Taming the 300wsm

DonVathome

DonVathome

Very Active Member
Messages
1,720
Are there ways to redue the recoil on a 300 winchester mag? Obviously a good pad but could a muzzle break make a noticable difference?

I am hoping to get the 300wsm recoil down closer to a 30-06 (both with 165 grain bullet). Both would have good pad's but if I put a muzzlebreak on the 300wsm will it brig them about equal?

The 165 grain 30-06 bullet has 2934 foot pounds KE at the muzzle and the same 165 grain bullet in the 300wsm has 3408 - wich is a big difference.
 
Muzzle breaks make a big difference....I have one on my seven mag and I like it alot. Just be certain not to shoot that bugger without ear plugs. I did that once and it made me feel like I was bleeding out my ears. While I am hunting I just pull a hood or beanie down around my ears and I havent noticed the shock as much.
 
I would bet that with a BRAKE you could lower the felt recoil to below 06 levels.
Those suckers are loud but they really work well!

Zeke
 
I have noticed that the recoil on my Tikka T3 .300WSM with a limbsaver recoil pad is much less than my buddy's 30-06 Rem 700 with a factory recoil pad, for what it's worth.
 
I put a Limbsaver recoil pad and a de-resonator on my Rem 700 .300 WSM and they have made a big difference. The recoil is very manageable and I don't really even notice it anymore.
 
I have the Savage LR in 300 WSM with the factory muzzle brake. The recoil is considerably less than my '06 and I like it a lot. I have turned it off and fired it, just to compare........I won't be doing that again. There is a huge difference!

I bought it strictly for coyotes at long ranges, but I took it to Colorado this year for my deer hunt.

The down side.....it is LOUD! You want to warn bystanders at the range or on stand when you are about to shoot.

"I could agree with you, but then we would both be
wrong......and stupid"
 
Honestly my 300WSM does not seem to be all that harsh recoil wise without a break. I went from a 7MM Rem Mag to it pretty seamlessly, but maybe no brain no pain?
 
I had two 300 magnums and used Magnaport. I know it was not as effective as a brake but it calm them down, was "neater" and it really kept the muzzle jump down.
 
Thanks, I have read that it gets loud - enough it is bad. Some places in Africa ban them - to loud for PH's & trackers nearby.

Giving me thought. I have a 30-06, factory butt pad was SOLID plastic! Yikes, got a limbsaver on now.

Tough debate, big recoil reduction but LOUD. I heard (pun intended) when hunting it will make you deaf for a minute.
 
Get a good recoil pad and shoot a gun you feel comfortable shooting. The 30-06 is plenty of gun for deer and elk. The animal can't be "more deader"!:)
 
Not sure what kind of stock you have you have one the gun but I have a 7 mag that when I used bigger loads would get rather violent. I did a little looking and found the better made stocks by companies such as HS or McMillan can tame a gun. More particularly the stock with an aluminum bedding block, a pachmayr recoil pad, and as straight of a comb as possible. I went with the HS Precision and found the guns harmonics are nothing like before and much more pleasant to shoot without the big muzzleblast. My next step will be to install a mercury recoil reducer in the butt of the gun. BTW if you order the gunstock from HS or McMillan they can also install the mercury tube and then you have a simple stock swap without sending your gun off.

The stock was not what I would consider cheap coming in at $450ish and the mercury tube will be about $100 but in the end my ears will be saved as well as anyone around me and I'll have me a puzzy gun... :)


"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-13-12 AT 03:54PM (MST)[p]I have a remmington 700 in a 300 Ultra mag. I added the sims recoil pad and it made a huge difference. Best money I ever spent.
Tony
 
A difference of 400 ft. pounds of energy is not that much. If you need a muzzle brake to tame a 300 mag, then you have too much gun and need to go back to that 30-06 that you just might be more accurate with since it is not kicking the crap out of you.

I have said this before and will say it again, every time you fire a rifle with a muzzle brake without very good hearing protection, you are losing a percentage of your hearing on every shot. Studies have been done to prove this. Now how many of you muzzle brake guys are wearing hearing protection in the field while hunting?

RELH
 
I shoot slightly hotter than average rounds from my 7mm Mags. I have a Sako without a brake and a Browning with a brake. Both push 168gr bullets around 2900fps. I was always against brakes in "theory", but love mine now. I find it VERY useful in the field to mark my shots, which I can.

I do carry ear plugs and any time I have any time, I have put in plugs. No field shots this year or last without plugs.

Doesn't mean I can't shoot the gun without the brake, as I am not recoil shy with these guns, but when I am shooting 20 plus rounds a session weekly in the summer it is really nice. Gun kicks less than kids .270 for sure and maybe a little more "push" than my light 25-06.

My biggest regret is I really only have a 22" barrel, which is why I only get 2875 in that gun instead of 3000.
 
I had a Tikka Lite in 300 WSM and the key word here is "had". It was a bruiser, literally, I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it before I ever shot it and seven or eight rounds would make my shoulder black and blue.

I traded it for a Remington 700 XCR, same caliber, and with the factory recoil pad there isn't any problem at all, twenty rounds and shoulder is still white.

The Remington weighs about one pound more than the Tikka Lite. Sometimes there is a lot more to felt recoil than the caliber.
 
I owned a Browning Abolt in a .300 wsm with a limb saver and it was not fun to shoot at the range... In the field I didn't notice the recoil. I built a custom .300 wsm recently and had a muzzlebrake installed and I can shoot it all day. It's pleasant to shoot now. I'd say the recoil is far less than a .30-06.

Workman Predator Calls Field Staff
http://www.workmanpredatorcalls.com
 
I am not saying a muzzle brake fails to tame recoil. In fact they do a good job of reducing recoil. What I am saying is that you have to make a choice what is more important, less recoil or lost of hearing in the future years.

I am lucky that recoil does not bother me as much as it does the average guy, so I do not use muzzle brakes. I have fired a rifle with brakes on them and it left my ear ringing due to the high decibels of noise. That was when I did a check on the use of brakes and made a decision to not use them.

In my youth and in the military I fired off two many rounds without hearing protection and as the result I have lost the ability to hear certain high pitch tones. If those had been with rifles with brakes, I would probably be stone deaf by now.

Before I would go to a brake, I would at a smaller caliber, or a rifle with more weight, a good top line recoil pad. Another feature that is very important to recoil is the design of the stock. Stocks with too much pitch will kick more then a stock with a more straight stock. Lenght of pull is also important, too long of a stock will kick more then a stock that fits the shooter.

RELH
 
RELH is spot on..

There's no shame in shooting a smaller caliber... An accurate .243 is way more deadly than a 300 with a flinch..

horsepoop.gif


Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.
 
I am a small guy and shoot the 300 wsm just fine without a muzzle break. In fact that's why I bought it so I didn't have to have one. I have a limb saver on it. The recoil is not bad at all.
 
Here is a program that does the math asuming the powder gasses go forward, no brake:

http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

The gasses are moving at roughly twice the speed of the bullet, so a grain of powder is about like two grains of bullet in the same gun.

In big game hunting, you likely are not going to wear ear protection. High power rifles are bad enough on the ears without a brake. To me, the added blast with the brake is worse than the added kick without, but that's a personal call.

I kind of like to practice enough with an ultralight .358 Norma Mag with small Neidner steel buttplate that kicks like a mule, so that when I shoot my heavier .300 Win with the Kickeeze pad it seems like a pussycat... :)
 
Well Don!

If My Son could Shoot one at a Whoppin 75 lbs & at age 14 & with 180 grain Slugs I think you'll be OK!:D

I did put a Ppusssy Pad on it!(Limbsaver Kick Pad!)

But no Brake!





If I had Listened!
I wouldn't be here today Living & Dieing with the Choices I've made!
 
No argument regarding the hearing loss issue.
For me, already stone deaf without my hearing aids, I don't shoot ANYTHING anytime without ear plugs.....nor should you.

The brake makes a huge difference in the recoil, so I like it.

I seldom shoot with other people around and I issue strong warnings about the noise, when I do.

The thing for me, in going to the 300WSM, is the added killing range on my coyote hunts. I have set a goal of 50 coyotes this year and the 300WSM will help me reach it.

I would not carry it on a deer hunt, but I hope to chase wolves before I bite the dust.

We have a innumerable choices in the equipment we can use, so you just have to decide what YOU want to play with.

"I could agree with you, but then we would both be
wrong......and stupid"
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-16-12 AT 07:39AM (MST)[p]It seems the answer to the OP's question is clear:

Can you get a 300 mag to recoil at or below the level of an 06'? Answer: YES

1. Start with a good recoil pad.

2. Put a brake on it.

You won't match the kick of an 06' with just gun weight or stock design without a brake, unless you carry a VERY heavy rifle around.

You will have to consider hearing issues long term and hearing protection is recommended on ALL shots. Plus you can look into some brakes that don't push the gas back as much and aren't as loud, but they will not be as effective. Frankly I doubt a 300 Mag needs to be tamed that much to match 06' levels as I would assume most brakes would bring it more to a .270 level. My 7mm Mag kicks like a 25-06 with it's brake on pretty hot loads.

If you are in Boise, come see me and you can shoot my two 7mm Mags, one with and one without and see the trade-off's.

Brian
 
I have a featherweight 7 mm rem mag and shoot 160 gr bullets. It was a bruiser before I put on a muzzle brake. With the brake, if you put it side by side with a 243, you couldn't tell the difference. However, it simply screws on and off and can be taken off when I go hunting. The only thing I don't like about that is the threads that tend to collect moisture, but I believe you can get a "blank" with no brake to screw in its place for the hunt. So you get the best of both worlds: brake when you practice, and no brake when you hunt (and don't notice the recoil anyway)

Sims pad: +1000. They make a BIG difference

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-16-12 AT 01:46PM (MST)[p]As stated, NEVER shoot when anyone else is near you even if they have hearing protection, due to the side gasses.

One other thing. I have on occasion driven somewhere and done some target shooting over the hood of my pickup. NEVER do that with a brake! Will ruin the paint job on your truck!

Here is one option: http://www.eabco.com/brockmanbrake.html
this one has an "open" and "close" option

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
>One other thing. I have on
>occasion driven somewhere and done
>some target shooting over the
>hood of my pickup. NEVER
>do that with a brake!
> Will ruin the paint
>job on your truck!


A muzzle loader is not too hood friendly either.
 
Lots of good info guys thanks! I really want the tikka light, in 300 mag, as an all around gun. The weight really really helps me on AK fly in hunts, backpack hunts etc. I have not a shoot a 300 mag - yet, I am simply not a big fan of getting pounded and I am worried about subconciously flinching with it.

I will not get a muzzlebreak, I believe what has been said about hearing - not worth it. I would shoot it enough in the field with no protection to make me deaf in 10 years.

I dealt with my 30-06 with no recoil pad at all (from factory that way) for years and was ok, as far as I know!
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

P1180113.JPG
A0B13691-2093-4FA9-8F93-4E0CAF496F0E.jpeg
20220829_075549.jpg
IMG_0116.jpeg
HUNT0568.JPG
20220829_075758.jpg
B38538D8-AE3C-443D-9D85-E2F2AE2AD3CA.jpeg
IMG_0021.jpeg
IMG_0498.jpg
323B6C6A-1D36-4E66-B5DB-72D44B79EC91.png
98760681-F676-412B-B45A-9F6AB7C86B94.png
20170917_085159-01-01-01.jpg
Back
Top Bottom