Convince Me Which Caliber to go With

And yet... when I was in Africa in March there was a lady there from Spain, she would have been 110 pounds soaked... she was shooting a svelt European rifle in .338 Win Mag with 220 grain bullets. We were at the range together and I saw her shoot 20 rounds out to 400 yards. We had a brief conversation about rifles and she asked if she could try my .375 WSM and I said "sure," she then proceeded to drill the center of the bullseye at 300 yards. She subsequently took ten animals with a single shot each... granted, she was a pretty kick-azz little lady, but at 110 pounds you can't convince me that an average sized male can't handle that rifle, unless he believes going into it that he can't handle the rifle.... hmmmm, what do we call that?
I'm 160 pounds soaking wet with a spine/pelvic/shoulder disabilty and my go to rifle is the ruger m77 mkII in 7mm rem mag. It's not light but i manage and to "tame" the sharpness of the recoil i installed a recoil reducing buttpad. I'd have to look as to whether it's a limbsaver or a decellerator but they both work well. I also have a remington 700 in a minimalist weight carbon composite stock in .338 win mag with the same type of recoil pad. I don't have any trouble hunting with either rifle and don't understand why anyone else would have issues, considering my physical limitation compared to most able bodied folks. I shot a .416 rigby single shot rifle once...... and i stress "once" LOL now that was some recoil LOL
 
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As far as this goes... Mountain hunting to most is UltraLight, which is around 6 pounds all up. Light weight stuff starts around 7 all up. This is usually a short action with a light stock, short barrel and so on.
Based on that... and the distance, a suggestion would be a true short action rifle and a fast 7mm. WSM or SAUM. You get the speed you need and the payload. required.

R.
I appreciate the input!
 
I appreciate the input!
There are several "recipies" available to achieve what you're looking for. You just have to decide which one fits you and your budget the best. Lots of guys have spent a pile of money only to find out it's too heavy, doesn't fit, feels cold, kicks too hard, and doesn't perform.

R.
 
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The flinch, or the result from it, isn't mostly in your head. It's mostly an unvoluntary reflex to multiple stimulations at the same time. Mostly.
You can't control the reflex when the doctor hits your knee with hammer... but you may control some of it if you hit the knee with the hammer yourself.
People get used to it the same way as everything else. Practice.
If you blink, you flinch. The degree of flinch is mitigated with practice. Lots of guys wear two sets of hearing protection, Other shoot free recoil, others have a firm hold, and so on.
It can't be eliminated, but obviously it can be controlled. Mostly.

R.
Totally agree. One way to know if you flinch cause you might not think you do is to have someone look at you while you squeeze the trigger or even better yet film you while you do so! If you do flinch try with an other rifle in a lighter recoiling chambering and see if you still do. If you still do then there is a bit of work ahead of you to get rid of it, mainly putting the big recoiling gun away or at least just doing some dry firing to have good trigger control and flinch control.
 
Guess my .338 is kinda tubby, it weighs 8 1/4 scoped. It’s my walking around in high places gun. Far far from my biggest one. As everyone who knows has already said, recoil is between your ears and can be dealt with. Get the gun with the ballistics you need and learn to shoot it.
 
Flinching happens BEFORE anything physical takes place... it is a glitch in the brain that causes involuntary nervous muscular contractions... the reason for it is that your MIND has not been properly conditioned for what is about to occur, namely, a bang and a push. Creating dread in your own mind for the "bang & push" causes it to become a bigger deal than it is. The FIRST step to controlling flinching is to control how you think about the shot. If you do not control your thinking first, practice can and likely will only make it worse... increasing "dread" with each successive shot. Rather than storing information that leads to anxiety, you forcibly store information that leads to satisfaction or excitement... in essence you "fake it, until you make it." Your mind can be tricked into enjoying something in the same way it can be tricked into dreading that same thing.This why flinching (or target panic) is primarily mental. You have all heard the phrase "mind over matter," which applies to this subject as well.
 
Flinching happens BEFORE anything physical takes place... it is a glitch in the brain that causes involuntary nervous muscular contractions... the reason for it is that your MIND has not been properly conditioned for what is about to occur, namely, a bang and a push. Creating dread in your own mind for the "bang & push" causes it to become a bigger deal than it is. The FIRST step to controlling flinching is to control how you think about the shot. If you do not control your thinking first, practice can and likely will only make it worse... increasing "dread" with each successive shot. Rather than storing information that leads to anxiety, you forcibly store information that leads to satisfaction or excitement... in essence you "fake it, until you make it." Your mind can be tricked into enjoying something in the same way it can be tricked into dreading that same thing.This why flinching (or target panic) is primarily mental. You have all heard the phrase "mind over matter," which applies to this subject as well.

True, my guess is 50% of average hunters have a flinch.
Took me many years to work thru a flinch developed by shooting a 6lb rifle, 500gn bullets approaching 2,000fps.

It's also very eye opening to play with a range finder!!
 
30-06… 165-168gn bullets and you are good to go!
So many chambering that would do just fine, but at the end of the day why you have already fit the bill. I’m not a big fan of magnums, more recoil, more powder more money. 7mm08, 270, 280, 6.5x55, 6.5cm, 7x57….. so many chambering so little money and time! My mountain rifle is a Merkel k5 in 30-06 loaded with 168gn accubond long range bullets going 2700fps +, with a Leupold 3.5-10x40 scope, the rifle is just around 6.5lbs and shoot pretty well way better than I can shoot, but I shoot it descently well!
Yep. Second this. I have two that I dither between: a Husky 1900 in 6.5x55 shooting 130gn Sierra Gamechangers and a 1640 in 30-06 shooting 165 gn BTs, both over Hunter. Both ring gongs at 500 and are good for any critter.


That said, I also have a 9.3x62. Just because.
 
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True, my guess is 50% of average hunters have a flinch.
Took me many years to work thru a flinch developed by shooting a 6lb rifle, 500gn bullets approaching 2,000fps.

It's also very eye opening to play with a range finder!!
It's way more than 50%... it's probably closer to 85%...
Few shoot enough to really know, or have ever checked.

R.
 
Flinching happens BEFORE anything physical takes place... it is a glitch in the brain that causes involuntary nervous muscular contractions... the reason for it is that your MIND has not been properly conditioned for what is about to occur, namely, a bang and a push. Creating dread in your own mind for the "bang & push" causes it to become a bigger deal than it is. The FIRST step to controlling flinching is to control how you think about the shot. If you do not control your thinking first, practice can and likely will only make it worse... increasing "dread" with each successive shot. Rather than storing information that leads to anxiety, you forcibly store information that leads to satisfaction or excitement... in essence you "fake it, until you make it." Your mind can be tricked into enjoying something in the same way it can be tricked into dreading that same thing.This why flinching (or target panic) is primarily mental. You have all heard the phrase "mind over matter," which applies to this subject as well.
Hoyt and I have had (spirited) discussions about this before... The above is very correct, very well put, and a great reminder.
Was always taught that there are two parts... the flinch, previous to pulling the trigger, and the reflex, as the trigger is pulled. The flinch matters much more than the reflex.
Both are worth having a look at.

R.
 
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