Bringing Out The Big Guns - Preparing For Heavy Recoil
If you’ve ever had the chance to shoot a big-bore revolver, you know how powerful it can feel. While heavy recoil tends to be associated with larger calibers, powerful hunting or defense rounds out of small, lightweight firearms can kick too. If you’re planning to shoot any of these, hopefully, you’ve had the chance to prepare for significant recoil to make it a positive experience. If not, or if you’re interested in shooting more powerful firearms, here are my tips for success with revolvers and ammo that pack a punch.
Foundation Building
When we think about making a successful shot, it starts with the fundamentals of grip, stance sight alignment, and trigger control. Getting into a good stance and having a secure grip on the handgun is critical to your success. When I know I will be contending with more recoil, I’m much more aggressive with my stance. I spread my feet so they are wider than my shoulders and as a right-handed shooter, I move my right foot back much more than I would when shooting softer loads. I also lean forward, bending at the waist to help my body absorb recoil better.
Where you can easily adjust your stance, getting a proper grip can be more complicated. A small AirWeight? J-frame has a tiny grip compared to the generous grip size of a Smith & Wesson? 460XVR? or S&W500?. For someone with smaller hands, the J-frame may be easier to grasp than the larger X-frame; add in grip features like finger grooves, and it might be harder to achieve an ideal grip. Grip material can also come into play when it comes to shooting comfort. As much as wood or G-10 grips may look nice or provide additional checkering, rubber grips are often preferred by those who shoot hotter ammo. When it comes down to it, the softer rubber adds more cushion in the hand and disperses the recoil more evenly.?
As with any pistol shooting, your goal should be to eliminate any space between your hands in your two-handed grip while still being able to reach the trigger. The larger the grip, the more challenging this can be. Pay extra attention to your support hand thumb, keeping it away from the revolver’s cylinder to avoid a potential burn and discomfort. This is what makes the thumb-over-thumb grip technique for revolvers so popular. It prevents potential injury.
Take the time to practice both grip and aggressive stance in dry fire. It may feel silly, but the more you practice trigger control with the ideal grip and stance, the more successful you’ll be when you’re ready to take the shot. If you’re practicing with a heavy revolver, it might call for a shooting rest, sandbag, or shooting sticks. Your stance will change for these options, but you’ll still want to lean into the gun to put as much mass behind it as possible to control the recoil.
If the revolver has an external hammer, it’s a good idea to dry fire both double-action and single-action pulls. Even if you only intend to shoot single action, focusing on a smooth pull in double action will improve your overall trigger control. That improvement will carry over to every firearm you shoot.?
Shot anticipation can be a tough issue to overcome. When we anticipate something uncomfortable, it’s normal to try to counteract it and even worse, the expectation can cause a natural flinch reflex. This is why dry fire is so helpful, it allows you to focus on the shot process without the distraction of recoil. It builds confidence through familiarity. You’ll feel more prepared because you have spent time learning the best way to hold the handgun, the position your body should be in to control recoil, and knowledge of how the trigger feels when you press it.?
Ready for the Range
Ideally, plan a range session with a smaller caliber revolver first, starting with the softest loads and building up. For example, shooting a revolver in .38 Special with target loads will help you prepare to shoot hotter +P ammo or magnum loads. When you feel ready to fire a big bore, opt for softer loads instead of the most powerful options.?
Set up an easy, close target with a defined aiming point. Dry fire the handgun a few times to feel the trigger in your ideal grip and stance, focusing on proper technique. When you feel ready, load it with a single round. This ensures the revolver cannot fire another round and makes it safe so that you can put it down if you need to. Repeat the same focus on the fundamentals, set your sights on the aiming point, and press.
Congratulations! Once you’ve taken that first shot, take the time to reflect, not just on the power or recoil, but on the steps, you took to prepare for it as well. Now that you know what to expect, you can improve and make new goals.
Julie Golob
Oilfield Consultant at Betwell Oil & Gas
2 小时前I had a 454 Casull but at 77 I can no longer handle the recoil.
Senior Compression Technician at Certarus Ltd.
20 小时前Love this
COO at PRO-tect | Comprehensive Investigative and Protective Services
1 天前Very informative!
Happily Retired
1 天前Great tips. One of the reasons I handload for my 629s. Factory .44 Special is pretty wimpy due to SAAMI pressure limits. At the other extreme, .44 Magnums tend to be loaded to max pressure, which can be punishing (for the shooter and the gun). There is a wide range of “happy medium” between the two that is both powerful and enjoyable to shoot (even out of my 3”), that you can really only attain by rolling your own. Not to mention reducing ammo costs by half. Similar situation with .38/.357 as well, although not as extreme. I’d rather shoot factory .357 out of a 640 Pro J-frame than .44 mags out of a 629.
Technical Writer, Engineering support, and Desktop Publishing expert with extensive experience in the Aftermarket Parts area.
1 天前I remember reading an article in a gun magazine years ago that claimed that the .44 magnum was way too hot to handle and had way too much recoil. I wonder what the author would say about the .460 or the .500 S & W rounds.