Alyeska and Others,

I've been to Alaska the past 2 years and will be there again this Fall, hunting moose, caribou, and black bear with my Winchester Model 70 in .30-06 caliber and shooting Barnes XLC 180-grain bullets.

Next year I'm thinking about hunting brown bear, and am leaning toward a .338 Winchester Magnum. Never having used the magnums before, I'm hoping to take whatever steps I can to minimize the felt recoil, while trying to refrain from adding a muzzle brake - I'm not a fan of the noise they produce. Other than adding a Sims Recoil Pad, what are some of the things I can try? Do certain types of stocks help reduce felt recoil?

Thanks in advance for any ideas! Sure hope the temps in AK start to cool down, the moose can't be happy about the high 70s.

Get the stock to fit perfectly, with the clothing you think you'll be wearing. Good trigger helps too.

I'd avoid the flyweight guns, personally.

Long eye relief scope. Might have to take a shot from an awkward angle, and would hate to knock yourself off of the mountain.....

Since you have plenty of time, practice, practice, practice.... stay away from the bench for now. Offhand, sitting, kneeling..... and if you reload, some 200gr. bullets at less-than-full-throttle will help. Then factory 225gr, and so on.

If you're a seasoned .270/.280/.30-06 shooter, I think that you can make the transition without too much trouble. Might need a bit firmer hold, especially with your forward hand. I can shoot an '06 with the forend laying on the front rest, or even on the back of my hand (out the window of a deer blind), but need to hang on with the .338.

Even a fold of towel over your shoulder helps, and will simulate winter clothing if you are practicing in warm weather.

Hoe you get a big one.... :)

Mike G. has made some good points!

However if you purchase a PAST RECOIL PAD or one like Cabela's sells, you will be able to shoot heavy loads right from the start without any undue worry of pain or stress on the body.

I have such a pad sewn into a hunting vest and it lets me shoot the .458-Lott without getting hammered or loosing my fillings. It is by all means the cheapest form of heavy recoil reduction you can buy for under $40 dollars.

It will make a .338 mag with heavy loads fill like your shooting your 30-06 with 180 grain bullets.

Hey...
I have an 338win mag and think it have a hard recoil, if you compare it to an 458win mag or 300win mag. I have them all so, my recommend you to put in an quicksilver-moderate (??), I have put it in the stock and now the 338win mag have an more nice recoil....

Good hunting!

Would a semi-auto 338 wm have less felt recoil as compared to a bolt action? I don't have one...yet; that shall change when I move to the mountains.

Thanks to all for the advice! I sometimes shoot 2 boxes of 30-06 in one range session, mostly practicing from standing/sitting/kneeling positions in groups of three shots as quickly as I can refocus on the target. May have to keep it to 10-12 shots per range session with the .338, but with the tips you guys provided it should go great. And, I can always bring the 30-06 to the range as well if I want to shoot more than 10-12 shots.

9r - if the semi-auto is gas-operated, it may have less relative recoil than the bolt guns. If you'll be hunting in rainy or messy conditions, autos are less reliable in general than a good bolt gun, but the new autos may have bridged a lot of that gap. I can't speak from personal experience on this one.

Thanks to all for the advice! I sometimes shoot 2 boxes of 30-06 in one range session, mostly practicing from standing/sitting/kneeling positions in groups of three shots as quickly as I can refocus on the target. May have to keep it to 10-12 shots per range session with the .338, but with the tips you guys provided it should go great. And, I can always bring the 30-06 to the range as well if I want to shoot more than 10-12 shots.

9r - if the semi-auto is gas-operated, it may have less relative recoil than the bolt guns. If you'll be hunting in rainy or messy conditions, autos are less reliable in general than a good bolt gun, but the new autos may have bridged a lot of that gap. I can't speak from personal experience on this one.

Thanks I was just curious. I am eyeing a BAR-Safari, which is gas-operated.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=002B&cat_id=031&type_id=001
It will be a long while before I get one and will probably end up with a bolt action.