Springfield 1903- Recoil issue
 

I love military surplus guns, such a rich history. I have always wanted to own and shoot a Springfield 1903 or 1903A3. However, I have a bad shoulder and am concerned about recoil. You can’t find low recoil ammo any more. I saw a video on YouTube and the recoil looks brutal even with a 150 grain bullet. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I deer hunted with a stock Springfield for years. I still have it and shoot it regularly. I handload and would not consider recoil with 150 grain bullets "brutal". In fact, I would consider it pretty casual. I never used a recoil pad on it. I found the wide butt on it buffered the recoil adequately. Even shot it in warm weather in just a shirt. No problem.

work up a load with H4895, you can cut it back to no less than 60% of book max for a low recoil load, shoot a lighter bullet, say a 125 gr ballistic tip at reduced loads it should perform well on deer.