I have to agree with this also, I had a .270 bruise me up pretty good last year due to the bench being built so that the shooter was bent over forward too much. I had shot that .270 for a couple years then as soon as I started shooting at this new range I was feeling the recoil.

I would recommend some muscle. Not in the ammo, some standard 150 should do fine so getting that scope on. Then check out (maybe adjust a little for) your preffered higher powered hunt ammo.

The muscle? Put some of your shoulders. Overhead french curls and overhead presses will do wonders. Muscle tissue is MUCH MORE dense than, um, ahhhh, fat. Or worse yet, is no fat at all, bone. Ouch!

I don' t think I' ve shot more than 25-30 rounds at one time thru my old sporterized German Mauser at one range session. I don' t recall it ever being " painful" , even with the old steel butt. But then again I shoot ALOT of shotgun, lots of slugs even year-round.

Better work out this " issue" before there' s a deer in your sight.

Good luck.

Uncle Matt (in IL)

I own 2 30-06 rifles, a Husky and an Enfield The husky is 8 lbs the Enfield is 9.5lbs. The Enfield is easier on the shoulder and just as accurate. the Husky has a nicer action but more of a kick after 20 or so rounds. By that time it is time to stop and clean the bore because the accuracy starts to go south. I was asking about a company called BP Tech. who claims in their ad to reduce recoil by 40% with no increase in noise. This would be good for me because my son will be shooting soon, but he has a fairly severe hearing imparement and the doctors say that even 1 blast from a magnaported or muzzle braked gun could do permenant damage to his ears. Another thing you might want to look at is the 7MM-08. With the research I have done this weapon has just about as good of performance with substancially less kick.

I put the Limb-saver on over my current pad and it makes the stock a bit too long. I will have to remove the current pad and try it again. I realized that I started out holding the rifle wrong when I got in the shower the other night and had the worst bruise I have ever seen. It was right on the top/inside part of my bicep. It looks terrible, but doesn' t really hurt. The little hollow between my deltoid and my collarbone is still tender though. I bought a ballistic shooting bag and will be filling it up tomorrow. I think this should reduce the recoil greatly for range use. After the new pad is on correctly, I think my problem should be solved.

As for changing to a different round. I am not doing that for a while. I bought a case of 10 boxes of ammo so that I would get the same lot # and hopefully have a batch of ammo with the same shooting characteristics. I wanted to sight in once and not have to do it again for a long time.

If I was not going to do a lot of shooting with it I would just use the pad you bought.The deal is when you do shoot a deer with it you wont even feel the guns recoil or the report.

In addition to trying any of the other suggestions above...you might want to consider looking into a good shooting vest or jacket. Outlets like Gander Mountain or Cabela' s usually have a good selection, (and frequently gun specialty shops will carry them as well). Prices will generally vary from about $50. and up (as high as you' d care to go). These will have a pad placed on the " shooting shoulder" (usually right side-right handed) and will help reduce recoil even further. The jackets/vests are normally used for shotgunning....but work equally as well when range shooting rifles. Just insure the pad is placed properly to work when benching your rifle.

The nice thing about the vest/jackets is that they work in addition to whatever other solution (like recoil pad) you decide to use!

Best of luck!

Update...

I went shooting last night and put 20 rounds through. I did manage to get 1moa and am pleased. The limb-saver slip-on pad worked great but I will have to remove the stock pad as having both of them makes me have to stretch my neck a bit to get in the right position for the scope. Can' t wait to hunt this weekend.

Reacher,

Try going to a lighter bullet, a 125 or 150 will do the job on whitetails. I' ve been shooting a 30-06 since l972 and love it. Currently using a Ruger Model 77. I went to Colorado this year mule deer hunting and handloaded several boxes of 165 gr bullets for practice and the hunt. I believe the 150 would have done just as good a job on the mule deer. Winchester and Federal offer both the 125 and 150' s.

I also have a Wtby Vgd and it' s in the 300 win. mag., kicks like a horse, thats' s why I took the 30-06 to Colorado. I also took a Rem. Model 7 in 7mm-08 in case something happened to the 06, it to is a good whitetail rifle and caliber.

Dog1

Dog (or anyone else), I just got a handi rifle in 25-06 with the ultra barrel. With 117s it is very mild, much less kick than my 30-06 with 165s. I haven' t shot 125s from the 30-06 but I am guessing they are similar in recoil to the 25-06 117s? Or does the barrel diameter play a factor in recoil also or is it just the weight of the bullet?

3.5" @ 200 is nothing to sneeze at! Most rifles won' t do any better, particularly with factory ammo, which I assume you were using!

If you start reloading, you can work up a load just for your rifle that will beat this!