Recoil question - 308 vs 300

[KSB209]

What do you all think the felt recoil difference is between a 6_7 pound hunting rifle in 308 vs. a 11-12 pound BR rifle in 300win or 300wsm?

I am trying to decide if I want to step up to a 300 for a new BR rifle or just stick with another 308.

Currently have a 7mm in a mountain gun that can kick me around a bit. My thought is a 300 in a heavier gun would relax the recoil a little or make it comparable to a light gun in 308.

thoughts ???

 

[WildRose]

What do you all think the felt recoil difference is between a 6_7 pound hunting rifle in 308 vs. a 11-12 pound BR rifle in 300win or 300wsm?

I am trying to decide if I want to step up to a 300 for a new BR rifle or just stick with another 308.

Currently have a 7mm in a mountain gun that can kick me around a bit. My thought is a 300 in a heavier gun would relax the recoil a little or make it comparable to a light gun in 308.

thoughts ???

There are some recoil calculators you can run it through online. With this much weight difference it's probably going to be pretty close using identical bullet weights.

 

[Tikka 300wsm]

Though its not 11-12 pounds my montana xwr 300 wm with a vortex hslr 4-16x44 weighs about 8 3/4 and it kicks a good bit less than my win 94 30-30...shooting it is actually quite pleasant...ive never shot a 308 but i would guess that the recoil of my 300 is about in that ballpark.

 

[el matador]

It depends greatly on which bullets you'll be shooting. I've got a 300 that's just under 12 lbs, and shooting 208 grain bullets at 2850 kicks pretty good. Much more than my 270 WSM which comes in around 9 lbs, shooting 150 grainers. Now I do have another 300 which weighs about the same, but it has a muzzle brake on it. That thing kicks about like a .243. It's a pleasure to shoot all day long! I love the horsepower of the .300 so that's what I'd go with and add a brake to it.

 

[HARPERC]

The .308 I had many years back was in that 7+ lb range. It kicked like a mule with 200 grain bullets.

The .300 Winchester Magnum I currently have pushes 14 lbs and is pleasant all afternoon.

The weight is obviously a help, but modern stock technology, and muzzle break must be figured into it. Today that .308 could be put into a more user friendly package.

You say it's a BR rifle. I'm assuming you mean bench rest. Nothing wrong with either cartridge, but I'd assess what my ballistic needs were, and engineer backwards from there.

 

[KSB209]

Yes I was referring to a bench rest gun (BR). Might do some hunting with it just because but I have the hunting rifles dialed in already

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

I've found that the bigger grain bullet I shoot... The heavier the recoil. The heavier the gun, the lighter the recoil.... However... Since I got my 300 wm a muzzle break... I'm never looking back. It made my gun a joy to shoot and I could care less about wearing my macho man merit badge.

 

[FEENIX]

I've found that the bigger grain bullet I shoot... The heavier the recoil. The heavier the gun, the lighter the recoil.... However... Since I got my 300 wm a muzzle break... I'm never looking back. It made my gun a joy to shoot and I could care less about wearing my macho man merit badge.

Amen to that! Both my .300 Win Mags have MBs and the felt recoil is comparable to that of a .243. On top of the reduced felt recoil, the muzzle rise is significantly reduced ... being able to spot impact on target is PRICELESS! lightbulb

I hunted with 1st .300 Win Mag for 20+ years before putting an MB on her ... and like you, never looked back. gun)

Here's a recoil calculator (not the same as felt recoil) http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp, for comparative analysis.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Shot both.... Don't know about the numbers, but I can tell you, it will be VERY close in felt recoil.