A Review of recoil in rifle stock design

There are many factors that must be considered when designing a rifle stock. From the shooter’s body composition to the action type employed by the rifle. In this week’s article, I will examine how the rifle’s recoil affects the design of the stock used when compared to various calibers. I will also discuss how the rifle’s intended purpose plays into these design considerations.

First, let’s discuss how the rifle will be used and how that factors into the stock’s design. A rifle intended for hunting can have a vastly different stock than one intended for long range bench competition. The most notable difference will be in terms of weight. For long range bench shooting competitions, were the longest distance traveled may be a few hundred feet, the effects of carrying a twenty plus pound rifle isn’t usually a primary concern compared to a hunting situation where the shooter could traverse miles of hard terrain. The extra weight is beneficial in these sort of competitions as it allows for a more stable shooting platform, and it reduces the recoil which is beneficial for those high shot volume days at the range. (Wayner, 2022) In a hunting situation such as the one mentioned above, the firearm would need to be lighter to accommodate the shooter’s ability to comfortably carry it those distances while maneuvering terrain and vegetation; as well as “balanced” enough to allow quick and accurate shots at game. (Wayner, 2022) (Sonoran Desert Institute, 2021, Pp. 37) As shot volume while hunting game usually amounts to a few shots at most, recoil isn’t as primary a concern as more utilitarian factors. To analogize, the hunter facing down a charging bull elephant probably isn’t thinking about the recoil of his .460 Weatherby Magnum, but I can personally attest it’s all you can think about on the shooting range. 

Speaking of recoil, it too is a consideration in stock design. Let’s compare the recoil of two rifle calibers; the .22 Long Rifle and the .30-06 Springfield in a bolt-action rifle. A .22 Long Rifle shooting a 40 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1165 fps from a 4lb rifle generates .2 ft/lbs of recoil energy; while a .30-06 Springfield shooting a 180 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2700 fps from an 8lb rifle generates 20.3 ft/lbs of force and a “free recoil velocity” of 12.8 fps. (Hawks, 1999) The .30-06 Springfield generates over a hundred times the amount of recoil as the .22 Long Rifle. This recoil must be considered in the design of the stock. As mentioned previously, the weight of the rifle can mitigate the amount of recoil. Because of this, the stock of the .22LR can afford to be much lighter than the .30-06Spfd. Meanwhile a heavier stock on the .30-06Spfd that increased the overall weight of the rifle by 25% to a weight of 10lbs could reduce the recoil to 15.2 ft/lbs; much more in the range of the generally accepted maximum recoil of military rifles and comfortability. (Hawks, 1999) The higher recoil also means the tensile strength of the material used for the larger caliber must be higher, and grain considerations within the stock play a more important role in the stock’s design and construction. 

Aside from weight, other mitigating factors may also influence the stock design when considering recoil. Action types for instance can reduce felt recoil; as per the case of semi-autos. (Hawks, 1999) Of course, certain stock features could be used to reduce recoil. A stock may be designed straighter to reduce felt recoil or cut shorter than the optimum length of trigger pull in order to incorporate a recoil pad. (Sonoran Desert Institute, 2021, Pp. 38) A comfortable fitting stock can also help reduce the damage incurred from recoil and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Once desired recoil has been reached, other design factors regarding the rifle’s purpose can be addressed; such as the comb height for proper aiming with optics and so on. There are many elements to designing the perfect stock for a rifle. Purpose and recoil are but a few, which, themselves include a plethora of aspects that must be reflected upon. A customer’s desired aesthetics play a role and informed tradeoffs may be acceptable in order to create that unique, beautiful, and functioning stock.
 

Bibliography

Hawks, Chuck. “Rifle Recoil Table.” Chuck Hawks.1999. https://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm. 

Sonoran Desert Institute. Customizing & Woodworking. 2021. SDI. Pp. 29-40.

Wayner, Josh. “Rifle Weight Vs. Rifle Accuracy.” Gun Digest. December 19th, 2022. https://gundigest.com/rifles/rifle-weight-vs-rifle-accuracy.