Recoil is not agreeing with my body anymore. I have noticed that in the last year or so a range session with a high intensity bolt action or 45-70 leaves me miserable for the rest of the day. After 20 mixed rounds of 30-06, 7mm RM, and several 45-70 rouunds, I feel like I've been eat by a wolf and s**t over a cliff the rest of the day.

I like to shoot my guns from a variety of field positions and from the bench when messing with loads. I guess I am an experimenter and cannot help it. My goodness even 20 rounds of 45-70 loaded to 1200 fps jars my body to the point that I feel like you do when you have the flu.

I'm only 57 and have my weight in the 175 lb range at 5'10". I did lose 25 lbs this year, so maybe that 25 lbs of suet was soaking up the recoil before LOL

Looks like I'll be breaking out a 222 or a 223, 5.45's and 7.62 Soviets and such. My buddys cant figure out why the heck I hunt with an old 94 or a 357 carbine with all those big old bolt actions with the big rounds, but now even 20 rounds of 30-30 is beating me up.

I guess I could be one of those guys that shoots his gun two times and puts it up except for hunting where he shoots it once and says "Thats good enough for deer".

I shoot a lot of traditinal muzzleloading with the club matches monthly and the Nationals at Friendship. One thing I have noticed is that shooting a lot of round balls with charges up to 70 grains doesnt have the effect on my body that the high velocity/heavy rounds do.

Any of you other baby boomer type experiencing this?

The years of heavy recoiling rifles and handguns will take it's toll on our joints and then arthritis sets in. These days I shoot mostly 22s, 38 Specials, 45 ACP and cast bullet in the 30-40,30-06 and others. I am 70 and still shoot on a weekly basis, but not the big boomers anymore. I don't really miss them.

... (and that includes me) at our club. The rimfire benchrest is a LOT more popular than other competitions.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

With 357 carbine or 223 myself. I have hunted with a 30-06 for years. I migrated to the Remington modified recoil loads a few years ago. I don't enjoy getting beat up but it's more that I shoot better with lighter recoiling guns.

Dad sold off the .500 Linebaugh 10 years ago and has finally retired his .44s. While he might shoot a .45ACP, he's gone to .38 super/.357 mag as his big handguns and a mild 125gr load for the .308 is his upper limit in rifles as the .22-250 is now his standard big rifle.

Of course, he had his 88th birthday last month.

I'm 56 and the .44mag, or hot .45 Colt in a Redhawk has been 'it' for me for quite awhile.
I shot (5 times) one of the first .500 S&Ws when it came out and we're all of the opinion I damaged the metacarpal bone right behind the knuckle of my index finger doing it. Took 6-7 weeks before shooting anything more than a .22 caused my hand to ache for several hours after shooting.

I added a hydraulic Danuser Counter-Coil to my .300 quite a few years ago due to shoulder bursitis issues.

"It's not the years. It's the mileage."

The rather odd, and gender-neutral expression of old rural Texas is that it "jars muh milk". That describes the overall unsettled discomfort that comes from being old, and having your old-ness disturbed by any violent movement to, or of the person. My first experience was when I discovered that I was flinching so bad from a 97 riot gun, that I was short-shucking it, and causing it to malf. Then the latest in a long line of 7.62 battle rifles became intolerable to "muh milk". Both of these guns were icons of my entire life, and it wasn't easy to walk away. But I won't have a gun I won't shoot, and I won't shoot a gun I won't practice with. My current top recoiler is an AK-47, and given my druthers, I'll grab the M1 Carbine. A few rounds of .44mag is the handgun limit, with .45acp as the upper standard for general usage.

JLF

For those of us that will be approaching these times in our lives. What can any of you recommend we should be doing now to preserve our abilty to shoot harder recoiling guns longer?

Or anything recommended by your doctors have told you guys that are affected now by this now?

Good post.

I have one but I forget about it. Wouldn't work well for hunting. Anything you can do to spread the impact over a wider area will help.

. . . of superloudenboomenwhackers.

I find that a Garand or an M1A type rifle is the most "serious" rifle I care to shoot, as their actions mitigate the recoil quite a bit and allow me to still feel I am properly equipped, powerwise. Ny Mini-14 gets more use than these bigger guys do.

And my all-time favorite handgun load of 8 grains of Unique under a 250-grain LSWC or LRN in a .45 Colt revolver is just about all I want to deal with. This does not preclude sensible loads in smaller bores, of course, and the .45 ACP is in a comfort class all out of proportion to its effectiveness.

And with these tools, I can usually hit what I'm shooting at, which is the point, ain't it?

K

the best idea is don't shoot the big boomers in the first place unless there is a reason to so do. When we are young we do lots of unwise things which includes shooting big guns as a puberty test and to show the other guys we have big brass ones.

Yes, I know that does not apply to anybody here, but just in case some new fellow cruses by to whom it might apply..just saying.

Cancer survivor,a real Sourdough Alsskan, & mentor of mine, backed up a friend on this bear

Then Dick backed up another friend when this bear charged them as they were skinning the first bear.

The next day he shot on of these bears and backed up the fourth hunter on the other He uses a .338 Win mag with 250 handloads. Dick is the oldest of this group by ten years and had to show these younger guys how to get the job down properly and effectively.
4 years ago I was at his house saying goodbye as he was going in the next day for a 50/50 shot and cancer removal.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

wearing pads? Dang Tom, you should apologize before one of em wacks you with his cane.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Ask Catoosa sometime what else canes can be used for.

I was berated on another board for asking about putting a Smith muzzle brake on a Ruger GSR. Muzzle brakes on .30 caliber rifles was the author's pet peeve apparently.
His on-line handle BTW is "Big Bore Shooter".

You are not talking depends here are you?

enough in person.... Maybe he was insinuating you all are a bunch of old women and need those kind a pads... I've never seen Tom be so rude...wow,k Im glad I'm not in HIS shoes...

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

I hate to shoot slug loads out of my 6 pound "Swamp Gun".

Doesn't hurt so much but it knocks muh glasses off and makes muh false teeth fly out.....

!

Or any of the other custom rifle makers...one of the slickest 30s w/ a break was a ultra light Weatherby MKV in 30-06 whole thing was 5.5 pounds with Georgve Vias break.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

The heaviest recoiling gun in my vault, other than a 12 gauge shotgun, is a Savage Model 99F in .300 Savage. It's my long range, big game gun. I mostly hunt deer with either a .30-30 (Model 94 from the 50s or a Stevens Model 325 bolt action) or a Remington Model 141 in .32 Remington. Far more pleasant to shoot and easy to carry.

I've owned rifles as heavy as a .405 Winchester (Belgian double rifle from the 20s or 30s) and let me tell you, that rifle cured me of any urge to own an elephant rifle. .375 H&H recoil level in a 7-1/2 pound rifle is all the fun you can stand in about 2 shots.

FWIW, I'm 59, but the fun of excess recoil wore off a long time ago.