I have hunted with just about everything except handguns. I am an experienced handgun shooter ( cop for 30 years .40 Glock). I have now just ordered a Stainless Steel Encore pistol frame and grips. I have to choose a barrel for it to begin hunting. I have narrowed it down to a custom 14" barrel with an intergral muzzlebrake in either 30-30 or 6.5X55 Swede. I know they have different capabilities strength/weaknesses. What I want to know is the recoil comparison between the to. Which, in a handgun, has more recoil and some kind of perspective on the level of difference. I am not afraid of recoil, but I want a comfortable start.


I am obliged,

agdexter

Neither of the two rounds will be bad at all. Both are good rounds to start with. The 6.5 Swede may be the softest recoiling one. But, I would look into a 300 Whisper - it generates about a third the recoil of the 30/30.

The Swede will also be flatter shooting and capable of longer kills with less wind drift.

If you don't reload go with the 30-30. It has a wide variety of ammo to choose from including the new Hornady Lever-lution ammunition with the pointed flex tip.

I've never shot the 6.5 Swede, but the 30-30 is a pussycat in a 14" Contender and the added weight of the Encore will only make it moreso. Rimmed chamberings like the 30-30 are less prone to misfires than rimless, in break actions, as well.

Is the 6.5X55 Swede actually the softer recoil of the two (30-30 vs. 6.55x55)? If that is in fact true, how much less is the 6.5x55 than the 30-30?

A 6.5 x 55 @ 2600 fps / w a 140 grian bullet in a 4 Lb Encore generates 15.2 Ft-lbs of recoil energy

A 30-30 with a 150 gr @ 2200 fps in the same gun has 12.9 Ft-lbs of recoil energy.

Here you play with the toy---

http://kwk.us/recoil.html

Thanks for the link BUG, I'm gonna play with that for a while ;-)

I've never shot the swede, but hunted with for many years and killed many whitetail with the 30/30win. I use the 14" barrel and shot 150gr NBT's in it. Recoil was comparible the mid-range 44mag. Once my son was ready to hunt whitetail with a handgun, I sent the 14" T/C barrel to Mag-na-port, because I didn't want to get him gun shy at an early age...(12yrs). The recoil with 125gr pills and medium load of Varget is very mild, lotta boom, but very mild on felt recoil. I will say it hasn't much more recoil than a 22mag, with that load, which is plenty for whitetail at short range (less than 100yds). With a break, the recoil will be even less than the four port Mag-na-port.







This deer was taken at 30 yards with a complete pass thru both sholders. I don't think you'll have a problem with recoil on either cartridge.

Thank you all, I am going to place an order for the 30-30, 14", with the borebrake.

First, Congrats on making 30yrs in LE!(I retired after 31). AS to your question, I own a .30-30AI in a Contender and a 6.5x55 in an Encore. The Encore has a 'brake', the Contender doesn't. I don't notice much difference between the two. I also reload so both are tailored to my 'needs'. If you don't reload then the .30-30 is probably the better route. JMO.

Unless you are extremely recoil sensitive I don't see a need for a brake on a 30-30. The noise is not worth it.

I have Arthritis and I shoot a 14" 30-30 G2 Contender I have No problem with recoil on this gun.
NOW A 44MAG I "HAD" was another story( It was a COLT Revolver)

I'm with s4s4u. The brake will make that .30-30 VERY loud and recoil in a 14 inch barrel is pretty tame.

Mike