Advice on a super light recoil rifle build for a dislocated shoulder (Rifle built!)

Put a muzzle brake on the rifle. That will eliminate much of the recoil. Even on a lighter kicker it will remove much of the recoil.
 
Have you tried shooting off your undamaged shoulder? With a bit of practice, you should be able too.

Can you lift any weight with the arm attached to the dislocated shoulder? I'd be more worried about that issue.

I feel for you. I've dislocated both shoulders, but luckily back in the day....
 
You might want to take a serious look at a sporter rifle chambered in 6mmBR
I have one, and it is a dream to shoot. Very little recoil, even in a 6# rifle.
Will kill deer size game out to 400 yards reliably.
Eagleye.
 
There are no secret recipes, everything is physics:

.......

Pretty much! Your recoil breakdown shows decreasing recoil with decreasing 'wiggle room' on killing power. While the .223 has the best recoil by far, it does dictate some pretty tight shooting parameters to ensure clean kills. Hence the .243 which hopefully has the best combo of the two.

After looking at pretty much every bolt action gun (I seriously considered some of the semi's offered up in this thread but can't see myself using them again after I heal) I'm leaning towards a Remington 700, either a regular SPS or a SPS Varmint. There is a nice Savage Varmint for sale on the EE if anyone else is looking, but I don't think I can deal with the camo on it.

Next step: order the rifle.
Then the pimping can start!!! :)
 
Have you tried shooting off your undamaged shoulder? With a bit of practice, you should be able too.

Can you lift any weight with the arm attached to the dislocated shoulder? I'd be more worried about that issue.

I feel for you. I've dislocated both shoulders, but luckily back in the day....

I managed to shoulder a rifle just now. Not bad for a guy who still wears a sling daily. Shakey and no where near proper form but since I have a solid 6 weeks to heal and do physio I think this is possible.

You might want to take a serious look at a sporter rifle chambered in 6mmBR
I have one, and it is a dream to shoot. Very little recoil, even in a 6# rifle.
Will kill deer size game out to 400 yards reliably.
Eagleye.

6mmBR? I'll definately check it out. I'd always thought that was solely for super accurate paper punching. Have to see if I can get off the shelf ammo for it too. I'm not seeing me working up a load for a new rifle in the next while. So many options!! :)
 
An older Browning BAR in .243 or .270 would be just about right. Add a Limbsaver and you may not even notice the recoil at all. ;)
 
If you have a brake on that hefty .243 you won't be feeling much. Maybee put some of those mercury recoil reducers in the stock too? Havn't tried those myself but would like to. Too bad you can't handload, a loaded down 6.5 would be ideal. Don't blame you for wanting to stay away from bench shooting at this point though, that pounds the shoulder. Get a lead sled?
 
223 with tsx is about as good as your gunna get.

i would try a couple hours at least shooting weak side. i trained my self how so i can shoot quickly from either hand... it might take a while but maybe this presents an oppertunity to learn a valuble skill
 
If your shoulder is as tender as you seem to indicate I seriously doubt that any of the options so far are going to allow you to shoot without pain. And pain in that shoulder is indicative of more damage that will slow down the healing.

Granted I don't have a wide range of experience with rifles but so far everything I've shot in center fire has the sort of kick that I would expect to hurt a dislocated shoulder until it fully heals.

About the only thing I can think of which might qualify would be an AR/M16 style due to the semi auto system soaking up and spreading out the recoil. The AR platform being about the lightest recoil I've felt yet in a center fire rifle outside of cowboy lever guns shooting lightly loaded pistol caliber rounds.

But only YOU know how sensitive your shoulder is. Until you can have someone come up and give you a friendly light punch to the shoulder without any pain any center fire recoil is going to hurt like hell. Realistically that isn't going to happen for a few months at least. And the older we are the longer it takes to heal.

Frankly I strongly suspect that your best bet is to learn to shoot with the other shoulder. It's really not as bad as you suspect. Due to a higher level of astigmatism in my right eye I tried training to shoot with the weak side. At first it felt VERY odd trying to correctly mirror all the posture positions. But even by the end of the first range session it was feeling at least comfortable. A .22 rifle is a nice trainer for this as it tends to be lighter and with no kick there's no pain penalty for a bad hold. A key part of this is to practice shouldering at home from a slung or low ready with someone watching or doing it in a full length mirror so you can check your posture.
 
Well this thread has turned out to be a major education for me! Its always good to have people sharing their knowledge with you. Thanks guys! :)

Update: rifle ordered. I have a Remington 700 SPS on its way. I have also ordered a Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44 to top it.

Next step: off to the gunsmith. Time to fill the stock with lead, put on a custom muzzle brake, limbsaver buttpad and mount the scope. I will update with photos as this progresses.

Physio ongoing.... not much fun, but he says he can get me shooting by late November. You know you have the right guy when he's casual about being handed a sheet of recoil calculations and being told "I need to be able to handle this in 5 weeks!". ;)
 
If you are a handloader, or have access to someone who handloads, just download whatever rifle you already have.

Killing deer at 200 yards is NOT a tall order, and can be done with all sorts of firearms that you may already own.

I've got some loads for my 303 Brit and 308 win that basically emulate factory 150 grain factory 30-30 loads, but barely push the shoulder at all when fired from heavier, full sized rifles.
 
Fruits of your labor....

Time to follow up on this thread..... The short version of the physio, doctor and MRI saga is that medical professionals aren't thrilled with the idea of my wanting to shoot at this point, but really, what do they know?! :stirthepot2:

Gun and scope arrived and it was time to get to work. (Remington 700 SPS in .243 with Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10x44)
Custom TGMKII muzzle brake made and installed:
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Lead and playdoh :cool: added to the forestock:
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Sand and lead to fill the buttstock void:
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End result, 10lbs of deer slaying, shoulder friendly joy:
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My missus demonstrating how little recoil there was before I added ~2lbs of lead, sand and playdoh:
[video]http://s216.beta.photobucket.com/user/Jaydog70/media/Kitten%20Gun/049.mp4.html[/video]

I was supposed to get out shooting today for the first time since my accident, but got distracted by a 'recovery nap' :redface:. Tommorrow is a day off so I'm hoping to have video of my first shots!
 
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Wow, I used lead shot in a sealed bag, packed into the stock with cotton swabs to reduce recoil, it works AMAZING!

Looks like you have a fun little toy there!
 
I dislocated my shoulder and tore everything. I had no problem with the recoil of my .270. I used 115 gr. bullets. Recoild is the result of a combination of factors. The 2 factors you need to consider for all intents & purposes, is the mass of the rifle vs the mass of the bullet. Heavy gun + light projectile=low recoil...

6.8mm SPC is also an consideration.
 
I dislocated my shoulder and tore everything. I had no problem with the recoil of my .270. I used 115 gr. bullets. Recoild is the result of a combination of factors. The 2 factors you need to consider for all intents & purposes, is the mass of the rifle vs the mass of the bullet. Heavy gun + light projectile=low recoil...

6.8mm SPC is also an consideration.

At one time I considered building a survival rifle based on a TC Contender Carbine with a folding butt stock and pistol grip, chambered for the 6.5 TCU. The 6.8 SPC is simply follows the lineage, and would also produce excellent ballistic qualities, with little disturbance to the shooter.

Jaydog, looks like you've solved your problem in quite a satisfactory manner, with a rifle that will continue to be a practical shooting platform long after your shoulder heals up. Here's to a full recovery.
 
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