Question for the gun experts
 

I know there are a lot of gun aficionados here.

I figured this may be the best place to ask.

How important is limiting recoil for a hang gun or rifle?

If it was substantial would you use it or would other folks at the range/hunting grounds consider it " cheating " ?

For hunting, use enough spoon to do the job. Better shot placement almost always trumps horsepower though...

At the range, shoot whatever spoon you want but be polite (rudeness in the name of safety is OK) about it ...

What caliber spoon are you pondering, and what would you be hunting with it?

Cheating?

Of course not.

Recoil bothers some people more than others, I guess I am lucky that it doesn't bother me much, but I certainly wouldn't look down at someone who used a recoil pad.

A general answer:

A properly fitted rifle/shotgun recoils much less, or gives the impression of less recoil. Technique plays a large part as well. Much of the pain of recoil is caused by long stocks. Most factory stock are too long for the general population. Then there's the fine art of measuring for the drop of the comb, etc. That's why fine large caliber rifles fitted to a shooter/hunter costs, just like tailored suits.

As to hand guns, same goes. A properly fitted pistol to your hand as well as proper technique will give the perception of less recoil.

Heavier spoons recoil less, because there is more mass to recoil against. I'm not a fan of ports, as it introduces other issues (blast, noise).

Depends on what you're looking for exactly but the answers to your questions is a function of what you are trying to shoot/do.

In a tactical application less recoil equals faster and more effective follow up shots so yes, it's important.

I had something that would have bothered U plenty...a 50-140 Sharps

Pull the trigger once is OK and the second time you flinch..

No cheating in limiting recoil. This is true at the range or in hunting. As this video shows, a gun with a hard recoil is of little use after your first shot.

Arabs Shoot a Powerful Gun 101 (Funny) - YouTube

Let's use the link without the racial overtones in the name, shall we?

.577 T-Rex go BOOM - YouTube

PS that is an elephant gun that I don't think the op is really considering, but who knows...

.357 is as much as I like to shoot in a handgun for fun. I'll shoot a .44 and not flinch, but anything beyond that, count me out.

I like shooting my .30-06. Makes the proper crack a rifle should.

I don't know what you mean by 'cheating' honestly. Shoot so your comfortable. A 300lbs guy thats 6'6" and a guy thats 5'2" 130lbs are going to have different levels of comfort with recoil. That has no bearing on effectiveness. Thats the benefit of firearms over swords :D

A prepared man with a .32 will kill a fool with a .45 every time.

To be frank with you its not for a gun that I own. Actually don't own any.

Looking at helping a company take to market some recoil dampening products.

Being the pessimist that I am it had occurred to me that the true enthusiast may frown on this sort of assistance.

Then again if using your weapon for more than just a single shot at a single moment it may be critical to utilize aftermarket technology to insure accuracy on subsequent shots.

I would think if I was hunting or in the military it might make sense to take any advantage available.

I hunt elk with a 338 Win Mag. Don't even notice the recoil when hunting and shooting. Now the range when I sighting it in, that's a whole nother story. I'm a fan of the leadsled for that.

My .30-06 still makes me wince. I got a good hit to the eye when I was a very young kid shooting one. I didn't have the stock against my shoulder properly and the scope hit my eyebrow really hard. To this day I get a little nervous when I shoot it. But the Remington 700 is a work of art. As for handguns, my .357SIG's tend to make me wince. Nothing else really does.

I <3 recoil.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9596/bessie.gif

Recoil.........
 

Calculated recoil vs felt recoil, quite a different animal! Today there are several rifles/shotguns on the market with recoil reducing hardware already built into them. Some are concealed inside the stock and are not noticible to the eye, while others are external designs that affect the asthetics. There is certainly no shame in building a better mousetrap (or shotgun). If one can harness physics to make for a faster follow up shot or allow for a smaller person to use a heavier caliber weapon, then all the better.

This is definetly true in pheasant hunting. The ability to recover from a shot makes a big difference in how many birds you get once you flush them.

We own some military weapons as well and anything using 5.56 the recoil is minimal. At 7.62, you start thinking about reducing recoil.

Overall, recoil reduction technology is welcome in the gun community. Weight and balance must be considered in its development.

But, as said above, fit and operation affect felt recoil. For example, this weekend I met up with some former students that think the AK and SKS (w/ 10lbs of crap hanging off rails) are The Thing to Have. So we met at a private range, I brought out the FAL, and we started experimenting. Even thought the FAL weighted less (!!) than their tacticooled out AK and SKS, and it shoots a more powerful round, the felt recoil was much less and controlled double taps were very easy to do...

I'll admit that it's fun to put holes in paper with the .257 Roberts. With the 7mm remington mag it's no fun. I shoot it only to sight in prior to hunting.

"hang gun" I thought that was a technical term I was unfamiliar with.

The amount of recoil I want in any type of gun is zero. Heavy recoil takes some of the fun out of shooting. When I was a wee lad, my "recoil dampening product" of choice was a paper-back book. What kind of product are you talking about?

.257R is the best round ever!

I used to shoot skeet with a guy who had a potholder sewn onto his shirt, used to crack me up but was effective.