The muzzle of the 15-pound rifle leaped as if trying to bound a tall building, and the bomb-like concussion resonated under the tin roof. I staggered backward in a spreading blue haze, the contrail of 326 grains of spent powder. Onlookers, stunned into silence, reached for their cell phones before I assured them an ambulance wasn't necessary.

An 8-bore cartridge rifle catapulting an 1,100-grain bullet at 1,500 fps makes an impression--and not just on your neighbors. Shooting an elephant rifle more than a century old will make you more than a little jumpy on the trigger.

That wasn't my first bout in the recoil ring, either. Years ago I'd fired a lovely old Jeffery chambered in .600 Nitro Express.

The 900-grain solids bounced the 14-pound double rifle like a quail gun. Each shove set me back a step in a recoil waltz, but while my thumb whacked my nose when the .600 lifted, my clavicle didn't splinter. That's because heavy recoil doesn't catch me by surprise.

Getting the best of recoil is simply a matter of preparing for it. You can shoot almost any firearm without testing your medical insurance if you take a wide, offhand stance and bring the gun's butt firmly into your shoulder. You'll want a little forward lean to counter the action of the rifle.

Stay out of low shooting positions that lock you to the ground or bench. If your body can't move with the push, it will absorb every foot-pound that the rifle dishes out. You'll feel like a tent stake hammered onto granite.

While preparing for a blow can help you endure it, anticipation can also ruin your shot. If you think you're about to get whacked, you'll flinch. Flinch, and you'll miss.

Heavy rifles launching bullets the size of salt shakers are not the only culprits, either. Sharp, fast recoil from hardware that many hunters consider standard fare can also cause a flinch.

One way to cut recoil is via your rest. The Ball Shooting System clamps the rifle and employs a bowling ball's inertia to trim recoil.

Last fall on a whitetail hunt, I was sentenced to use a rifle that had been zeroed by someone with very short arms. The scope hung back over the comb nose, and when a buck stepped out of cover, I forgot about eye relief. The explosion from the .375 JDJ flung the light T/C rifle back into my shoulder, but not before the scope had bloodied my brow.

I've been hit before, many times, but this was truly a spectacular wound. For the first couple of seconds, I left more blood on the ground than the deer did.

Preventing the half-moon cut on your brow is easy: Move the scope as far forward as is practical. If a long eyepiece or broad power ring prevents you from sliding a tube as far forward as you'd like, try extension rings or bases. But most scopes and mounts will allow you to position the ocular lens close to the plane of the rear guard screw.

If you need it back farther than that, move the scope incrementally, checking not only its feel at the bench but from hunting positions as well. You're most likely to get bitten by an uphill shot when prone or sitting. Remember, too, that when you point the rifle at game, you'll shove your face forward on the comb. Position the scope so that no matter the circumstance you won't have to pull your head back to get a usable field of view.