I had to leave for a while and run some errands... but I wanted to make a few comments on the topic at hand: managing recoil of one of the short Marlins in .45-70.
First off, I'll acknowledge that not every shooter has the same tolerance level for what may be perceived as brutal recoil (or for pain in general). And it doesn't have a lot to do with age, physical strength, size or ###. I'm sure that a number of us have seen the recent ad by Nyquil, where a 200 lb man is in bed with a cold and sniffling like a baby when his wife tosses him a bottle of Nyquil with an attitude that says "Grow up!" The people that put that ad together understood some psychology... that discomfort can be exaggerated (or diminished) by the mind, and it has little to do with ###, size, strength, age, etc and etc.
On my blogs (going back a couple of years) I've written quite a bit on managing the recoil of the Big Bores. Yes, it has little to do with age, ###, etc. If that's true, then the remaining issues are weight of rifle, stock shape and size, recoil pad, bullet weight, powder charge, muzzle velocity and technique. All of those can be modified in one way or another to reduce felt recoil if wanted or needed.
However, technique and mental attitude are still most important. Learning to shoot a big-bore rifle properly is a learned skill. It's NOT something that comes naturally. Anyone can learn it. There are women that barely weigh 100 lbs who shoot the 460 Weatherby without fear or discomfort. I know of one who tests loads for Barnes in shooting the true Big Bores. So, the important thing here is to know someone who has this skill and is willing to teach you.
DO NOT, go to the range with a "hot loaded" Marlin to prove that you "can take it". That's a good way to convince yourself that you made a BIG mistake of purchase.
Some general rules in learning to manage recoil of a rifle that generates over 35 ft-lbs of recoil:
1) At the bench for sighting in and some practice: pull the rifle tight into the shoulder pocket with the "trigger" hand while holding down on the forearm with the "other" hand. This is not to impress the "bench rest" boys, or the writers of the "rags". DO NOT SLOUCH! Have the rifle sights (iron or glass) at eye level when sitting upright so the body will "give" with the recoil.
2) Start with moderate loads, and work up gradually from there. This assumes you are a handloader.
3) Fire no more than 6 to 10 rounds per session. Intersperse that with something like a .22LR. "Per session" means a single trip to the range.
4) Mentally, walk yourself through each shot.
5) Tell yourself that it may hurt some, but it won't injure, cripple or kill you.
6) Tell yourself that you can master "the beast".
7) After the first couple of shots, take a breather and shoot some .22 LR.
6) Go back to the bench and fire off 2 more, take a breather, etc, until you've fired about 6.
7) Find a safe place to shoot off-hand. My range allows that at 50 and 100 yds. Then, I practice on crown land in a safe area in off-season. Or on a farm, with permission.
8) Learn to shoot off-hand: If you shoot from the right side, place your left foot about 2 to 2.5 ft in front of the right foot(depending on how tall you are), at a natural angle, and in the general direction of the line of fire. Lean slightly forward, bending the left knee slightly while keep the right knee straight (but not stiff). Bring rifle tight to shoulder, focus on sight picture, squeeze trigger (without loaded ammo) and follow through allowing body muscles to relax.
After this practice (about ten times), do the real thing, allowing the body to "roll" with the recoil. For lefties (like me), simply reverse the holds, position of legs, feet, etc.
This will be a start... work up from there. NOTHING BEATS PRACTICE. And keep in mind what we said about the ways to modify the rifle itself. This latter has to do with mindset and technique.
AND, I NEED to add: at the bench I ALWAYS use a PAST MAGNUM shoulder pad when shooting anything that may be considered a true Big Bore, or something like a .340 WBY or .375 H&H. I may be stupid, but I'm not foolish!
Bob
www.bigbores.ca
The REAL problem is to find reloading components at Epps.
