I don’t know if you’d have an appetite to do something like this Jim, but it would be fascinating to see just how much recoil actually impacts an average shooter. I know you are being sent crazy amounts of stuff to review and have all sorts of content/hunts planned, but if you ever have a free Tuesday…might be a fun project.
From your Backfire website:
Over 30 ft-lbs – Massive recoil that can be difficult for even seasoned shooters to shoot accurately.
Over 25 ft-lbs – In a lightweight rifle, even experienced shooters can struggle to shoot more than 15 rounds without pain or developing a flinch, UNLESS a muzzle brake, suppressor, or heavier rifle is used.
Over 15 ft-lbs – Begins to be very difficult to spot the bullet impact on target through the scope because of the recoil.
Under 10 ft-lbs – Even newer shooters can easily spot impacts through the scope during recoil. Ideal for youth shooters.
Under 4 ft-lbs – Feels more like a vibration than a “push.”
I guess I was thinking you could get like 3-5 average Joe shooters. They would shoot 3 groups from rifles at different recoil levels.
I.e. Shooter #1 would shoot 3 groups out of a rifle with less than 10 lbs of recoil, then 3 groups out of a rifle with 15/16 lbs of recoil, then 3 groups out of a rifle around 25 lbs of recoil, and finally 3 groups at 30+ lbs of recoil.
Shooters #2+ would do the same test with the same exact same rifles/setup/ammo.
Hopefully this would give some insight into how the recoil is affecting group sizes for most people. Take a shooter that can do 1” groups with a rifle under 10/15 lbs of recoil, and see what does it does to them at 25/30 lbs of recoil.
It might make this too complex and be too many shots for each shooter, but it would be fun to put a brake/suppressor on all those rifles afterwards, repeat the test, and see how their group sizes change.
Anyways, just a fun idea I had sitting in the back of my head. No worries either way, appreciate all the great content you are putting out!
The TL:DW is that precision correlates to the ratio of kinetic energy to rifle weight. They don’t go into the test parameters in this podcast but it included guns from 6BR up to .50bmg.
I like the idea. One of the hardest things for me is recognizing the value of heavier hitting cartridges when hunting, but also facing the reality that most people won’t shoot them well, so I should be cautious in recommending them.
Stuff like that, where the shooter is the biggest variable, its probably best to just give the facts and not recommend anything. Even with this test as suggested, the sample size is tiny and it wouldn’t be wise to extrapolate that data into a larger population and hold it as truth.
That said, I am still interested to see if a 300RUM would outperform a 6.5CM given a margin of error. In fact, a full spectrum test would be really interesting. Somthing like (given the same parameters as the OP*):
1 - Accuracy
2 - Displacement in gel
3 - Penetration in gel
4 - Energy @ 100, 250, 400
5 - Drift in 10mph cross wind, 100, 250, 400
*Shooters should vary in size and weight, but not experience.
If Jim runs this or similar test, I’d recommend including a couple comparisons of same or very similar rifles with and without the Backstop Recoil Pad in a range of cartridges (i.e., at least a few parts ranging from 10-ish ft-lbs to 25-ish ft-lbs of recoil).
On a peripherally related note:
I recently got a Backstop Recoil Pad for my new (as yet unfired) 270 Win rifle. My daughter has the same rifle in 7mm-08 with the factory butt pad. I’m going to fire both, one after the other, with similar ammo ==> as luck would have it, I have a box of 140gr Hornady Superformance SST in 270 Win (rated MV = 3090 fps) and a box of 139gr Hornady Superformance SST in 7mm-08 (rated MV = 2950 fps).
So, I’ll fire each and see how they compare re felt recoil. Obviously subjective, but I’m hoping the 270 Win with the replacement butt pad will feel like less recoil than the 7mm-08 with factory butt pad.
(I’ve injured my shoulder, so probs gonna be a 4-5 weeks before I can do the test, but will post a thread on it when I do. The rifles are identical except for the scopes, so I’ll note the respective total weights with scopes & loaded mags when I post, but should be pretty close.)