I pulled the trigger once on a .45-70 Contender pistol...loaded with a Buffalo Bore something.
That hurt. Smacked the front of my trigger finger with the guard and cut it.
What hurt more?
.357 Smith Ti-Scan Airweight with full-hot 125 gr. loads. I managed two rounds...and unloaded the remaining three. Apparently I did better than most.
Since breaking my shooting hand forearm (lovely 3-piece butterfly break, both bones) I've become a bit more sensitive. My Smith 69 5-shot is pretty dang stout. I think I need to work a handload of 300gr. bullets at 1,000. That may be the limit anymore. The current loads I have rattle me.
On the rifle front: I'm good for 40 rounds of .375 H&H 300 grains from the bench...but damned if my Merkel 141 in 9.3x74r doesn't rock me. 8# scoped with two 286'ers in the pipes and no recoil pad makes for an interesting day on the bench. And doubling it sent me scrambling for a new set of shooting glasses and a day with a shrink. Rang my bell proper and I packed up and went home.
It's funny, I used to think I wanted a true big bore...I'm pretty damn happy where I'm at anymore.
