At one time I used an ex NZ Army .308" 'SLR' in Three Gun Competition but changed-over to a less potent Ruger Mini-30 fairly quickly. - SLR's were a "British Commonwealth" version of the FN FAL that used 'BRITISH' screw threads instead of that EU foreign metric stuff .. they are a full power battle rifle but military users certainly found that marksmanship was much easier to teach after they changed-over to the smaller 5.56x45mm NATO caliber.
The SLR /FN FAL recoiled at around 10 ft.per sec with just under 14 foot/pounds of recoil energy .. whereas the current 5.56 NATO guns make only 3.4 ft/pound recoil energy at approx half the 7.62's recoil velocity.
Really BIG rifles like the .577 Nitro Express can yield as much as 80 foot pounds of Recoil energy and are guilty of whip-lashing many a spine & neck.
- Old shooters never die - they just walk very slowly!
Longtime shooting buddy "Colpepper" owns an impressively shiny S&W .44"Magnum revolver with it's original thin wood-chip stocks. - When he once generously passed it to me with six rounds chambered .. it was returned to his proud hands - cylinder open and with five remaining live rounds.
S&W Model 29 .. Often Used Bargains.
This gun, like most of it's bros, is in pristine 'as new' condition for a reason. - Recoil Energy for such kickers can be as much as 22 foot/pounds with maybe 20 feet per second recoil velocity .. it certainly hurt my hands. - this is not to even consider the .50" S&W Magnum X-Frame Revolver that can have more than 40 foot pounds of felt recoil energy.
It is also right to comment here that nobody I know will train or practice regularly with a gun that HURTS THEM .. rushed training will embed slack habits.
I well recall shooting my .308" SLR in a substantially built bench rest firing position with a low roofed bay all made from concrete blocks .. The percussive gas blast on ones head and face was shocking despite wearing proper hearing protection and safety glasses. But that pressure slap to the head did help take attention away from the iron-shod butt kick to the shoulder.
- No doubt there will be some hairy-backed real machos out there telling me to "man up and get over it" .. but there truly is a reason why pain happens .. It is telling you that you are being injured!
Apart from the unpleasant hammering - you are likely to develop a flinch and a history of missed shots when using something with over 20 foot lb. recoil energy.
Shooting injuries don't only happen to targets filling with bullet holes. Shooters sustain physical injuries at the other end.
Carpal tunnel nerve damage, ligament injury, broken collar-bones, detached retinas in their eyes, optic nerve injury, - headaches from having your brain rattled? - That may indicate permanent brain damage is happening. .. this is added to the hearing loss and reduced mental acuity resulting from toxic lead poisoning.
- At least think about it lads,
Marty K.
https://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
https://chuckhawks.com/handgun_recoil_table.htm
http://www.sportingshooter.com.au/news/recoil-and-the-shooter
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/01/09/firearm-recoil-traumatic-brain-injury/
After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this blog.. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?
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