Mauser Recoil

[Alfred]

An account I once read of a battle involving troops (Spanish foreign Legion I think) armed with Remington Rolling Block rifles, in which the troops were pinned down and had to fire several hundred rounds each during a day long battle, told of the soldiers faces being deeply bruised and swollen as if they'd been beaten. The comb of the Remington butt stock was blamed.

A "cheek weld" is conducive to accuracy, but only when no more than a few rounds are to be fired, when hundreds of rounds were fired from powerful rifles the face took a beating.

The lightweight remington 600 rifles got around this by angling the comb so that recoil pushed the edge of the comb away from the cheek.

I don't press my cheek to the comb, I just let my jaw barely touch the side of the comb to insure that I have the same head position from shot to shot.

I've found that slip on recoil pads can adversely affect accuracy, so I simply fold a wash cloth and slide it under my shirt at the shoulder to give just enough protection.

[Ce41]

I own a 1941 RC Kar98k and have fired over 300 rounds with it using various rounds (both surplus and modern ammunition). The first time I ever used it hurt a bit, but since then I haven't had any problems. Light bruising when I don't pull it into my shoulder though.

Just gotta hold it tight and you should be fine. I am not the sturdiest person around either, I'm tall - but not well padded

[rayg]

I had the same problems until I began reloading, tames the rifle to '03 standards and no fighting the bolt. You guys can have all the surplus you want, I'll stick to my hand loads.

Same here. The older I got the smarted I got, at least in the kick situation. And I started reloading and making lighter loads that were more pleasent to shoot. Much more fun shooting a rifle with 1/3 less kick. Ray

[aprayinbear]

Just found this thread and thought I'd drag it out again and ad my $.02 worth.

I shoot two milsurps, my Swedish mauser and mosin nagant. All machismo aside, when I shoot the mosin with military surplus rounds, she kicks and kicks hard. At the bench its intolerable placing the butt right into my collar bone. My CG 96 kicks a bit, but is very tolerable unless I'm shooting round after round at the bench where my collar bone eventually says enough. When I'm standing, neither rifle is a problem if I maintain a firm hold.

And for all those who say military rifles were not meant to be shot from a bench, please think again.... any soldier who wanted to stay alive must have shot off of or behind a long, tree, bench, wall etc.

I solved the problem two ways.....

The first is a simple pad made from a towel. Just fold it or roll it and drape over your should. May not be pretty, but it's simple and it works.

Second.... reduced loads. For me this is the best solution..... almost no recoil, and cheap, cheap (and did I mention cheap!) accurate ammo. Another benefit.... now anyone can comfortably shoot my rifles.

That's fun for me, fun for my friends and now I have several fine rifles which are excellent for teaching the enjoyable and safe use of firearms.

[madcratebuilder]

After 30-40 rounds of 8mm or 7.5X55 in my K-31 I start to get a flinch so I have tried several different methods at reducing felt recoil. A Browning Reactor pad in a shoulder pocket shooting shirt helps a lot. Add a Galco removable recoil pad and it's a major reduction. Most mil-surps run short for me so the Galco pads helps the fit too.

[OxfordAndy]

I have many different military rifles. The only ones that I find unpleasant to fire are the various military mausers. During recoil, the stocks rap me right under the cheekbone and after 9 or 10 rounds, I'm done shooting due to pain. Those stocks position the eye well with the sights and would make a great stock for a .22LR but are not good for anything with substantial recoil.

I have tried holding these rifles many different ways without any luck. Springfields, Garands, Enfields and Mosins are pain free for me.

Do you any of you guys have similar experiences ?

On my scoped 98k I'd be permanently scared above my right eye if it wasn't for the repro rubber eye piece I got from Robert Spielauer!

Yes, they kick!

But I find a recoil pad (like the Bob Allen) or a jacket and fleece works wonders.

[mike webb]

Try one of these Past pads, they work! PAST® Recoil Pads

Can you tie them around your face? That's where I get it the worst.
Hey, Gunner
Do you know if MG42 ammo is painted a certain colour like some specialty military ammo?

[bobvz]

Hi all! Great forum here. I've had 40 years of shooting experience and own and shoot over 20 different Mausers in many calibers including 8x57. I am also a NRA Range Safety Officer. It sounds like some of you folks may be crawling the stock and have excessive cheek weld. The advice you got on putting the butt plate firmly in your shoulder pocket is sound. The PAST pad works extremely well too. Remember, these weapons were designed to be fired with a thick tunic or field jacket, so the length of pull is a tad short. The PAST pad gives you an extra bit of padding and LOP. Don't weld your cheek bone on the stock, instead, just touch your chin or jowl to the stock. Keep your head back a bit more. If held properly the rifle shouldn't be slapping your face in recoil that bad.

[jon_norstog]

Guys,

You could try prone from a rest. That's how I shoot sighting in unless I have access (as I do now) to a regular rifle range with benches, etc. When I lived in N. AZ, I used to go out to this cinder cone. I burned off the brush in a 30-yard circle and had a clear shot at a 100 meter cinder backstop. That and a seabag full of old clothes.

Yeah, the Mausers still kicked. So did the Krag, the Lee and the Rolling Blocks. I did put a lot of rounds through a G98 that way. When you're down like that you can bunch up your jacket and put it between the buttplate and your shoulder. That helps a lot.

Just a random thought. hope it helps.

jn

[conductor]

I have no problem at all with my K98k. But the Argentine M1909 in 7.65 kicks like a mule. I had a beautiful one, and after shooting it just 3 times, I sold it to a guy at the range where I had taken it to shoot.