Clear to proceed.
Met with my optometrist and opthalmologist yesterday, and have been given assurances that the recoil I experience with the double will not detach my retinas- at least not at the present. There will be ongoing and further examinations, but there is no sign of damage from the recoil I have already experienced and no sign that any is forthcoming.
Myopia is a factor but a minor one, age is as well, but again, it all has (or so they assure me) more to do with the health of my eyes, which are apparently very healthy.
THe predominant risk factors are glaucoma, diabetes, untreated hypertension, and some specific types of genetic disorders, none of which affect me. And I will be going to some length to make that keep being the case.
I will be monitoring this, of course, going so far as to take my opthalmologist to the range with me to do some before-and-after testing as well. I’m not taking any chances, but as my MD tells me:
“Thousands of people own and shoot heavy recoiling rifles and shotguns. The vast majority of them are in more danger from scope eye. You’re shooting iron sights, right? Stick with irons and don’t crowd your scope and you’ll be fine. And add some weight to the stock” which I need to do anyway. So the next time I can scrape up $40, I’ll go shoot both barrels.
Worst recoil I’ve ever felt was from a custom rifle in .416 Rigby. Guy was doing his final sighting-in before packing for a safari, and when I admired the rifle he handed it and a cartridge to me and said “Try it.”
Which I was happy to do. Until I actually held the damn thing: it only weighed 7.5 pounds(“Figured it’ll be carried more than shot, so it should be light.”) Put that weight together with ‘400 grains at 2400fps’.
I sat at the bench but rested my elbows on it so I was upright and could move with it; when it fired it shoved me back so hard I scraped both elbows. Beautifully-made rifle, but I would NOT fire something that light in such a cartridge again.
Ah yes. Newton’s first law. Course the weight is so that you can carry the thing all day and get that lion just as it is getting dark.
When you get around to putting weight in the stock look up “mercury recoil reducers”. I put one in my 45-70 match gun and, combined with a thick slip-on recoil pad, had no problem at all with 90 rounds in shirtsleeves last Saturday.
I have looked at the mercury and think it sounds like a great idea. I’m also looking at heavy metal and carbide, which I have some access to as well.
The commercial units are not completely full of mercury. You can feel a bit of slosh when you shake them. I’m sure this is by design and makes them work better than a solid of the same weight, although I have to admit I have not yet wrapped my mind around just _why_.
I suspect it works like a dead blow hammer. The mercury trys to stand still, the gun recoils around it, and the mercury slaps against the front end of the cylinder helping to negate the recoil effect.
I thought that was a large calibre gun. I think .22 rimfire is going for that down in south Texas…..