When did folks become such recoil wimps?

I'm in my 70's and all those years of recoil don't appeal to me much anymore. If they appeal to you, good for you, if not, do what I've done, and found a rifle that you are able to shoot comfortably. To carry on shooting I've had to seek out a rifle my arthritic hands will allow me to shoot well from the bench and carry when hunting...I'm cool with that.
Have a great day fellow rifle loonies!
 
It's probably better for all of us that people choose cartridges to hunt with that they feel comfortable shooting and practicing with. 1 well placed shot on a deer with a .223 and a good bullet is going to be much more effective than a hit around the edges with a 30-06.
 
I worry a lot more about hitting what I aim at and putting meat in the freezer than I do what anyone thinks of the calibers I use.

Had multiple 375s in H&H and Ruger flavours. Still love shooting a 12 ga now and then. Competed for fun with Garands and Kar 98ks with steel buttplates in EOHC shoots and did pretty well. But 9 out of 10 hunting shots I see taken where I am will not be overly demanding of anyone using terms like "pussy" etc. At a certain point you become that guy at the gym looking at what everyone else is lifting lol

You hit an 8 inch killzone at 50 yards while sitting in a blind. Is that the best way to see how well you really shoot? Maybe not. But guys do it reliably every year and say "good enough for me"...and it is. Now for sure plenty of people do more demanding hunting than that and I give absolutely two chits what they do it with. Their prob not mine. I've got meat in the freezer :)

But honest assessment? I shoot a smaller caliber noticeably better and that makes it more fun for me. And theres nothing I'll run into that I'm scared of putting a 140-150 grain 6.5 or 7mm bullet in.
 
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When the arthritis got too bad, taking several days to get over firing a full house 45-70 isn't my idea of fun.
 
A lot of people think they are obligated to turn a 45-70 into a sub-.458 Win Mag, which is why a lot of Marlin 45-70 'Guide Guns' change hands frequently.

The only two moose I've taken fell to a BP-equivalent smokeless 45-70 load in my Browning '86 rifle. I guess they didn't know that wasn't supposed to happen. One taken at 75 yds, other at 25 yds.

Two 400 lb+ black bears met the same fate from BP loads in my 50-70 Sharps, even more gentle to shoot. Both taken at 100 yds.
 
It's all about the recoil pad and how the stock fits your face. Done properly on both, I. E a limbsaver and a cheek pad, I can shoot slugs out of a 12 gauge single shot and have a great time. Give me a metal butt plate and no cheek pad and that same gun will hurt me bad and one shot is too much.

So I hunt with the lightest centerfire in 7-08 and never think about recoil, because years ago I had a flinching problem and don't want it back.

I confess to being a recoil wimp.
 
It's all related to the cartridge, firearm weight, stock design and fit, your shooting technique and what stance you are shooting from. I find shooting my .375 H&H just fine off hand or kneeling but I don't like it off the bench.
 
Sharps '74 said:
A lot of people think they are obligated to turn a 45-70 into a sub-.458 Win Mag, which is why a lot of Marlin 45-70 'Guide Guns' change hands frequently.

The only two moose I've taken fell to a BP-equivalent smokeless 45-70 load in my Browning '86 rifle. I guess they didn't know that wasn't supposed to happen. One taken at 75 yds, other at 25 yds.

Two 400 lb+ black bears met the same fate from BP loads in my 50-70 Sharps, even more gentle to shoot. Both taken at 100 yds.
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I don't own a 45-70, never have, never will. I found out the hard way that you shouldn't "trust" people. Buddy handed me his single shot rifle and a fresh round. ...... here try this, he said claiming it was a gentle load. Never again!
 
Pa sent me out hunting birds with a Marlin Goose gun when I was in Grade 7 or 8. I can remember fighting in the 110-115 lb class around that time ( Boxing ); after a season or two of shooting 3" Magnum 12 gauge shells, not much kicks anymore...thanks Pa.
 
Not so .... people are much larger than they were during Medieval times and larger than our ancestors were just a few generations back.

Blame better nutrition and health care.
 
I hope to see some cheap 30 cal+ rifles on ee now. That being said, sometimes it seems like I shouldn’t talk about anything over 30 cal unless it’s under 2600fps if I want to be in the right social set. If there really isn’t any reason for 300WM plus, besides penile extension, political correctness has made shooting much less fun.
 
emerson said:
Cost plays a bigger role than most of us like to admit.
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Yup, I am on a fixed income so don't even shoot my 308 riflles as much as my .223's or even the 6MMBR!:p
On a good day I can shoot the 6mm well enough at 1,000 to stay with the big guys and on a great day my little mouse gun will give a good accounting of itself.
makes me concentrate more.:cool:
600 meters and in, both are awesome :dancingbanana:
Cat
 
Sharps '74 said:
Not so .... people are much larger than they were during Medieval times and larger than our ancestors were just a few generations back.

Blame better nutrition and health care.
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Partly true. From what we know height essentially followed the climate, which influences nutrition as you say; taller during the Medieval Warm Period, shorter during the Little Ice Age, taller since 1850.
 
Size? Pfffft!

I have friends who cry like little girls when they fire a rifle larger than .308, despite the fact that they are much taller than my 6'2" and heavier than my 200 lb.

I also have a granddaughter who shoots a .45-70 like Matthew Quigley, without complaint...and she is a little girl! She wants to try my .375H&H next.

Attempting to quantify "wimp" scientifically just doesn't work; being a wimp isn't a science...it's an art! :)
 
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