When you get too close and wear the scars of the encounter, I call it "The Learning Curve"!:s4:

I just wanted to update this post. I went to the range today, and took all advice given here. The issue was definitely when shooting on the bench. I was bringing the butt to close to the chest and above, and hurting just below my collar bone. I brought my rifle off hand and then sat down on that position. Felt comfortable, natural, and no pain at all. Very soft recoil. I shot mostly at 60 yards, and was able to keep my shots off hand on an 4 inch radius, big personal improvement, and zero pain, just pure joy. Those "expensive" .270 win were worth every penny.


Thanks a lot for the tips!!!

You are welcome. This is why we get the big bucks!:D

I call it the idiot cut and yes I have fallen victim to that one too. Bench shooting a brand new Ithaca 37 Deerslayer with a scope and shooting a magnum slug. Ouch knew right away what had happened then I saw red. A light weight shotgun shooting a slug was way more recoil than I expected.:rolleye0011:

Entropy, next time that you are in a Wally World store, check out their Limbsaver recoil pads. The medium size would be my guess for the Winchester 70 that you have, they just slip over the end of the stock, you can remove it anytime. These things work wonders, they absorb recoil so it is hardly noticed. They do make the stock an inch or two longer so you are further away from the scope. I have one that I use on whatever I am shooting, they cost appx. $25 and work great.

I am sure that it has already been said, but it is important in the recoil department. Keep a little pressure on the stock, gently pushing it into the shoulder pocket. Recoil shy folks will sometimes try to keep the butt of the stock away from the shoulder a little because it is causing them pain. This will really get them whacked when they fire off a round because the gun gets a run at the shoulder. Keep it snug in the shoulder pocket and you will feel a lot less recoil.

I followed all advice given here, and shot 20 rounds yesterday. I was only wearing a t-shirt and it didn't bother me at all. And no pain. My rifle is pretty heavy (it is not the model 70 featherweight) and it also has one of those recoil pads installed on the butt. I wasn't paying enough attention too much attention to rifle placement when shooting while on the bench, and it was hurting my collar bone. Thankfully I posted here and corrected that!

Is there any other reason why I would find good use of one of these recoil pads?

I was SO SCARED of this before the first time I shot my gun, I spent hours the day before watching youtube videos and fitting my scope, making sure I had the perfect amount of eye relief :happy0157:.

After firing the first round, .270 win 130gr. I realized the internet just made me completely paranoid and there was no real danger... Recoil on this gun it really isn't bad. I mean... I've been shooting this gun on a bench, placing the butt on the wrong place, and all I got was a slight pain.

Just for fun hold your rifle straight ahead and get your proper eye relief, then without moving your feet swing the rifle first to the right, then to the *left*. The closer you swing the rifle towards your left shoulder the closer the scope is to your eyebrow.

http://www.m14.ca/FM/FM23-8-ALTERNATE-VERSION.pdf

Read this starting on chapter 3. The way I learned and it has worked for me for fifty some years.

Your right thumb should curl over the comb and touch your cheek. Where our thumb touches your cheek should remain the same every shot. Consistency is the main factor in accuracy.

The easiest way to make good habits is shooting prone using sandbags, the steadiest platform (as long as you keep your heals down). Once you get the proper sight picture ingrained in your brain, you can move on to other positions.

Shooting tables/platforms have to be really steady or you are wasting your time.

Having a good scope well mounted in the proper position with good eye relief is key. A .270 is for most a mild recoil gun especially in the full weight model. My problem was carelessness on a bench without taking the time to set up with proper form and support in addition to think about what was going on. It was years ago and the gun was new and I was eager to see how it shot. I was hunched over with the gun resting on a coat trying to get the right eye picture. The recoil did surprise me and there is a lot of force generated with the premium slugs on the market. After that I decided to slightly move the scope since I bought it all mounted and wasn't set right for my body. It wasn't the gun's fault it was mine but it did teach me a good lesson. Since that time I have seen several people on the range shooting off a bench that had contact with the scope.

Entropy, you asked if there is any other reason beside recoil reduction to buy a slip on limb-saver. Since you have solved your recoil problem by holding your rifle correctly there would be none that I know of. If your rifle is fitting you correctly and you already have a recoil pad on your rifle, adding an extra half inch to the length of your butt stock with the limb-saver could even be detrimental to the fit of your rifle.