Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
W
I personally don't have a sharp recollection of its recoil, so I'd have to say it's just fine, the thought never crossed my mind frankly that I can recall. I was more focused on the slight grittiness of it and reflecting on how much it reminded me of Yugo surplus rifles, right down to that particular black colour of bluing. For the price I'd recommend it, the owner of the one I used had restocked it in a synthetic that I couldn't tell you where it was from, and had changed the iron sights. It was a working professional hunter's rifle for what that's worth, some manner of endorsement there. It was nice and light, .458 isn't a mean kicker to a practiced shoulder, it's really quite a pussycat. Makes .30-06 feel recoiless of course as any "real" gun will, even a hot loaded .45-70 guide gun, but it all absolutely will not cause the shooter physical harm.
I think that's a threshold that needs some explanation, many of us including myself will talk about how larger rifles are totally manageable, or surprising in how reasonable they are, etc etc. ALL of them .375 H&H and up kick and are not comfortable for many people, many .416 and up will leave you with marks on your shoulder the next day, and NONE of them will actually hurt you- even .505 Gibbs. I had an unbraked, lightweight .450 Rigby (.460 Weatherby without a belt realistically) with a 21" barrel that barked and bit, that's the hardest kicker I've owned, equal to a few 150gr .300 mag loads fired at once. Fast, heavy, and sharp- it had it all recoil wise. I didn't mind it, but didn't like it either. That's how most fresh to a .458 will feel, you won't mind, but you're not going to seek out the sensation either. Then you shoot it enough and forget, as you realise even if not a pleasant sensation it really can't actually hurt you, from there you can shoot anything you want to shoulder.
I personally don't have a sharp recollection of its recoil, so I'd have to say it's just fine, the thought never crossed my mind frankly that I can recall. I was more focused on the slight grittiness of it and reflecting on how much it reminded me of Yugo surplus rifles, right down to that particular black colour of bluing. For the price I'd recommend it, the owner of the one I used had restocked it in a synthetic that I couldn't tell you where it was from, and had changed the iron sights. It was a working professional hunter's rifle for what that's worth, some manner of endorsement there. It was nice and light, .458 isn't a mean kicker to a practiced shoulder, it's really quite a pussycat. Makes .30-06 feel recoiless of course as any "real" gun will, even a hot loaded .45-70 guide gun, but it all absolutely will not cause the shooter physical harm.
I think that's a threshold that needs some explanation, many of us including myself will talk about how larger rifles are totally manageable, or surprising in how reasonable they are, etc etc. ALL of them .375 H&H and up kick and are not comfortable for many people, many .416 and up will leave you with marks on your shoulder the next day, and NONE of them will actually hurt you- even .505 Gibbs. I had an unbraked, lightweight .450 Rigby (.460 Weatherby without a belt realistically) with a 21" barrel that barked and bit, that's the hardest kicker I've owned, equal to a few 150gr .300 mag loads fired at once. Fast, heavy, and sharp- it had it all recoil wise. I didn't mind it, but didn't like it either. That's how most fresh to a .458 will feel, you won't mind, but you're not going to seek out the sensation either. Then you shoot it enough and forget, as you realise even if not a pleasant sensation it really can't actually hurt you, from there you can shoot anything you want to shoulder.
