Found My Recoil Limit

[357cyrus]

Well, I do believe I've found what I consider my maximum tolerance for recoil. I took my Savage Alaskan Brush Hunter in 375 Ruger out yesterday with my chronograph and the intent of finding what a maximum load did. Ya know... just in case a tornado comes along and wrecks the walls at the local zoo and I need to help restore tranquility.
Anyway, from my books and QuickLoad i determined a max dose of Reloader 15 w/ a 260 grain Partition was around 77 grains and 2700FPS. Then started at 72 and worked up in 1 grain increments. At 75 grains I hit 2700 and called it quits. Both 73 and 74 grains grouped at a frog hair over an inch. Pretty darn good.
And the recoil..... Depending on which calculator you use, is about 40 ft/lbs. I don't care to own a rifle thatll shell out more than that. From a bench, it literally feels like getting punched in the jaw... rattles yr darn brain. My jaw is still sore And my elbow has road rash from the concrete bench it was resting on. I'm glad I found my limit... And I'm glad Im a handloader. I can tone it down quite a bit and still have something plenty effective on game at the distances I hunt. It is a nice compact rifle that I'd sure hate to get rid of if all I could fire from it was full power factory ammo.

[Maximumbob54]

I made the mistake of shooting a .458 Win Mag once. Don't plan to ever do that again.

[akuser47]

I don't even like to shoot big boy loads like that these days lol.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeah, that would be a kicker! I've always heard that a steady diet of that recoil can damage you eye nerves or something like that. I believe that Mr. Lee has some kind of issue create by recoil or at least I thought I read that.

[RBHarter]

Its the retina that suffers from recoil just like boxers .

Just reading the title made me smile . It took me back to my 1st 1 7/8 3in 12 ga in the fall of 85' . 7 lb Winchester 1200 full choke and my brawny 5'8" and 127 lb self...... good times .

It's nice to know you can tone that down to a 375 H&H and load some plinker ammo down to Whelen levels.

[357cyrus]

down to Whelen levels. [emoji38]

. That's what I'm hoping to duplicate. Speer makes a 235 SP thatd be great for my needs..but its hard to find... Or maybe ill stumble onto a cast bullet. And the load listed above does have that 3" 12 gauge turkey load feel that you mentioned. Makes you wonder where you're at for a split second.

[RBHarter]

Turkey? Oh no we bought those in boxes of 25 for geese ........ I have no idea where the other 23 went . I think my buddy probably eventually burned them all in his lefty 11-87 . I guess maybe I was thinking that it fluke to get that much boot all at once.....

[oscarflytyer]

the one that kicked my %@*&$ was years and years ago. 458 Win Mag in a light Mauser 98 action. Bench Rest. Felt like Holmes had left hooked me in the jaw! Actually reached in and checked to see if my teeth got knocked loose - and I have a high cheek bone - DANG! It was awful! Germans (I was in Army/in Germany) laughed their %@*&$ off at me! Only shot it once. That was more than plenty. 375 H&H wasn't even CLOSE to that one! And shot the 375 from the bench too.

'Course, these days, both shoulders rebuilt, I am a wimp! Max I enjoy is light 12, 308/35 Rem/Trapdoor 45-70. All I need. Have shot a few Reeder big bore handguns a friend has - and shoulders are sore afterwords. Not worth it. Now shoot 44 SPC/45 Colt mid-range loads and enjoy the heck outta them. No macho proof needed as I have gotten older!

[Fyodor]

Because it was lost during the server problems, I'll repost the video I found on this topic. Maybe you'd like to see it again

[youtube][/youtube]

[RBHarter]

When I saw it the 1st time ,there are several variations of the video,it was said to be a 577 Taranasaur. It doesn't matter I've seen the same gags with a 12 ga. I believe I fumbled the first slug I shot. It was in a Winchester 1200 and when it unlocked it stripped the forend right out of my hand . It was the 1 that had the ad pictures of 3 cases in the air with a pump .......

I love those little 90 lb stick guys getting beat up volunteering to shoot the big gun . Even the "seasoned" shooter at the end was rocked by the rifle ,there is no doubt that it is a formidable caliber.