i bought a new h&r 308 today and shot it for the first time this afternoon. the first shot the scope cut my eye pretty bad. this is the first 308 i have owned why does it kick so hard.. i shoot a 300 weatherby normaly but the 308 kicked twice as hard.... any ideas on why this could be...

The 308's no kid's round. It operates at a higher pressure than the 30-06.

What were you shooting?

COuld be your stock is contributing to the increased recoil.

I have a 30-30 Marlin that kicks way too much and I've been told that the stock is responsible.

was shooting a 150gr. hornady balastic tip and the gun has a synthetic stock

i bought a new h&r 308 today . . .

Weigh the H&R and the .300 and I think that will give you most of your answer. If this is the Ultra Hunter, it should be 7 lbs, plus scope with the wood stock. Don't know about the synthetic? Also, measure height from where the stock centers on your shoulder up to the centerline of the bore. The H&R may have a higher bore line, which will increase muzzle flip. Also, if your mag has a muzzle brake, that will make a difference.

.308 commercial loads have the same performance as commercially loaded .30-06, so recoil impulse will be the same in the same rifle with the same bullet weight. The '06 has lower pressure in a commercial load, but the extra powder needed to make that pressure in the bigger chamber makes enough extra gas to accelerate the bullet to .308 velocity, despite the lower pressure.

You didn't by chance get one with a kids stock, a friend of mine did this some years ago and didn't realise it until sometime later. A 308 isn't a hard kicking gun, can you move the scope forward a little.

I suspect:
1) the H&R (a Handirifle?) Is a pretty light gun, and the .308 a serious enough cartridge to belt you pretty good;
2) the H&R stock is not the best design for scope use or recoil management, having a pretty good drop perhaps more suited to iron sights;
3)the stock is shorter than you're used to, and you may be a "stock crawler", as many of us tend to be especially when shooting from the bench -- in other words, you position your eye a bit too close to the scope, which may have no consequences when the stock is longer or you're shooting offhand but can belt you good from the bench.

I suspect:
1) the H&R (a Handirifle?) Is a pretty light gun

Interestingly, H&R doesn't list .308 as an available chambering for the Handirifle on their web site, which is why I asked if it were the Ultimate Hunter? It's the only rifle they did list .308 availability for? But I don't know? I have friend with a Handirifle that I am pretty sure he said was .30-06, and that isn't listed, either.

. . . the stock is shorter than you're used to, and you may be a "stock crawler", as many of us tend to be especially when shooting from the bench. . .

I'm a terrible stock crawler, and have scoped myself with some pretty long-pull rifles before. I'm just glad my Steyr Scout, which is in the same weight range, has Cooper's forward mounted scope on it, and can recommend that configuration. One thing I did with the H&R single-shot 12 gauge I have is I added one of those rubber slip-on shotgun pads. That increased the pull just enough to make it reasonable for me to shoot without my thumb banging into my cheekbone, and added a little recoil padding into the equation.

The Steyr is also a synthetic stock. Synthetics, except maybe the Bell and Carlson Carbolite, tend to convey shock more than wood, especially the sharper, higher harmonic transients. People complain the sound at their stock-side ear is much louder. That's the price for getting a less humidity affected and lighter stock material. The shoulder feels that shock, too. If I shoot the Steyr with no padding of any kind, about five rounds leaves my shoulder buzzing appreciably.

The synthetic stocks that most standard rifle come with are of...lesser quality. My model 70 stainless in 30-06 came with a rather nasty (especially for the cost of that rifle) black plastic stock and it really walloped me hard. I went and got a walnut stock for it, added a couple pounds to the weight...and made a night and day difference in recoil, and it looks much nicer to boot. Unless your hauling a rifle up and down mountains where every pound saved is a consideration or in a climate where wood wont fare well, might wanna try and find a wood stock for it (one that fits you and it well) im sure that will tame it down. Hope it helps, Azure

I have an H&R Ultra in .308. It is a light rifle and can deliver a good thump with the 180 gr factory ammo. Recoil is all relative but anytime you get the badge of courage from a scope, that rifle will probably be the hardest kicking rifle in the world for a while to you. It would be to me. The 150s are much better and the 125s better again on recoil. 165 gr fadder shoots best for me in the little rascal.

Mine is a laminate stock and is probably heavier than your synthetic.

What kind of scope you using?

It might have a little bit to do with it, I think...eye-relief is very important when you get to rifles that like to bite the shooter as well as the target. :)


D

I have a 308 in a browning lever action and have not had any trouble. I would check the eye relief on you scope.
My brother one time shot my BDL in a 270 calibre after shooting, he said gun 1 Don none and then got 10 stitches.

All in all everyone has given you some good advice. To sum it up with any rifle that delivers hard recoil and has a scope bumping problem:

Be sure the stock is long enough for you. You should be able to put the butt of the stock in the crook of your arm and your trigger finger will just nestle around the trigger. If the stock is to short add a longer recoil pad (one of the limb saver types is best)

Move the scope so it is as far forward as it will go and still give you a full field of view. Sometimes on hard kicking rifles buying a scope that has a long eye relife helps. I use a Simmons AETEC on my Rem 8mm Magnum and it has around five inchs of eye relief.

You can add weight to either the forend or buttstock. Weight is your friend in light high recoiling rifles. By removing the butt pad you can simply epoxy some lead into any open spaces in the buttstock. Often the forends of composite stocks have several cutouts in them and again by epoxying some lead into those cutouts you can increase weight. You would be surprised how much recoil a pound of lead can cut.

My model seven carbine in 308 kicks harder than most 308's simply because it's around 7 pounds loaded and scoped. My buddies Remington ADL comes in at 8.5 pounds in the same state and is much easier to shoot.

Using lighter bullets also can cut recoil, though for deer sized game I don't like to go lighter than the 150 grainer. You might also check into some of the managed recoil ammo now offered by several ammo companies.

Another answer though costing some money is having your barrel Magna-ported. This will reduce recoil from 15 to 20 percent though you will have some money tied up in it. I'd sure try for better recoil pads, proper scope setup, a little more weight and perhaps one of Past's strap on recoil pads first.

Another real help for those that shoot at a range is one of the rifle holders that soak up the recoil such as the lead sled. I built one for my range use and even such hard kickers as my 8mm Rem mag are pussy cats when shot with this rest.

If you have the survivor stock set up as I do I can see why you did it. I did it myself a couple weeks ago. It was the first time in quite some time (since my last batch of 450 marlin loads). I have it in 308 as well Anyway the H&R/NEF rifles all "seem" short for me but I cant stay away cause they still feel ok and are affordable. I still dont see how moving the scope forward or putting a pad on a rifle can help when your scope has a certian eye relief . You still have to get your head the same distance from the scope to see through it. I only get smacked when I am at the bench on bags trying to shoot for accuracy. While standing or plinking or prone it never happens to me. Faucettb is right put some lead in the but it will help. I carry a box of shells in my survivor with a candy bar and it appeared to make a differance.

AL

Do you mean the NEW .308 Marlin or the .308 Win...? I just recieved the newest issue to Guns & Ammo magazine and they were just introducing a new cartridge called the .308 Marlin. .30 TC not to mention. They look like very handy little .30 cals to me.