased a Handi .243 rifle for my 7 year old grandson so he could go hunting along with the big guys.  I had worked with him with a pellet rifle and taught him how to aim and all the safety aspects of hunting.  We went to the range with the new .243 and his first shot was dead center bullseye at 50 yards; however subsequent shots were all over the paper.  He is a little guy and apparently the recoil is a bit much for him.  We were shooting 100 grain  commercial bullets--forget which brand as I did not buy them.  Any suggestions for a light load that might still function for hunting without the recoil of the commercial loads?  I realize that most of you will say, "my goodness, a .243 does not kick at all.", but apparently it is enough for the little guy to shut his eyes and flinch.  He will be shooting at wild hogs and perhaps a deer.  He is a good shot if we can get past the flinching.
Moosie
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Offline kwells2006

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2009, 09:59:46 AM »
do you reload?
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Offline moosie

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2009, 10:47:10 AM »
do you reload?

Absolutely.  Thanks for your PM
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To fire an accurate shot means to not just hit the target, but to know where the target was hit before the bullet got there.

Offline BRL

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2009, 10:58:41 AM »
The Handis recoil harder than most rifles in the same caliber...I think. I have a Handi in .243 and its felt recoil is more than my Browning 7mm-08. And, I swear it's more than my Remington autoloader in .30-06. It's due to the stock design and the light weight. I've posted about this very topic here and most replied back that the Handi does recoil more than the same caliber in most other designs/actions.

I wouldn't let him keep shooting it as is and learn to flinch. Firstly, I'd put on a slip on recoil pad. They aren't much money and several brands are out there. The only issue with the slip on pad is that it will make the butt longer...possibly making the rifle not fit him well. AND, choose a lighter load such as a 70 - 80 grain bullet for practice. If he shoots that all the time then put the heavier load in before the hunt...he won't tell the difference when shooting at game. But, you'd want to shoot them both to if there is a difference in point of impact. However, there are some good 80/85 grain deer bullets out there that he could practice and hunt with.
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Offline kwells2006

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2009, 11:05:57 AM »
I practice and hunt with 85gr BTSP's. one shot kills on deer.
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Offline wncchester

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2009, 11:35:15 AM »
" He is a little guy and apparently the recoil is a bit much for him. "

Maybe, but it's more likely the blast.  Did you have muffs on him?
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Offline tvc15

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2009, 11:50:20 AM »
I second the blast. use ear plugs.  TVC15
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Offline Dave in WV

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2009, 12:49:55 PM »
Use Hodgdon's youth load for a .243. I loaded some last night for my friend. His grandson and daughter's boy friend both took a doe with the load. Another friend's son used them two years ago for a doe. That yound man is small for his age and the .243 with 100gr bullets kicked too hard. The youth load was the fix.
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Offline Jal5

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2009, 01:16:12 PM »
Good suggestions here on the reloads + ear plugs. You could also add some shot to the open area in the buttstock to add weight and lessen recoil that way too I think. There have been other threads on this if I remember.

Joe
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Offline Autorim

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2009, 02:36:41 PM »
IMHO, 7 years old is too young for the .243 unless downloaded a lot. Let him practice a lot with .22 rimfire while you work up some loads for the .243.

Ken
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Offline chutesnreloads

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2009, 03:20:46 PM »
Found a soft kicking .243 load for my grandson in the speer data using IMR 4198.Have to rezero after practice but he shoots it easily.Kicks about like a .223
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Offline mjbgalt

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2009, 04:19:41 PM »
low recoil loads for the .243 could include 37-39 grains of H4350 with an 85 grain sierra on top.

no recoil but enough fps to do the job.
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Offline Darrell Davis

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2009, 05:38:27 PM »
Yep, .22s, lots of .22s

A few bricks of .22s between now and next hunting season and, with the proper gun and load he will be good to go.

Also commented on was the stock shape of the handi rifle.

Start with the .22s and lots of them, and then get him to shooting a rifle with something other then a club attached.

Lots of nice small rifles out there and as soon as he has used up that 10 bricks of .22s, start him in on a large batch of reduced and light bullet loads in a hunting rifle that fits.

My wife is not a real shoot for the fun of it type person, but I can take her out practicing with her 270, reduced 100gr bullet loads and there is a fair chance she will shoot up everything I take before we leave the range.

They never hurt her, the reduced loads allow for more shooting before the barrel needs to cool down, and the rifle has been shortened to fit her.

My oldest son is a big man, and he was shooting a shot gun barrel on one of the handi rifles and the recoil completely jerked the gun out of his hands on more then one occasion.

And this is a fellow who shoots a 10ga Browning pump out of choice for his water fowl shooting.

There is nothing like a good stock design to help temper recoil.

Keep em coming!

CDOC
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Offline guntech59

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #13 on: December 20, 2009, 09:50:44 AM »
The load I used for my 12 year old daughter was:  35gr IMR 4064, Fed 210 and a Sierra 85gr HPBT (GK #1530).  This was also in a NEF Handi.

She was about 100 lbs at the time and handled it well.

I hope this helps.
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Offline demented

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Re: .243 recoil
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2009, 12:46:37 AM »
 How well does the stock fit him? If its overly long then its probably difficult for him to use.  You might possibly want to purchase wood stock, have it cut to fit with a Limbsaver pad installed. 
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