I thought I knew what recoil was, and then I fired my 500 Jeffrey from the bench. My starting loads were 100 gr of H-110 under a 600 gr cast bullet and they clocked 2200 fps. It was a moving experience. I had to re-set my sandbags after every shot as they’d be knocked off the shooting bench. I have yet to work up full patch loads, though a proper stock might make the rifle semi tolerable.
The most painful gun I’ve ever fired is the S&W 340. Sure, it’s “only” a .357 magnum, but the felt recoil with magnum loads is on par with laying your hand open on a bench and beating it with a 16 oz ball peen hammer.
