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Have a bit of an unsightly bruise on my shoulder after shooting a bunch of .308 last week, doesn't bother me, but it freaked out the wife .

Probably down to poor technique, and only wearing a t-shirt on my part, but I'm considering sticking a pad on the Zastava.

Any recommendations? Good idea or not? Removable or fixed? Or padded jacket instead of the t-shirt?

Hi there
I use a Past recoil shoulder pad when using my. 416 Rigby. The pad is a bit fiddly to start with but I can easily shoot 20 rounds without discomfort, the more seasoned guys call them sissy pads but you'll never get the best out of your rifle if you are being beaten up by it.
Mike

The Pasts are very good, I have no need for a recoil pad but have tried other peoples and have been impressed.

However I would also learn how to mount the gun properly as a recoil pad however good is no substitute for proper gun mounting.

All it takes is one poorly held shot and once the hurt is there the days shooting will be ruined.

I like shooting heavy recoil guns like the 600 nitro express, they are punishing but to the whole body and not localised to the shoulder if held properly.

So get a Past but also learn to mount the gun so that you are not dependant on them as they are a cure for the symptom not the problem.

You're gonna hear a lot about 'technique' and cheek-meld and grip, and stuff and stuff... but, what a lotta folks WON'T tell ya is that 30-cal rifles kick. Some of 'em HARD. And, if ya fire a bunch of rounds, it HURTS. It does. So, by all means look into some protection for yourself. You can even have a much better pad fitted to your gun, depending on what it is and what's on it now. I agree about the Pasts, and would also mention the Browning Reactor system, which can use a harness-type arrangement, or, some Browning gear like vests & jackets come with a built-in pocket for them. I very seldom fire more than maybe 8 or 10 rounds out of my BLR, and that's only once a year just before hunting season, just to zero it, so its recoil doesn't get to be a issue. But if I used it as a Range gun, it sure as Hell would. The fact is that most hunters only fire 2 or 3 rounds in a whole season from a given gun, and always from a stone-cold barrel, so all that heavy range action doesn't help a bit. At the least, even when sighting, I need to wait a good 20 minutes between shots to come close to replicating real conditions for the accuracy of my gun. So, the recoil doesn't really figure. But, if I was gonna fire a 30-cal a lot, I would ABSOLUTELY be saving myself the hurt. So, get yourself whatever suits you best, but don't just try and ignore it. :) Have fun!! :)

Work on the technique first and make sure you are shouldering the rifle properly according to the discipline you are conducting. Usually it is pulling the rifle into your shoulder rather than pushing your shoulder against the rifle.

Sometimes it is necessary to use a shoulder pad. I have the Past medium size (I think) that works great for summertime shooting. I'm not a big guy and haven't got much "bulk" so shooting full powder 8mm rounds with a steel butt plate wearing nothing but a t-shirt becomes not very fun after less than 10 rounds. Using the pad I can shoot up to 200 rounds with no discomfort.

Thanks All
I think I did the damage when zeroing off a low bench, not the normal way I'd shoulder the gun. I hadn't had any issues previously when shooting offhand or kneeling. In my army days (long ago!) I used to be able to fire a couple of hundred rounds of .303 without problems wearing a service dress jacket. Also I'd only been firing .22lr for the past few years and probably picked up some bad habits there too!

I think I'll look into getting a Past for heavy range days and maybe take a lesson to make sure my technique gets back on par.

The problem is gap between the butt and your shoulder.

If you give the rifle space the recoil can accelerate it into your shoulder. No gap and you become part of the mass of the rifle I absorbing recoil.

I still remember learning to shoot shotgun and after 100 clays one Saturday being bruised from my nipple to the crook of my elbow. I was clearly not mounting the gun right.

Get the rifle tight into the pocket of your shoulder.

daman wrote:Thanks All
I think I did the damage when zeroing off a low bench, not the normal way I'd shoulder the gun. I hadn't had any issues previously when shooting offhand or kneeling. In my army days (long ago!) I used to be able to fire a couple of hundred rounds of .303 without problems wearing a service dress jacket. Also I'd only been firing .22lr for the past few years and probably picked up some bad habits there too!

I think I'll look into getting a Past for heavy range days and maybe take a lesson to make sure my technique gets back on par.

Ah, there could be a chance that the whole butt isn't contacting your shoulder? This coupled with not pulling the rifle into shoulder means you receive the full force in a smaller area = more bruising! I found this out the hard way when I did clays for the first time at 13 years of age, I wasn't pulling the shotgun all the way in and even so I was only getting hit by half the shotgun butt. Hell of a bruise that was

Shooting is for enjoyment.

If you get knocked around, whatever the reason, it won't be enjoyable, so use a pad to ameliorate the effects of the recoil.

I use a PAST for long range black powder shooting when the loads are quite authoritative. My wife uses a thin PAST pad which neatly attaches to a bra strap when shooting clays.

Browning_grrl wrote:You're gonna hear a lot about 'technique' and cheek-meld and grip, and stuff and stuff... but, what a lotta folks WON'T tell ya is that 30-cal rifles kick. Some of 'em HARD. And, if ya fire a bunch of rounds, it HURTS. It does. So, by all means look into some protection for yourself. You can even have a much better pad fitted to your gun, depending on what it is and what's on it now. I agree about the Pasts, and would also mention the Browning Reactor system, which can use a harness-type arrangement, or, some Browning gear like vests & jackets come with a built-in pocket for them. I very seldom fire more than maybe 8 or 10 rounds out of my BLR, and that's only once a year just before hunting season, just to zero it, so its recoil doesn't get to be a issue. But if I used it as a Range gun, it sure as Hell would. The fact is that most hunters only fire 2 or 3 rounds in a whole season from a given gun, and always from a stone-cold barrel, so all that heavy range action doesn't help a bit. At the least, even when sighting, I need to wait a good 20 minutes between shots to come close to replicating real conditions for the accuracy of my gun. So, the recoil doesn't really figure. But, if I was gonna fire a 30-cal a lot, I would ABSOLUTELY be saving myself the hurt. So, get yourself whatever suits you best, but don't just try and ignore it. :) Have fun!! :)

its as likely to be technique and fit .30cal rifles don't NEED to recoil heavily, although some stock designs don't help at all, our club savage beats up most people who use it, whereas I have put 200+ rounds through my Howa .308 sporter in a day without any bruising (of course I may have an amount of natural padding )