When did folks become such recoil wimps?

The problem with recoil is evolution.

The strongest survive and prosper... it is in our DNA to assess strength as valuable. We are not as enlightened as we seem to believe we are. Recoil is a shocking "feat of strength," it immediately illicits a subconscious or conscious belief that "I can handle this, aarrgh I am a MAN!" Or "This is painful and scary and I don't think I can handle it." Either way, the natural response is to do one of two things... crow about how recoil is "nothing" and easily handled, and "after all what real man couldn't handle it..." OR, to fall back on 21st century masculinity as we currently understand it (as a society) and suggest that while we can "easily handle" recoil we have nothing to prove and can be more effective without the (scary) shoulder thump... for the most part it is all chest pounding and dung flinging.
 
hoytcanon said:
The problem with recoil is evolution.

The strongest survive and prosper... it is in our DNA to assess strength as valuable. We are not as enlightened as we seem to believe we are. Recoil is a shocking "feat of strength," it immediately illicits a subconscious or conscious belief that "I can handle this, aarrgh I am a MAN!" Or "This is painful and scary and I don't think I can handle it." Either way, the natural response is to do one of two things... crow about how recoil is "nothing" and easily handled, and "after all what real man couldn't handle it..." OR, to fall back on 21st century masculinity as we currently understand it (as a society) and suggest that while we can "easily handle" recoil we have nothing to prove and can be more effective without the (scary) shoulder thump... for the most part it is all chest pounding and dung flinging.
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Excellent description of the situation. Throwing poop is fun, but having poop thrown at me is much less fun.
 
I think accuracy expectations changing have made people rethink recoil tolerance. I knew quite a few hunters forty years ago who were perfectly happy with shooting handprint sized groups, and even heavy recoiling rifles worked reasonably well for that. Seems like a few years back I started regularly hearing guys scoff at two inch shooting rifles, as if the game people hunt suddenly shrunk to the size of chipmunks. And I’ve heard more than one guy in the last while tell me he’d never keep a gun that didn’t shoot well under an inch. Your typical shooter will produce much more internet-impressive targets with a .243 than with a 300 win mag.
 
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You mean like all those guys who grew up in the woods in this country, like my dad and my uncles, loggers mostly, who shot .303 and 30-30 when they were younger, and maybe got at 30.06 or .308 later. Usually unscoped. You calling them wimps? They never owned any ATVs either. Always got their deer or elk. And never anywhere near a road. Just packed it out. Never any playing at coyote shooting.
 
My observation of old-school deer hunters is: "If you can hit a pie plate at 100 yards, you're good to go." Which is kinda-sorta true, but if you're putting a big scope on and trying to shoot small groups, you'll notice recoil more.

Also, 50 years ago, people mostly shot sensible stuff like .30-30 and .303, and they didn't kick as bad as the .300 WIN MAG that everyone deems necessary now.

Also, if you go back 50 years, many men had served in the army and had been trained to use proper full-sized rifles. For someone whose dad never let them shoot anything in the 80s/90s/00s, how will they learn proper rifle control unless taught by someone patient? Most people just don't have the experience and exposure they used to.
 
I remember the 100-yard pie-plate thing from when I was a kid learning to shoot...but that was the standard to achieve while shooting offhand. Shooting from a rest was done strictly to sight-in a rifle or otherwise test it; we never shot from rested positions otherwise.

"Sensible"? That's whatever an individual has, uses and enjoys. One person's "sensible" is another person's "overkill" and yet another's "undergunned". Perspectives vary.
 
I don't mind some recoil. It's not something that I really care to experience, I just take it as a part of shooting.

I don't like excessive recoil. I've never thought to myself "Boy I sure wish I had more recoil then this 308 gives me"
 
I've noticed that the more I shoot the more my technique improves and less and less I notice the bark and kick of the rifles.This also shows up in bruises , the better the technique the less the bruising.

Gotta worry about whats in front of you and focus there , not on what's coming out the back.

That all being said, the give a big kicker to a new shooter to laugh at them kind of bothers me a bit, no better way to get someone into bad habits.Not to mention those that "support" a new shooter by placing their hands on their back/should , I can understand stopping someone from flying backwards but holding a body part while hitting the front side actually increases the thump as their is no or less give and absorption.
 
When did folks become such recoil wimps?

It's evolution at work... some of us get smarter and realize more recoil has no benefit to the shooter... it just takes some longer than others... :)
 
Jim870 said:
It wasn't that long ago when the .308 and .270 Winchester were considered very capable but mild mannered big game cartridges that were well suited to nearly anyone women and teens included. When did they become beyond the comfort level of most meer mortals?
I am by no means unaware of how effective mild recoiling rifles shooting quality bullets can be I have just been noticing a lot more hunters and shooters being very concerned over the amount of recoil produced by rifles that as recently as 10 years ago were often suggested as all around cartridges for those looking for a first rifle.
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I guess I “became” a “recoil wimp” after my heart attack. I found that the blood thinners I was forced to take caused bruising even with “lighter” recoil calibers. I have owned rifles all the up to the BMG, so I’m familiar with “recoil”.

People need to stop banging their chests and realize that for some of us...the reasons are medical.
 
For me? Just recently, when 25 years of industrial construction has made weekly chiro/massage and daily Dr Ho sessions my new norm.
 
Now that I've retired, the cost of pouring a 100 grs of powder into a case hurts worse than the recoil it generates. Still, a guy needs to keep his hand in, so I tolerate both, otherwise I'd have to sell off everything and try to convince Pounder I can still do bear security with a .223 bolt gun.

Recoil comes with several caveats, the first and foremost being never to let the gun hurt you, the second is that shooting big rifles is something you have to really want to do, or you shouldn't do it, and thirdly, when you no longer want to, its time to stop. Providing #1 is adhered to, #2 and #3 are. optional.
 
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When shell shock become PTSD
When a man becomes men enough to say hes had enough.
When shooting a gun is for recreation not a matter of life and death.
 
guntech said:
When did folks become such recoil wimps?

It's evolution at work... some of us get smarter and realize more recoil has no benefit to the shooter... it just takes some longer than others... :)
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It's like Mask-holes...both sides are acting silly and smarting off...neither is smarter than the other. Including yourself and me. You ain't smarter for rocking a 'Poodle shooter' and I ain't tougher for my 8 x 57's...just gun guys sassing each IMO
 
Jay said:
I'm not sure, 30 years ago I used to think 7mm Rem Mag was heavy recoil... Now I would say that 416 Rigby would fit that bill for me...

Bottom line, I'd rather a guy shoot a 243 well, than a 300wsm poorly. Everyone's mileage will vary.

Cheers
Jay

Obligatory pic of my old Cadex Tremor in 50BMG, miss that rifle!
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X2, being a he-man and shooting a 416 Weatherby means nothing if you cannot shoot it accurately so saying being a whimp cause of recoil is stupid.
 
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