i like jeff coopers thoughts on recoil. said he couldn't understand all the fuss. couldn't we just ignore it?
the only thing i've ever shot that hurt was an interarms whitworth 458 and that really good looking skinny classic british express stock plus the way too small barrel added up to sub 8# weight and pain. next 458 was a post-64 m70 which was barely over 8# but very good stock design and recoil was never an issue.
heaviest kickers i've shot are a 500 jeffery i built on a p14 enfield action. 11# and i've shot it 10rds off a bench with no more ill effects than fatigue. and i've got a ruger #1 i built into a 500-3" nitro. it finished up barely over 9# before i added some weight to the stock and while recoil was fast beyond imagination with the muzzle way above 45 degrees up i afterward took stock: no broken bones sticking out, no blood, no detached corneas, no bruising, no physical damage of any sort, which told me adverse reactions to recoil are either cumulative fatigure or all in someones head.
was some young guy at cabelas once trying to impress the buddy with him. told him the 270 weatherby was a big rifle and recoil was so severe he wouldn't even be able to stand firing it. i didn't say anything but i sure wanted to. THAT's the main reason Americans are bothered by recoil: for their whole lives they've had buddies, gun writers, etc telling them that recoil was a problem.
roger
