Shoulder Pain

[lcgordon711]

Hi guys I know this is not exactly long range hunting but I felt it may be the best place to post. I just recently joined a rifle club and have been shooting most weekends. When I go I shoot some paper at 100 and then go shoot the steel gong range at 3-500 meters. I shoot about 50 rounds and have a blast but my shoulder is killing me. I shoot just a regular win model 70 .270. Its not crazy light about 9lbs with scope. So its not a 15lb target rifle. The last time I went my shoulder started having what I would call significant recoil pain after about 15 shots. After this I felt like I was doing something wrong. I have shot bigger guns in the past but never this many shots, and never had a problem. I would even consider .270 even with 150gr a lighter recoil and very manageable. Anyways I get the pain in the high shoulder area just above and right of what I would call the pocket. I tried to work on getting the butt of the stock lower in the pocket. I feel like this may be my problem. It just feels kind of weird down there. Plus I may need higher rings and a cheek riser or something. Any tips for helping this out from what I have described? I feel like a little baby but it just gets really uncomfortable.
I have included a pic of where I am feeling the pain, right at the green circle.

 

[Muley Buck]

A limbsaver should alleviate your problem.

 

[lcgordon711]

I get that. But you see people all the time shooting old wwii rifles from a bench with steel butt plates with seemingly no issue. I feel like it’s placement and technique issue. I feel like a new pad would be just a band aid on the issue.

 

[Apollo117]

I get that. But you see people all the time shooting old wwii rifles from a bench with steel butt plates with seemingly no issue. I feel like it’s placement and technique issue. I feel like a new pad would be just a band aid on the issue.

Well, everybody's body is different. You can't always compare your body to someone else's. And you can't always just assume it's bad form.

Do you have an existing or previous shoulder injury?

Do you still feel the pain when you shoot sitting, standing, and prone?

 

[lcgordon711]

I looked into the LimbSaver pads and would like one but sounds like all the pre fit ones don’t actually fit and I really did not wanna pay a gunsmith to put a grind to fit one on. Would rather just buy a new stock at some point but don’t quite have the cash currently.

I do not have a shoulder injury, I’m 26 years old so I’m not old.

I have only shot seated at a bench recently. I’ve shot some prone years ago with 7mm and 12g slug gun( originally from the Midwest shotgun state) but probably never shot more than 15 rounds at a time but never felt any issue.

As a kid in high school and college I always like more recoil and thought it was kinda fun but now I don’t know what’s up because it’s uncomfortable.

I don’t really shoot standing. Or have not in a while. Seems like standing is way lighter recoil because you can kinda move back with the kick just a tad.

Last time out shot my mosin about 10 rounds and the last two it felt like a sharp pain. I was done with that gun and rifles for about an hour and shot some pistols then went back and shot another 30 or so 270 rounds. I was sore for 4-5 days after

 

[Phil4]

I’d do some exercises to tighten up that shoulder. If I don’t lift for a week or 2 I get really sore after a trip to the range and can only shoot about 20 rounds before the shoulder starts hurting. When I’m lifting and stretching regularly I don’t have any issues. Cheap fix you could try.


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[lcgordon711]

Thanks for the recommendation. I do work out 3-4 times a week. I’m gonna play with butt placement on the shoulder tomorrow. I was trying to last time but it was halfway through and already really sore so it hurt kinda no matter what. I may look into a new pad also. Not sure if I could get a pre fit one to work ok.

 

[elkguide]

There are many things that could be causing your discomfort.
I'm a little guy, 5'8" @160 pounds. I'm comfortable shooting my .300 Win Mags off my bench...… well 2 of my 3. One custom .300 Win Mag I have, seems to kick me way more than the others do. I have 2 .300 WSM's and one I can put 30 rounds down range and the other, after a dozen rounds, I'm feeling it. I have some much larger than me friends that hate to shoot their .308's, 30.06's and even their 270's more than 6 or 8 times off my bench.
If I haven't shot for a couple of weeks, I do seem to feel the recoil more but by making sure that I am positioned correctly behind the rifle that I am shooting, and by my being sure to move with the rifle, it isn't long before I'm back into not being bothered by the recoil.
To make the heavy recoil feel of each of those rifles that seem to get to me more, I only load both of them with 165 grain bullets while the others I load with bullets from 180 grains to 210 grains.

Now my 8 pound Christensen Arms .300 RUM...… that wears a brake and it is just plain fun to shoot.

 

[lcgordon711]

Yeah I need to play with my positioning a bit maybe. I’m getting pain only up high so maybe try to keep the gun off that spot. Also look into a new pad. The one I have now might as we be plastic. You can’t squish it at all. And really trying to keep the gun tight helps. In the spring when I go home I’m going to bring back a 22-250 to supplement in so I can get a bit of a break from recoil.

Thanks guy for the help. Is nice to hear I’m not too crazy and other ppl get sore too.

 

[*zap*]

You might try shooting prone.

 

[missjordan]

I struggle with a little bit of the same issue, i always like to say my shoulder has more “bone” that gets in the way just from being a girl. I can set the pad right in the correct spot and deal with the gun beating me up or it sits right on the collar bone which isn’t pleasant either

What i did to help the pain from the recoil is I either wear a shooting vest or when it’s cooler out wear a thicker coat. Sometimes that is the easiest fix is just put more padding there. That should be able to extend the amount of shots you can fire is get a new pad for the end of your rifle, or pad up yourself. I always try and suck the end of the gun up as firm as possible whether I’m on the bench or laying down. For the larger guns that i shoot regularly like my .338 win mag i try and space my shots out and only try to shoot 3-5 times and take a short break, it seems to help


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[lcgordon711]

Thanks for those recommendations. I’ll give prone a try. I did notice two times ago it was cold and I had a decent size coat on and it was a lot better than last time in a regular hoodie. Yeah when it gets up in the collar bone area it starts really getting uncomfortable. I honestly thing I took a couple steel butt plates to the collar bone area and that’s what started it off bad.

 

[Apollo117]

The one I have now might as we be plastic. You can’t squish it at all.

This is your problem. Getting a new pad will help immensely.

I have an old Winchester model 70 in 30'06 that originally had a hard pad. I dropped the barreled action in a new stock with Limbsaver pad. Same gun and similar weight, but the recoil before and after is worlds apart.

 

[lcgordon711]

Thanks for that. Yeah I went on and bought a new LimbSaver prefit pad. Well see if it actually fits. Maybe it will be close enough. For 35 bucks I’ll give it a try

 

[juan trueno]

Recoil pad will help, but I’m thinking this also is a stock geometry and form issue coupled with your body reaching its limit, which is now wearing on your mind. What scope are you using? And mounts? How high off the rifle are they?id like to see a picture of you shooting.
On a lot of “classic” stocks the comb drops too much as they were designed originally for use with irons. You either end up lifting your face of the stock and just barely resting your chin on there to get behind the scope and slap your face hard and shoulder hard, or can’t stay connected to the stock and cut your eye with a scope (this is why scopes with excessive eye relief and “sloppy” eyebix that’s tough to get behind are so popular...crappy stock design). Or you end up with the rifle real high on your shoulder, again in an effort to get behind the scope- and then you are getting shoulder punched by the toe of the stock and taking the heat high on the collarbone instead of in fhe pocket.

Either way 270 isn’t, and really any thing in a long case that burns that much powder, isn’t ideal for long (rounds expended,
not range to target) range sessions. Get a 223 bolt Gun for this stuff and save a lot of wear and tear on you and your wallet. Also Look at raising the effective comb height of the stock on the 270 with a pack,pad, or rolled up sock and 100mph tape or something so that it encourages better form.

I’m confident that your precision is not what it could be given your current discomfort and anxiety level.lots of unbreaked 223 will fix that.

 

[Ranch Fairy]

I've always found .270's to have a very rapid recoil cycle. To the point I had a couple I could have purchased and just didnt. Oh we have a bull barreled 12 pound .308 that we call butter smooth....beautiful.
Anyway,
So, I am now 50 and a couple decades ago my dad gave me his featherweight, pre-64, model 70 westerner running the LUXURIOUS and mostly forgotten .264 Win Mag. Trust me bro - on the standard featherweight platform it will blow your hair back just a bit. Screw that.
I put a 14 ounce mercury cylinder in the stock and she has slowed way down - it's still got some jump but its a push. Love shooting it. I am not shooting it more than 10 times though.

You should consider, if you're gonna shoot as many rounds as you say, (unless its restricted by a certain type of shooting competition, some game you're playing, etc.) The physiology. Repetitve beatings are no fun. So, its time for a mercury cylinder, maybe a 15 pound gun with your larger calibers (because more toys are alwasy better) or buy a 10 pound .223 and go rip.

 

[Neverenoughhntn]

Honestly, get a muzzle brake or suppressor on the end of that thing. It will do more to tame recoil than any pad can. (I would add a limb saver pad as well, as has been mentioned... or get a new stock all together. Its amazing what a different stock can do as well)

 

[lcgordon711]

Thanks guys a ton for all the info. I went and shot today and it was way better. I was comfy shooting about 40 rounds today. Just a slight manageable bit of soreness.
What I did was get the butt about a half an inch lower on my shoulder. It made a world of a difference. I have a LimbSaver pad coming in if it fits. Lots of bad reviews on those things as far as fitment. I did not want to pay a gunsmith to put on a grind to fit one.
Problems I see are my rings are too low. When I put the gun lower on my shoulder, putting my head down comfortably I’m almost looking over my scope. I also don’t get a good cheek placement when I put the butt lower. I really need a riser I believe. But it was doable today and I was way more comfortable.

I would like to buy a new stock but it’s not really in the budget currently. The gun is for elk and mule deer so I need to not go too heavy. I’ll have to see after shooting a bit more I may get one.

In the spring when I go home I’ve got a 12+ pound 22-250 I’m bringing back here. That think has no recoil so it will be perfect for the range.

On the plus side I shot my first handloads out of it today. Shot pretty well.

Thanks for the help and I made a lot of progress today.

 

[DRD]

Shoulder used to hurt all the time. I added a PAST pad. They are cheap like $25. Covers the majority of the area even if form is off a bit. Dr said a result of too many overhead activities (throwing baseballs, etc etc) and some scar tissue. Shooting just aggravated it. Was certain I had a rotator cuff tear. Negative. Worked the area over with something that looked like brass knuckles. Hurt like a sumbich. After a week and following his orders (plus the PAST, limbsaver pads) all pain is gone. Not sometimes, but all the time.

 

[TauPhi111]

I can offer a couple points of advice. As others have pointed out, a limbsaver recoil pad will help. I have a couple on various rifles of mine and they are very squishy and help a lot. Second, a good muzzle brake will help a lot. Look at the APA mini or micro bastard, or the M4-72 Severe Duty from Precision Armament. Both are great and will really tame the recoil for bench use. I wouldnt shoot them in the field without ear pro however. Third, the higher your scope is and the harder it is to get a good cheek weld, the harder your rifle is going to seem to kick. The more contact you have with your gun so that you move with your gun the better. Higher rings wont help if you cant get a good cheek weld.