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Saiga .308 vs Mosin Nagant Recoil


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My dad has a Mosin Nagant, and I cannot stand to shoot it. The recoil hurts! I may be a weenie about it, but now that we have that out of the way, is the recoil on a .308 Saiga near as bad as the recoil on a Mosin Nagant? On a scale of 1-10 a Mosin being a 10, where would the recoil on a .308 be.

 

Yes, I know there may be guns with more kick and I am still a weenie, but I like to enjoy shooting rather than closing my eyes every time I pull the trigger, because it is gonna hurt.

Thanks!

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My dad has a Mosin Nagant, and I cannot stand to shoot it. The recoil hurts! I may be a weenie about it

Not "may". :haha:

 

, but now that we have that out of the way, is the recoil on a .308 Saiga near as bad as the recoil on a Mosin Nagant? On a scale of 1-10 a Mosin being a 10, where would the recoil on a .308 be.

The S308 is a good deal smoother. On your scale, a Mosin carbine would be a 10, a Mosin 91/30 an 8, and the Saiga about a 6. YMMV.

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Plus you can get a recoil reducing stock on a .308.. Have you tried duct taping some hand towels bundled up to the end of the mosin or gettings a rubber pad for it? Friend did that for his girlfriend, worked good.

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I have wood with a built in recoil pad.

I like recoil pads as much as the next guy, but I don't get this excited.

 

Just kidding, even with a steel plate on the back of my .308's stock, the recoil is not particularly bad. Even off the bench it's a softer push than a bolt gun's sharp kick.

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I already have a .223. I do not have a big love for the 7.62 x 39 cartridge for the reach out and touch ya kind of thing.

 

I am just planning my second purchase. You know I have 2 sons. I have to pass one to each of them right?

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My dad has a Mosin Nagant, and I cannot stand to shoot it. The recoil hurts! I may be a weenie about it, but now that we have that out of the way, is the recoil on a .308 Saiga near as bad as the recoil on a Mosin Nagant? On a scale of 1-10 a Mosin being a 10, where would the recoil on a .308 be.

 

Yes, I know there may be guns with more kick and I am still a weenie, but I like to enjoy shooting rather than closing my eyes every time I pull the trigger, because it is gonna hurt.

Thanks!

 

 

If one shot makes you cringe, yeah maybe you're being a weenie. After a couple boxes through the 308, I wish I had some extra padding, too.

 

 

 

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Recoil is much easier.

1) bolt action is always goning to kick more than something that slides on springs.

2) a little smaller round for the Saiga.

3) I use a nato length stock, much easier ergos to get the stock where it should be when firing.

4) added a brake on mine, noticable difference on recoil.

Edited by 1liter
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Recoil? Try a 45/70 Marlin lever gun, damn that gets sore.

 

Options to reduce recoil are pretty limited, brake - pad - buffer are it, of course all three could be used. Outside of the ego thing there are excellent marksmanship reasons for reducing recoil.

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The 308 and 7.62-54R are almost identical in powder and bullet. To the point that a scope with graduations for one will work for the other. However the Saiga action does absorb about 1/4 of the recoil (felt).

 

I shot about 120 rounds through the S-.308 today and 70 through the O3-A3. BIG DIFFERENCE!

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  • 1 month later...

I have found that most people who have the type of reaction to recoil that you described simply are not holding the rifle correctly. It must be held tightly to the fleshy part of the shoulder, as a loose hold will cause the butt stock to jerk and smack against your shoulder. A firm grip will prevent this from happening, making the energy from the recoil push instead of smack against your shoulder.

 

I am confident you will have an entirely different and positive response using this method.

 

And, for what it's worth, I don't have a Saiga .308 (only a .223 now), I do have a CETME in .308 (7.62x51 NATO) and a semi-auto French MAS 49/56 in 7.5 French. Recoil in the CETME is pretty mild, noticeably less than my .308 bolt gun and my 7.62x54R Mosins. It is a bit heavier than the Saiga, so your mileage may vary. The French Mas cartridge is .308 in diameter, slightly less powerful than our commercial .308, and its recoil is pretty mild. It is lighter than the CETME, probably a bit heavier than the Saiga.

 

My next .308 will definitely be a Saiga. I say go for it, you won't regret it.

Edited by wpflgun
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Bolt guns are always going to have more felt recoil than a semi auto. I can shoot my 308 Saiga all day, but will start to feel it after 50 rounds or so of shooting Mosin Nagants. If you really want to see how you can stand up to recoil abuse, try shooting 20 rounds of 303 British in a No.V Jungle Carbine.

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I never really thought the kick from either of the guns were that bad.. both are pretty comfortable. But then again after I put 15 - 20 12ga 2 3/4" slugs through my Mossberg 500 with an 18" barrel, I'll be happy with most any rifle.

If the felt recoil from a round is an issue for you, then why not go to a smaller round like the .223? It's fun to shoot and is an accurate round, which can still be shot from a pistol design that is easily managed.

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My S308 feels a lot like my PSL recoil wise. A soft, strong, slow push. It's honestly not even bad enough to throw you off target.

 

 

Then again, even my saiga 12 is a very soft shooter with 3" mags. I think most people's issue with recoil is that they were never taught how to shoot anything bigger than a .223.

 

Pull the rifle forward with your left hand, and pull the rifle into your shoulder with your right hand. Make your arms fight each other and push the weapon into your shoulder hard. Don't fight the recoil with your back either, let the rifle rise. Doing this properly, it's easy to handle a day at the range with some of the heaviest recoiling 12 gauge sabots out there.

Edited by Tombs
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I find the S-308 to be very mild, especially with my ACE stock/recoil pad. The Mosin isn't bad at all if you hold the gun to your shoulder properly. Keep in mind that the length of pull on Mosins is very short. They were designed to fit soldiers wearing many layers of winter clothing, so getting a Limbsaver or other slip on recoil pad will probably make the LOP more suitable to shooting in light clothing anyway.

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*Any* semi-auto will kick less than a bolt action, given similar ammo and weapon weight. An M1 Garand will kick less than a '03 Springfield. You're using some of the recoil energy to load the next round.

 

Now, my PSL is finnicky about ammo. She absolutely hates even Wolf 150gr, it slams pretty hard and empties go flying. But PRVI 150 grain is much softer, and Czech surplus silvertip is the softest of all, more a push than a slam.

 

You aren't likely to have recoil issues with a Saiga .308, especially if you do some experimenting with different ammo.

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  • 4 weeks later...

If you want to experience recoil that'll get your attention, (without getting too exotic), try some 30'06 out of a bolt-action rifle without a recoil pad. I recently acquired an old, well-maintained Winchester model 670 and after ~10 180 grn rounds I felt like someone had beaten my shoulder with an axe handle. I wasn't actually hurt and I didn't even bruise, but you really feel that much force being sharply transferred to your body. The Winchester definitely needs a Limbsaver.

 

The 7.62x54R that the Mosin Nagants fire is a smaller cartridge, and so recoil is not as painful/sharp as the 30'06, but it is noticable. Though .308 is very close to it in performance, and a .308 bolt-action has similar felt recoil, the Saiga .308 is a gas-operated semi-auto rifle, so a lot of that force is harnessed to cycle the rifle, and because of that it is a distinctly softer shooter.

 

Using a FSE AK recoil pad, (there are softer designs on the market, but the FSE is based on the mil-spec medium-hard rubber AK recoil pad), on my S-308, the felt recoil is that much more managable and comfortable; close to my Saiga 7.62x39 rifles', (I just use a steel buttplate on my x39s). If the MN recoil is a 10, the S-308 rates about a 6.5 imo.

 

ymmv.

Edited by post-apocalyptic
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Bolt guns are always going to have more felt recoil than a semi auto. I can shoot my 308 Saiga all day, but will start to feel it after 50 rounds or so of shooting Mosin Nagants. If you really want to see how you can stand up to recoil abuse, try shooting 20 rounds of 303 British in a No.V Jungle Carbine.

 

Yesterday at the bench I put about 80 rounds through a couple'a Jungle Carbines (real #5s) with no discomfort. Really liked the slick bolts and 10 round magazines. BUT... didn't last for more than 3 rounds of factory 300 grain .45-70s through an 1873 Springfield rifle cut down to carbine barrel length. WOW, did THAT smart! Steel buttplate.

 

Next: buy some non-corrosive .303 that won't hang fire and find out about loading softball .45-70.

 

I know, off subject, but I REALLY liked the Jungle Carbines. Yeah, I'd put the Saiga .308 at a 7, for felt recoil, but the way the rifle fits me helps me tolerate it well. The Mosin-Nagant just plain HURTS me.

 

Oh, in the interest of full disclosure, one of those #5s has a Numrich replacement recoil pad on it which actually gives. I've got an order in with them for another for the second rifle.

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Put 100 rounds of german dag through it yesterday.

 

The thinner stock I have on it now certainly made the recoil more noticable but it was still not bad. If it catches your collar bone when shooting from an awkward position, it can get a little tender but otherwise not an issue.

 

Certainly not an issue to shoot standing for a prolonged period of time.

 

I shot a marlin 30-30 with full house 170gr loads afterwards and noticed that was a fair deal lighter recoiling, so I guess it does have a little bit of kick to it.

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