Hunting & Fishing 7mm to much recoil

[barbadun]

Hi folks, a beginner from Spain (Europe). I've been recently hunting with a single shot Blaser K95 black edition in 7mm rem mag, and I'm not feel confident shooting with it because of the recoil.

I'm thinking on a Tikka t3x 270 with a muzzle break in order to no to be aware of the recoil.

I will use on mountain hunting and animals

Do you think 270 would fit in 500 - 600 yards with medium game (rams and smallers animals)

thanks !

 

[Secant]

A 270 should get you to 500 - 600 yards on medium sized game, with a decent bullet.

I shoot a couple 7 rem mags, and I do not think they are too much recoil, but everyone is different. For context, my main 7RM is 11 pounds with bipod, scope, suppressor, etc. This year, I've spotted hits on game as close as 250 yards with my 7 rem mag shooting suppressed and kneeling from a tripod.

I'd also say to avoid the brake - brakes will cause as much or more shooting issues as anything - but again, everybody is different.

 

[DocRDS]

Recoil Pad is your friend. You can use one on the rifle or something like a padded vest.

270 is a strong medium game round--I'll second avoiding using a brake while hunting. 6.5 Creed is another for long range hunting that pushes recoil down even further.

 

[barbadun]

Thank you for your response, the rifle weighs only 5.5 pounds that's maybe the reason of that feeling of high recoil.

Which is the reason to avoid the brake? Sorry if I am asking noob questions

 

[fdkay]

That's a pretty light rifle for use with the 7mm rem Mag.
I would explore the 6.5x55 or 7x57 for your intended uses, you can likely get into one for a decent price there. Tikka and CZ make some very nice 6.5x55 rifles.
The .270 is an excellent round, you may find that it barks quite a bit as well, but not nearly so much as a single shot 7mm magnum.
If you can get a 6.5 creedmoor, that would also be an excellent choice.
The brake will reduce recoil but make a punishingly loud report. You would want to wear hearing protection before taking a shot at a game animal.

 

[wilsoN_]

He's right about hearing pro with a brake, took a single shot with my 6.5 Hellfire brake hunting bc I forgot hearing protection and I couldn't hear for 3 days out of my right ear.

 

[AE287]

Have you tried lighter weight 7mm mag bullets? I shoot a 139 grain hornady soft point that doesn’t kick as bad as heavier bullets in my opinion

 

[AE287]

A .270 doesn’t kick all that much less than 7mm mag. It would kick significantly less with a muzzle break if you don’t have one on the 7mm though

 

[Buzzinga]

Keep the 7 mag and have a break installed on it, a good break will make it very comfortable to shoot

 

[Buzzinga]

But, like others stated def use hearing protection. I accidentally shot my braked rifle without ear protection and it was such a weird sensation. Loud and painful, very wtf just happened, was slightly confused for a second.

 

[athanasios23]

Put a brake on it and see how you feel shooting it. Theres nothing wrong with throwing some hearing protection on before you shoot an animal. May not be the most convenient but many people do it. Since your in Europe I'd try and get a tikka in 6.5 x 55 or some other 6.5 caliber rifle that has ammunition readily available. Better to make a good shot with smaller bullet then a bad shot with a bigger one.

 

[DIBBS]

Put a kick -eez slip on recoil pad on the butstock and 30-50% of your felt recoil should disappear. That is light for a 7mm RM

 

[762libertarian]

While the recoil pads will help mitigate the pain of the recoil, you'll still have a very "bouncy" rifle. The K95 is beautiful, but such a light rifle with a magnum cartridge should be quite tricky to shoot well. You wrote above that you are a beginner. This makes me think you could benefit from having lots and lots of practice to perfect your trigger technique, finding a good position (and troubleshooting your technique when the groups don't looks as expected). That will be difficult with a K95, especially if you neither handload nor have unlimited financial resources to buy ammo...

A slightly heavier rifle with a lighter recoiling cartridge is probably a good idea. I have a Tikka T3x with a brake. It's the CTR model, which has a slightly thicker and heavier barrel than the standard models. It's still not heavy enough to really soak up the recoil, but it's not bad. I think a braked .270 Tikka will be an improvement as far a shootability goes. However, my Tikka is not as pretty as your K95. Why not an extra barrel for the K95? Maybe a varmint barrel in .270?

Edit: It seems as if it might be tricky to find a heavy profile .270 barrel for the K95... and it's probably not cheaper than getting a Tikka.

 

[Old Dude]

Could he add weight into the stock. Under the butt plate. He could deep drill and press in heavy metal tungsten rods. They would be hidden and add mass without affecting his appearance. Same in the forend take it off and cut channels to lay some rods in then seal them in place and reinstall The stock.

 

[Rocky59]

Go with a light bullet, that'll help some Perhaps you are simply discovering that magnum performance comes at the price of greater recoil. However, I don't think that the 7mm magnum is that much more powerful than an '06 or 270 Winchester. But it might be just over the recoil tolerance level of many shooters. Optimizing the fit of the stock and adding a recoil pad can make all the difference you need. If it's a lightweight rifle, again, it's going to kick harder. It's far better to hit an Elk in the vitals with a 243 Winchester, than make a gut-shot with a 7mm magnum. Might as well miss altogether.

 

[barbadun]

thank you guys for your response. I'll definitely try the tikka in 270

 

[BoltActionBrotherhood]

I am going 7 Saum, with a 20 inch barrel, I hear the recoil is very very manageable.
My rifle will only weigh about 6-7 lbs. (Pork Sword Chassis)

 

[davsco]

Keep the 7 mag and have a break installed on it, a good break will make it very comfortable to shoot

YES! my old tikka t3 in 300wsm kicked like a friggen mule and then some. my new t3x in 300wsm, with an area419 brake, is an absolute pussycat. when i shot my recent elk, i just threw on my pro ears 300 elec muffs and zero hearing issues.

 

[fdkay]

I am going 7 Saum, with a 20 inch barrel, I hear the recoil is very very manageable.
My rifle will only weigh about 6-7 lbs. (Pork Sword Chassis)

there is not a tremendous amount of difference between the SAUM and Rem mag in terms of recoil

 

[bluegrasspicker]

You said you're a beginner, so I'll share an observation that I've seen with a lot of new shooters.

There's a tendency to relax before breaking the shot.

A trick to taming the recoil is to hold the gun extremely tight into your shoulder.

I take it for granted, but I forgot to tell a medium-sized guy that with a 12 gauge pump shotgun shooting sport loads, and it kicked him back several steps. I felt kinda bad because I just assume everyone's been shooting since they were kids. But I did laugh :^)

As you're breaking the shot, be sure to pull the gun firmly into your shoulder. It seems counter intuitive, but it really works. The gun has to acceleration your whole body rather than taking off like a banshee into your shoulder.

Maybe you're already doing that, but maybe this'll help.

 

[oldiephrt]

All the above are good answers. Length of stock (too short) causes more, for me, felt recoil. Another reason for a slip on butt pad.

 

[teddyw19]

If you are recoil shy go to a 6.5 caliber. They are very Efficient and very low recoil. Wouldn’t hunt elk past 500 with them but you can take most game in the distances you listed.

 

[camocorvette]

You've got a couple of options as outlined above.

Weight the stock. -Cheap or expensive. Home gunsmith and fishing weights. Or what ever you want. * Downside is heavy...

Recoil Mitigation device. -brakes, blast ports, recoil booster, flash hider or best option suppressor. Attainable or expensive. *Downside is LOUD. *Positive(only with suppresor) no blast and less DB's. Reduces felt recoil Impulse.

Lower weight bullets and reduced cartridge loads. Some reduced recoil/blast. *Downside. Reduced ballistic effect in some cases and ranges.

Buy a different caliber rifle with less recoil then a 7mm for 500-600m hunting. (Thats entirely up to you to choose) *Downside? You have to buy a new rifle/scope/sling/ammo. Aquire new DOPE. Positive. You buy a new rifle..

If gunsmithing is a service you can find or provide. You could always rechamber the action you have with a new barrel and bolt. *Downside. Takes time. Good smiths have some wait time. Questionable smiths have guaranteed 1 week barrel chambering, 11°target cut and flutted bolt with m16 extractor swaps available. Positive. You get to research and select what best fits your needs for that rifle being created.

 

[hlee]

Wait, brake? You‘re in Spain, right? Aren’t suppressors sold in sporting goods stores as off the shelf items in Europe? If you have the opportunity, use a suppressor- they will also reduce recoil, though not to the extent of a brake. And, get a good recoil pad- limbsaver is my preference.

 

[freefallin223]

I know Remington sells a "reduced recoil" factory load for 7mag., because I accidentally bought some. I haven't shot them, or compared the ballistics, but they would be an easy fix perhaps if the ballistics don't fall off too bad for your intended purposes.