Henry Rifle Forums

Hi I am waiting to receive my new single shot in 308. I am a little recoil shy having being out of hunting for 15 years and on the wrong side of 50. I have 2 questions firstly how does the felt recoil compare to similar weight rifles in 308 caliber and secondly has anyone fitted a muzzle brake and what was your opinion. Thanks

I could never tell any difference in recoil between 308 and 30-06 with 150-165 gr bullets. I am basing that on max loads for big game hunting. Remington 760's had some pretty stout recoil in 308 and '06. Winchester Model 88 in 308 were the hardest kicking 308's and were worse than other models of rifles in '06. Neither were even close to the recoil of my 350 Rem. magnums. 350's were brutal in the Model 600. Rifle weight is a big factor in felt recoil. I have never fired a Henry single shot in any caliber to make a judgement on them.

The only 308 I have owned, other than what Uncle Sam issued me, was a Savage 99E that would rattle your teeth. As stated, rifle weight has a lot to do with felt recoil. My single shot 30-30 is very pleasant to shoot, but 308 is a good bit stouter than that.

Shot my first deer with a Rem. 600 carbine in 308 that weighed just over 5 lbs.. Worst kicker I have owned
. The henry comes with nice pad that should help. Plus it is heavier.

characterizing felt recoil is very subjective .... the recoil of our 308 Browing BLR which has a good recoil pad and weighs a little over 6.5 lbs isn't bad .... identical loads fired from identical rifles, the felt recoil from a 30-06 and a 308 are is pretty much the same .... as high powered, 30 caliber centerfires go, I'd put it as a bit more than our 30-30 and a world less than our 300 WBY Mag

If you are worried about recoil try using lighter weight projectiles.
A few ammunition makers offer light recoil loads, hornady offer a 125SST load in their custom lite ammo for the 308.

PJM wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:57 am

Shot my first deer with a Rem. 600 carbine in 308 that weighed just over 5 lbs.. Worst kicker I have owned
. The henry comes with nice pad that should help. Plus it is heavier.

My first centerfire rifle was this exact Remington. As I recall it had an 18.5” barrel and the muzzle blast was as bothersome as was the recoil. Not sure what the specs on the Henry single shot are but I assume it will have a longer barrel and be heavier than the old Rem 600’s. I have owned a few other 308’s more recently but neither are good examples for you for recoil. One was a Remington Tactical with a 20” heavy barrel so little recoil and the other is an M1A which is both heavy and being a semi-auto not much in the recoil department. If you find the Henry to be bothersome look into a PAST or other shoulder pad.

Not sure how relevant it is (apples to oranges), but I had a FAL that wasn't bad at all. Stout shove but not a mule kick -- unlike the 8mm Mauser I had for a while that was brutal.