Thread: .303 rifle recoil, sore shoulder

Originally Posted by Gun nut

Check headspace, or get a Smith to do it. Out of headspace will contribute significantly to felt recoil.

OK, I had just had this checked by a gunsmith while it was in for some other work recently, im pretty sure all thats OK.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Brass, steel or alloy butt plates can be a bit thumpy if you don't pull them tight into the shoulder, a short stocked gun kicks a full size shooter more than a correct fit does, 303s came in short std and long stock options fitting a slip on recoil pad may be the answer .
It's most likely work related, I've had a rotator cuff strain caused that way and after a few weeks of light duties went back to full activity including clay target shooting 700 rounds over a weekend and not a worry mind you the gun fits me perfectly and has a limbsaver recoil pad.
Follow any practical doctors advice and get on with it. Life without shooting doesn't bear thinking about.

Yeah, I feel the heavy brass butt plate is not helping things. Ive got a limbsaver on my 12 gauge and it helps, but it extends the length of pull a bit and I learned that the factory stocks that had the recoil pads were cut shorter to make up for the extra thickness.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

the tighter in you hold it,the less momentum it has to boot. firm=good and slip on recoil pad is good. give barrel really good clean out too incase its been nickled up at some point and is tighter than should be..not all that common anymore

Well I thought I was holding it tight, but wondering if its me just automatically relaxing without realising as i had the rifle supported on the table, im sure I tried holding it tighter on the last shot.
This rifle does have a very tight bore when it we measured it, this may not help things. Ive given it a bit of a clean and the cleaning patch was coming out quite grey, but the bore appears clean when looking down.

Originally Posted by Danger Mouse

Brass butplate, ww2 ergonomics and a decent size cartridge.


There is a few options you can do.
Lighter loads
Slip on rubber but plate
Shoulder pad.

With enfields, it's worse when you are prone because you get a small corner of the butt digging into your shoulder.

Personally, I use a shoulder pad from paast. Or if you are going to have a dedicated shooting shirt, you can sew in a small pad in the shoulder. Pad from a shot gun jacket for clay shooting is ideal

I might have to look at experimenting with different loads, I dont think I need much padding, just something to cover the heavy buttplate, as there is not much muscle protecting my collarbone or shoulder.

Originally Posted by longshot

Shooting from a sitting position can knock the shoulder around a bit, I find it helps to have the rifle higher rather than lower so the shoulder doesn’t have to hunch, I think a straight shoulder gives more surface area to spread out the kick.
Hold the fore stock firmly too. If it’s on a sack consider whether the top of the sack provides a ‘raceway’ on which the fore stock can slide back freely. You can also rest the rear stock on a separate sand bag, provided it isn’t a smooth channel, it will also help absorb some of the felt recoil.

Yes, Im thinking this is part of the problem. First thing im going to try is shooting while standing to see how that compares.
I think I might need to sit lower to keep my back straighter.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I am guessing you were using the hug yourself method with front rest ??? no hand firmly gripping the forestock.if so it would make it worse.

Thats what I was trying to do, but having the rifle resting on a sack perhaps didnt lend well to me holding the rifle in the most ideal position.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

as a young fella I shot full bore with the old Gisborne rifle club -great days - as a new member I used one of their old SMLE target rifles with a brass but plate - 10 rounds and my shoulder was copping it -so I got a piece of neoprene used for wet suits and sowed that inside the army jacket I used to shoot with and was a lot happier with the felt recoil - those old 303 with steel or brass butt plates can boot

Neoprene sounds like a good idea, would be super easy to make a lightweight slip on pad too.

Originally Posted by jackson21

Probably pay to give yourself a bit of a break for a while, next time get it in really tight on bone wide on shoulder so no movement and recoil absorbs through whole body instead of punching you in the shoulder.

The Greek is hot. I hammered myself around getting back into the old Milsurps as well untill got technique sorted It.

I can pump 50-60 303 down-range in Tee shirt no problem now, great fun!

Im feeling OK now so probably will be fine for me to play around next weekend.

It appears this greek stuff has a heavier projectile, so is probably the reason I have found this has more recoil than I was expecting.