I've fired 338 mags, 8mm Rem mag, 375 mags, 458 mags and 458 Lott. This little damn thing is the worst kicking gun I ever shot. The 8mm rem mag was nearly as bad. My uncles rem 700 8mm mag with it's Monte Carlo stock damn near broke my cheek bone. He put that in a classic stock and it ain't so bad.
Model 600 350 mag. Probably because it fits me very badly.
Last edited by Armednfree; 04/23/17.
The older I become the more I am convinced that the voice of honor in a man's heart is the voice of GOD.
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
Rifle....Remington 760 pump, 30-06 with 180 grain bullets. It had a steel buttplate, and I was a very skinny 15 year old kid.
Shotgun....friend bought a new turkey gun, a NEF single shot that wouldn't have weighed 5 pounds, in a 3 1/2 inch 12 guage. I shot it one time. That was one time too many.
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
My Winchester 1300 pump using 3 inch turkey loads will do that every time. All you have to do is to just push it forward.
Yup, those M600s in 350 RM are brutal; lightweight, poorly designed stocks will do it every time.
My worst was one of THE worst: a .577 Nyati. It was on a modified Win M70 weighing only 10 pounds. Without the muzzle brake, it has double the recoil of a .458 Win. Yes, double. Even with the brake screwed on, it exceeds the 458 by a goodly amount. The gunsmith sighting it in was allowing others to shoot it (no surprise!) but limited us to two shots each because the cartridges cost $20 each.
Never fired something like a 458 Lott, but out of all the guns I've ever shot and some of them kicked worse then what they should've, to this day nothing kicks worse than a straight lined heavy loaded 12 gauge. Many of the single shots would fall in that category and for whatever reason the Mossberg's seem to kick like a mule.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
At one point in time I would have said my Mossberg 835 with 3.5" 2 1/4 oz turkey loads. Then I bought an open sighted .416 Rigby barrel for my Encore. A 400 gr bullet handloaded to 2400 fps lit by over 100 grains of powder from a 7 lb gun is brutal. Even gripping it tight the first shot slammed the front of the trigger guard into my trigger finger, so naturally I shot it again. Yep, that hurt just as bad as the first shot. My finger hurt for a week, my shoulder for a couple of days. Off to gunbroker it went.
Same experience here with my slug gun....3" Partition slugs in my 11-87 are pretty sporty from the bench. Not fun to dial in. I decided that 2 3/4" were just fine.
Not sure...could be my Ithaca 12 ga. Slug gun...or Encore with 24" turkey barrel and 3" turkey loads...or Guide Gun with hot-rodded 400 gr Speers...or .500 S&W with full house 400 grainers. None of the above are especially pleasant to shoot much.
Probably not the hardest kicking firearm that i ever fired, but I remember how much I dreaded tripping the trigger on my H&R single shot 20 Ga. I was 8 years old at the time. I'm sure it didn't fit me correctly. A few years later, I graduated to a Winchester 1400 in 12 ga. Much less felt recoil that that single shot!
Shotgun....friend bought a new turkey gun, a NEF single shot that wouldn't have weighed 5 pounds, in a 3 1/2 inch 12 guage. I shot it one time. That was one time too many.
For me it's essentially the same thing as above, an H&R Topper in 3.5" 12ga w/English stock. Shot it into a test bbl w/2.25oz 3.5" Turkey loads and my hand went numb for a few seconds.
I've shot both the .378Wby and .416 Wby MKV's in Classic Mark stocks without brakes and they're both brutal. I shot the 378 twice and the 416 twice.
The worst recoiling "session" I ever had was sighting in a 340Wby MKV Fibermark in .340Wby w/250gn factory ammo sans brake. Got it dead on @ 200 and shot a few groups @ 300 to confirm drop as well. 'Bout a box and a half later I had a raging headache. Did this while I worked @ a gun shop in college, I'd sold the rifle to a very good customer going on a Musk Ox hunt and both of us knew he wouldn't get it sighted in properly so the sight in was a condition of the purchase. The guy had some great life experiences and was a masterful story-teller so the abuse was certainly worth it. He had some great stories about growing up only having "scrip" to spend.
Last edited by horse1; 04/23/17.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
I have 2 308 win.chambered rifles one is a savage bolt and the other is a savage 99. No matter how you load them they just kick like a mule.
I do know that they don't fit me and one day will get around to it,but even when loading down to 300 savage loads they just are not fun to shoot. I have had several try them and they say they kick more than their rifles in same caliber. They make the 30-378 seem enjoyable.
7mm Rem mag ADL wood stock Iron sights Bad fitting stock to me.
"The Church can and should help modern society by tirelessly insisting that the work of women in the home be recognized and respected by all in its irreplaceable value." Apostolic Exhortation On The Family, Pope John Paul II
Gifted new, but I sold it off with the remaining half box of shells. Bad stock design and with a hard recoil plate, but I've had little use for 7Mags since. I know- not the calibers fault, but there is nothing a 7 Mag can do in my world that a less harsh '06 won't, or a 300 Mag won't do better with the same felt recoil as the 7 Mag. I'm not recoil sensitive within reason. I handle my Ruger 338 mag up to 10-15 bench shots, then I give it a break for a day before I do develop a problem.
That's my opinion, and you're not changing it after 40 years! Probably that first experience has made me mentally recoil sensitive to the 7 Mag. Never liked but one that I've shot over the decades.
I did once try to buy a customer out of a Husquavarna in 7 Mag after working on it. I'd have kept that one. Sweet handling/ sweet recoil, and a sub MOA, near one-hole shooter. I'm prejudiced, but I'm not completely foolish! Arguably.
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
That
Yep, I shot a 12 gauge Mossberg with 3 1/2 inch slugs...once.
Quigley shot with s 50-140 Sharps, but at only 200 yards. I was not ready for how light the set trigger was. I did not have a firm grip on it and did not have it in my shoulder properly. The new owner took it to Fairbanks. Hope I never see that gun again! I did hit the bucket though.
Presidents 100-'97 Distinguished Rifleman-'81 NRA Benefactor Artillery lends dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.
M-71 Winchester, 200 gr bullet, 63 grns of 4350. Shooting at deer 175 yds from the prone position and not quite settled into a proper position due to deer wandering. Killed deer and nearly myself. Collar bone (mine) seemed to be severed.......it was a warm day in SD, so no thick jacket. The stars stayed misaligned for a time.
The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those who got there first.
I had, emphasis had a 300 Weatherby that for some reason kicked like a government mule. I shot harder kicking stuff but it was like hit by a short straight right cross and just snapped me every time. I named it the Chiropractor because my back popped the first time I'd pull the trigger every session.
An armed member in a country is a citizen, an unarmed member is a subject.
Two come to mind, A Fox SXS in 16g first time duck hunting, had "chopper" mitts on, touched off both triggers/barrels. Went over backwards in the boat.. Did get the duck I was shooting at.. Was black and blue for weeks and did not want to shoot that Fox again. Second is my first deer rifle, a Bishop stocked 98K Mauser in 8X57. Must be the stock fit, but that SOB hurts every time..
Once while using a buddy's Ithaca featherweight, I accidentally scooped up some debit in the barrel. Upon firing at an incoming mallard the barrel exploded, the recoil was tremendous and i really didn't notice the barrel at first.....my buddy hollered from across the pond "What the hell was that?"
I bought him a new barrel, but got damn lucky nobody was hurt or killed.
A lightweight Win M70 .458 WM that was re-chambered to .458 Lott shooting 550gr Woodleighs, probably didn't weigh more than 7 pounds and with a small footprint that distributed the recoil onto a very small part of the shoulder. Brutal.
I have a CZ 550 I had re-chambered to .458 Lott which is not bad to shoot at all. That Winchester was almost unshootable.
My Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt with 320 gr Keith bullets at 1,200 fps is also a handful and very unpleasant.
A double barrel 10ga. For me. I know my dad's vote would be his 30.06. He made the mistake of backing up his shoulder with a nearby tree once. (Only once!) That kind of mistake hurts for a long time. He said it was worse than when a mule kicked him. Blinding pain, and he saw colors he had no names for.
An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.
the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.
For me it was a 458 Win Mag. Felt the back of my thumb brush my nose so I got pretty lucky and am very thankful it didn't have a scope!!
Biden's most truthful quote ever came during his first press conference, 03/25/21. Drum roll please...... "I don't know, to be clear." and THAT is one promise he's kept!!!
H&R single shot with 3.5 12 ga. 2 oz. once was enough. As said, nearly broke my finger in the trigger guard not to mention collar bone. Close second is same frame with a 45-70 barrel, 405 at 1600. .35 Whelen in a different H&R kicks like mad.
Once I loaded 120 gr. FF and a 505 minie in a Zouave "just to see". Don't.
As for things that shouldn't, a Savage 99 in .300 with that steel butt plate kicks way over it's weight.
Look up the stories of 4 bore and specially 2 bore guns.
Had the opportunity to shoot a .416 double, nore of a push, and a beuatiful .460 LH Weatherby, I fell instantly in love.
The hardest to control gun I ever shot was a german Weatherby Mark five in .378 with lighter 24" barrel. with factory loads it jumped to 11 o clock fast!!!!
I also owned a Savage single barrel 10 ga. I used turkey hunting. I took the 2 lbs of steel out of the butt to make it easier to carry. Gun had a 36" barrel , but with 2 1/2 oz handloads would still raise the muzzle a lot and bury the hammer in the web of my hand!!!!!!!
my 870 supermag with 3.5" superx turkey loads. we call it "the headache gun".
Yep tried to sight in a turkey scope with that combination. The third shot I didn't have the butt fully into my shoulder, painful. Had a bruise around my upper arm and shoulder about 7" in diameter. What's really stupid is that I fired that combo 2 more times to zero the scope. Won't ever do that again.
Ed
A person who asks a question is a fool for 5 minutes the person who never asks is a fool forever.
The worst slaves are those that put the chains on themselves.
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
My Winchester 1300 pump using 3 inch turkey loads will do that every time. All you have to do is to just push it forward.
Yes sir - first time I shot my Winchester NWTF pump with a 3 in turkey load I had to pry my thumb out of my eye socket and wrap the shoulder - to say I was surprised is quite the understatement. Next was a single shot NEF 20ga with a 3 inch that I was getting for my son - we passed on that pretty quick.
Winchester 1300, rifled barrel, with 1 1/4 ounce Remington Buck Hammer slugs off the bench. I thought that I had dislocated my corneas or something, but it just turned out that my glasses (as well as everything within a three-foot radius) were covered with snot. Through the ringing in my ears, I thought that someone was standing behind me, applauding, but that turned out to be the sound of my right shoulder blade meeting my left shoulder blade in the middle of my back.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
Rifle - Savage 110 .338 Shotgun - Ithaca 12ga Slug gun with Litefield Standard velocity slug. I can only imagine the 3 inch. Picked up the low recoil ammo and use my 1187 now. Revolver - Charter Arms .357 snubbie. One shot with this one..it is safer in front of it than shooting it with magnums.
A great deal of it is in the stock. Years past a lot of rifles were made with Monte Carlo stocks. The worst dang stock design I can think of. Damn things bust you in the chops.
The older I become the more I am convinced that the voice of honor in a man's heart is the voice of GOD.
In long guns, the .450 Marlin and .330 Dakota are about on par. In handguns, the worst was the S&W 329 PD with full house, heavy for caliber, hard cast lead, .44 Magnum loads. Fired six rounds and it gave me a hairline fracture of a wrist bone that took a year to fully recover from.
6-1/2 lb short barrel Mauser in a fibreglass stock, chambered in 458 Win - from the bench, it hurt so bad that I thought I did something wrong. Yep, I shot it a second time and it hurt even worse.
An 870 twelve gauge with the short barrel and folding wire stock, darned thing brought tears to my eyes, still does just thinking about it.
Savage 99 in 308, surprising how often it has come up in this thread. I used one for a lot of years as my only big-game rifle and I developed a flinch that took a long time to get over.
I now shoot 223's and my big-game rifle is 243.
drover
223 Rem, my favorite cartridge - you can't argue with truckloads of dead PD's and gophers.
24hourcampfire.com - The site where there is a problem for every solution.
I've shot a lot of old single barrels that were never designed to be fired with today's high velocity loads and with stock that were designed for sooting 2 !/2 inch 410. They all hurt but none to the point that I remember it distinctly. I shot an 8 ga double rifle from a bench rest and got moved around a lot. I thought i'd been knocked out because the cloud of black powder smoke blotted out the lights in the indoor range I was shooting in. Impressive but the pain level was manageable. The one that hurt was a Westley Richards Bolt action in 425 WR. If I had another round of ammo I would not have fired it. It was fast recoil from a rifle with a beautiful old classic stock with a small sharp butt plate I think made of steel. There is a reason they don't build rifles like that any more. I think I forgot to stand up after the shot and my brother kept asking me if I was alright. I've never been hit by a hammer on the ball of the shoulder, but that would probably come close to describing it.
Buddy has a custom Ruger #1 in .460 Lott. It's Fuggin BRUTAL !
My own RUGER #3 in 45-70 with Ruger ONLY handloads.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
About 40 yrs ago my buddy bought a Browning Safari 458, man it was a pretty gun. We went on Sun. to try it out we both shot 1 rd apiece and he took it back Mon.and sold it.
Shot 460 Weatherby once, figured I could shoot it about 4 or 5 times standing before it began to be painful, ten pound rifle with scope.
Shot 45 Colt derringer once, felt like a firecracker going off in your hand.
Most painful was a CVA Kentucky rifle a buddy had built about 40 years ago. He read you couldn't over load them, the excess power would just go out the bArrel, so he wanted to shoot it with 240 grains of powder. Like a dumbazz I told him if he shot it and it didn't blow up, I'd shoot it. That curved brass butt plate really hurt, turned my shoulder black and blue. We only did that once.
I haven't read the whole thread (lazy, among my other faults too numerous to mention), but I assume that someone has upheld the honor of real men everywhere by declaring all who offer experiences to be pussified wimps who should find another line of work.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
A little Stevens break open 20 gauge that was jointly my brothers and my first gun when I was about 9 years old. I shot it after I became an adult and it was and still is the worst recoiling firearm I ever shot. Short stock and weighed very little. In addition to kicking your shoulder without mercy it would jump up and hit you in the face.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
About 40 yrs ago my buddy bought a Browning Safari 458, man it was a pretty gun. We went on Sun. to try it out we both shot 1 rd apiece and he took it back Mon.and sold it.
I shot one of those that was owned by Abie DuPlooy and had been re-chambered to .458 Watts which is basically the same as a Lott. My reaction was about the same as yours. Those are very hard kicking rifles.
Worst felt recoil has to be a Winchester M70 "Ranger" in 30/06...belonged to a buddy of mine. He told me how miserable it was to shoot and I didn't believe him, he was right. No way a 30/06 should pound you like that, but it did.
Mauser Rescue Society Founder, President, and Chairman
I don't always shoot Mausers, but when I do...I prefer VZ-24s.
my 870 supermag with 3.5" superx turkey loads. we call it "the headache gun".
I got the notion that I just had to have a Benelli SBE2 for a turkey gun. I knew a 3 1/2 inch 12 guage turkey load would have a bunch of recoil, but I figured the semi auto would soften the recoil enough that it wouldn't be bothersome. It was very noticeable, not the worst I've ever shot, but much more so than I was accustomed to. I hunted with it 3 years, and that was enough. A good 3 inch gun, with the right choke, and the right shell will kill just as good as a 3 1/2. I've even started shooting a 20 guage for turkey, and have killed every one I've shot at. No need to be punished when you don't have to be.
The NEF 12 gauge with the fully rifled barrel 3 inch slugs most recoil.
The marlin guide gun with max loads and 400 grain bullets is in second place it's sighted with no more than 2 rounds from the bench.
Most damage I have received from recoil was shooting my .325 WSM left handed; moving to get a right hand shot would have spooked the deer, cut the bridge of my nose and left a wee bump for a couple of weeks. Luckily it was cold enough the blood froze before it made a mess of anything.
A little Stevens break open 20 gauge that was jointly my brothers and my first gun when I was about 9 years old. I shot it after I became an adult and it was and still is the worst recoiling firearm I ever shot. Short stock and weighed very little. In addition to kicking your shoulder without mercy it would jump up and hit you in the face.
Exact same thing happened to me, BIL gave me a little single shot 20 guage, Iver Johnson or some such, I shot the dang thing 3 or 4 times and give it up as a bad job. Actually brought tears to my eyes and bruised my cheekbone right smartly, I gave it away some years later. Worst recoil I have endured and I have shot quite a few.
Running a close second was the Reminton 721 in .270, got it new for my birthday when I was 12 or so. That thing was just brutal, I never shot it much at all. Still have it, took it out and shot it a little a couple of years ago, yup, still brutal.
Worst one I have ever fired was a Ruger #1 in 458 win mag. Shot it off the bench. BIG mistake! Standing was not as bad but we were trying to zero in the Leupold on it so we tried it off the bench.
A friend of mine had one of those double barrel coach guns. 12 gauge, short and light, butt stock with lots of drop, hard buttplate and narrow comb. A couple of turkey magnums through that thing was enough for me.
A more recent example was one of those light crack barrel single shots in 35 Whelen, with heavy load Buffalo Bore cartridges being the round of choice.
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.
4 bore. This was the hardest kicking gun I ever shot. I made this about 15 years ago. This guy is firing it with a light load of powder. (And no... I am not kidding)
2 bore. I made this one for a man in Illinois a few year back, but I didn't fire it from my shoulder. If you have the same velocity and you double the bullet weight you quadrupedal the recoil. Knowing that fact I thought I'd be better off not sighting in the 2 bore. I'll make it, but I won't shoot it. I only test fire the barrel and that's done with it ties to a tractor tire.
Aluminum ramrod out of a 50 cal muzzle loader with 300gr cast bullets and 120gr of pyrodex. The ramrod hit the 50yd target,don't know where the bullet landed. Flipped me over backwards in my chair at the bench. This wasn't planned.
Without a shadow of a doubt a .416 Remington Magnum in a Remington 700. I've fired All sort's of 458's, 416's, .375's but that Remington was brutal. The stock was all wrong. Close second is my Remington 870 Super Mag with 3.5" Heavy Shot loads. I fire about 3 rounds per season. 2 to check the pattern and 1 to down a turkey. Knocks em down like they got hit by a truck.
I've fired 338 mags, 8mm Rem mag, 375 mags, 458 mags and 458 Lott. This little damn thing is the worst kicking gun I ever shot. The 8mm rem mag was nearly as bad. My uncles rem 700 8mm mag with it's Monte Carlo stock damn near broke my cheek bone. He put that in a classic stock and it ain't so bad.
Model 600 350 mag. Probably because it fits me very badly.
Rem 700s in 06 kick half again as much as they should.
The 700 plastic 300 RUM is unfun with the factory POS recoil pad.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.
Oh crap that is funny. Thanks.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
Worst one I have ever fired was a Ruger #1 in 458 win mag. Shot it off the bench. BIG mistake! Standing was not as bad but we were trying to zero in the Leupold on it so we tried it off the bench.
Yeah, the big kickers are manageable if you're standing, but from a bench they are brutal. I remember sighting in my .330 Dakota (now sold off), and I recall it bringing tears from time to time during the process.
A Browning BPS with 3" turkey loads or 2-3/4" sabotage slugs in a rifled barrel is a beast from a bench. My Rem. Model 7 carbine in .350 Rem. Mag. with 200 gr. loads has less felt recoil than most 30-06 165 or 180 gr. loads that I have shot. The Model 7 has a well-designed stock.
savage 340 in 30-30. that particular gun just rang my bell every time i shot it. if i emptied a mag on the bench my nose would be bleeding when done. i always wondered if some how the bore was undersized. i have had probably 10 of the same model and chambering since and none came close to that one. traded it for a lyman tumbler. still have the tumbler 30 years later. second was a sxs 12 with 3inch mag loads i inadvertently touched off both BBL's at the same time.
the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Today I took one shot from a bench with my Benelli SBE, stuffed with a 3.5" COCKKNOCKER of some sort. Blended 5,6 and 7 shot with "goldish" colored hull.
The worst thing I ever shot was a T/C Contender handgun in 45-70. It ripped the webbing between my thumb and hand and gave me a blood blister on one of my knuckles after 1 shot. All I know is that the bullet went West.
Wag more, bark less.
The freedoms we surrender today will be the freedoms our grandchildren will never know existed.
The men who wrote the Second Amendment didn't just finish a hunting trip, they just finished liberating a nation.
I have 2 308 win.chambered rifles one is a savage bolt and the other is a savage 99. No matter how you load them they just kick like a mule.
I do know that they don't fit me and one day will get around to it,but even when loading down to 300 savage loads they just are not fun to shoot. I have had several try them and they say they kick more than their rifles in same caliber. They make the 30-378 seem enjoyable.
Ya know, 99s must fit me pretty well because I've shot both a 300sav and 308 in the same session as a 94 Winchester 30-30. I found that light Winchester to be worse than both of the "big" guns. And not by a small margin.
Though my dad hates the recoil from that same 308 worse than his h&r 30-06. The 30-06 is still better than the 30-30.
+1 to the nagant carbines
Last edited by 117LBS; 04/23/17.
Hell...Reloading/Shooting are still my favorite things to do,besides play in the box the kids came in.................
My first 458 lott weighed just over 8#'s and wasn't terribly pleasant to shoot even with the ported barrel. The second one was built using a Ruger #1 takeoff truck axle barrel and finished up right around 10#'s. It was much more manageable to shoot.
Aluminum ramrod out of a 50 cal muzzle loader with 300gr cast bullets and 120gr of pyrodex. The ramrod hit the 50yd target,don't know where the bullet landed. Flipped me over backwards in my chair at the bench. This wasn't planned.
that's good to know!
if a man speaks, and there isn't a woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
Worst is Moss 835 with 3.5 turkey loads. Next was an old 30-06 Mossberg bolt gun. Third is my Win.#94, 32 special. Funny, last year I sighted in a .300 Wby. mag. Thought it was light kicker.
Rem 600 in 308 Win shooting 165gr heavy loads. Rifle has only a plastic butt plate and is darn light little gun.
I'm loading up some 125 gr "reduced recoil" ammo to if I can enjoy this little rifle a bit more. Should about like a .243 Win in the load I'm planning.
Then again, it might have been my 870 pump in 12 gauge. Was going turkey hunting for the first time and bought some brand of "Turkey Utra-Mag High Brass Double Express Anti-Aircraft" shells. DAMN! Knocked my hat off and almost lost my glasses.
Funny that lots of people mention the 3.5" loads as being such high recoil loads.
The thing is, you actually get very little real world difference in a 3.5" load, and a 3" load. But it does kick more.
Certainly not enough difference to justify the recoil.
This^^^. Win ss mod 37 12 ga full choke was no fun for a 9 yo shooting high base 6s for squirrels.
Made the mistake of firing a slug out the bottom barrel of a G 1V english straight grip ltwt 20 ga once years ago. Had to stop doing pushups for 3 mo. I cant imagine it didnt break at the grip.
Cousin had SShot 12 ga HanH or some crap with the side lever. First shot wasnt too bad as it only got hide, second got meat, third got into the bone at the base of the index finger joint.
Thinking my uncle must have gotten it real cheap.
Last edited by jaguartx; 04/23/17.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
A Stevens single shot 20 gauge. For a smallish 9 year old, that thing with high brass shells was an absolute terror. I had to really enjoy squirrel hunting to put up with that thing.
I carry a S&W 360PD in 357mag when I walk the dogs in the mountains. I avoid shooting it because it is literally painful. I guess the snap of a 357 is too much for the 12 ounce weight. Interestingly I also have the 329PD in 44mag, and it is not as bad.
I had a plastic Wby 300 mag ltwt with thin grooved barrel and Monte Carlo. It had a good pad and I had no problems with it.
That dayom Rem 300 RUM was dis-enjoyable to shoot with 150s, miserable with 180s. Dayom but it would group them. 3/4 inch gun with 150s or 180s. It shot better than the WBY. Got a freaking semi-expensive REM after market recoil pad and it was mobetter.
Now why the hell they couldnt put a decent pad on that kicking sob from the get go?
Last edited by jaguartx; 04/23/17.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I had two .308's, one a Savage 99 and the other a Parker Hale. The Parker Hale was a p ussy cat, but the 99 recoil was worse than a friend's 7mm Remington Magnum.
The 99 is now a .243 and because I wanted one, the Parker Hale became a .257 Roberts.
The 99 has almost zero recoil now.
Patrick
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went." Will Rogers
And on the 8th day, God created the Border Collie.
A Stevens single shot 20 gauge. For a smallish 9 year old, that thing with high brass shells was an absolute terror. I had to really enjoy squirrel hunting to put up with that thing.
Another cousin had something like that with a brown plastic stock. May have been a savage. That sucker was savage, all right.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
If you ask my son...when he was about 5 he shot my browning buckmark, cozy'ed right up the the rear sight and at the shot he caught the slide right on the tip of the nose...took him a while before he wanted to shoot again....but nowdays he's quite the killer...
my uncles 10 gauge double barrel - first time I shot it I pulled both triggers at once - knocked a goose down at close to 100 yards though - set our skull boat back some too...
first time I shot my newly acquired 348/450 in a model 71 with the short stock and the steel butt plate I almost broke my nose with my thumb...
The guy who taught me how to reload had a few kickers to reload for a couple of his customers. The instruction I got on how to reload was free, but i "got" to do the sighting-in.....
He had me shooting all sorts of stuff up to the 375 H&H and 458 Win which i thought were the "King Kong" cartridges of the world. Then i shot a 404 Jeff for someone going on a safari. That lit me up pretty good. I don't remember the rifle brand, but it punched hard.
He had me shoot some loads out of his personal rifle for a moose hunt he had planned. His rifle was a 338 Win mag in a Ruger 77. He gave me the box of cartridges with a smile. I suspected nothing.
I loaded some cartridges in the mag and touched the first one off. I instantly saw stars. My trigger finger felt smashed and i immediately checked around my eye for blood convinced i was "scope-eyed". The old man was chuckling. I finished off the few rounds in the mag and that was all i could take. I was shoulder-bruised for days and trigger finger was black and blue from the trigger guard.
All my shooting for him was from the bench so i got the full "brunt of it".... Incidentally, the old man had bursitis in his shoulder which i then understood the cause...
Boat paddle Ruger 7 mag left a mark on my buddy's arm visible to this day. Damn gun didn't like any load, and after we both shot it a bit we were walking aimlessly like we had been involved in a train wreck.
Also had a Franchi Lightweight AL 12 gauge that must have been crossed with a angry Clydesdale.
I have 2 308 win.chambered rifles one is a savage bolt and the other is a savage 99. No matter how you load them they just kick like a mule.
I do know that they don't fit me and one day will get around to it,but even when loading down to 300 savage loads they just are not fun to shoot. I have had several try them and they say they kick more than their rifles in same caliber. They make the 30-378 seem enjoyable.
I have a 99A straight stock carbine in .243 that will have you questioning the whole "light recoil" theory after 4 or 5 rounds.
But, as many have already pointed out any of the 3.5" turkey loads are just plain brutal.
When I was about 12 a guy at the local gravel pit talked me into firing his LW .300 Weatherby from prone. That still stands. A 12 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer shooting slugs would take second.
My M70- super-grade .458win 500gn factory, open sights off the bench, with an old hard factory pad and just a t-shirt...one curiosity purchase rifle that didn't take long to find a new home...
next was FA .454casull with heavy compressed loads...but i enjoyed it.
-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.
At one point in time I would have said my Mossberg 835 with 3.5" 2 1/4 oz turkey loads. Then I bought an open sighted .416 Rigby barrel for my Encore. A 400 gr bullet handloaded to 2400 fps lit by over 100 grains of powder from a 7 lb gun is brutal. Even gripping it tight the first shot slammed the front of the trigger guard into my trigger finger, so naturally I shot it again. Yep, that hurt just as bad as the first shot. My finger hurt for a week, my shoulder for a couple of days. Off to gunbroker it went.
yeap 835 with 3.5in turkey load or maybe it was the 3.5in slugs I had FOR [bleep] AND GRINS for the the tough teens. (my son and his friends )
In 1976 the Remington 600 in 350 Rem Mag. I was 16 and shot that rifle from a prone position, over an ammo can. Got a little too close to the scope. It made an impression that I never forgot. Looking real close, you can still see it...
Deadlines and commitments, what to leave in, what to leave out...
Used to have a Browning BPS 10 ga. and touched off a 3 1/2" turkey load with 2 1/2 oz. of shot one time...and once was enough. I knew it wasn't needed to kill a turkey, but was curious just how much it kicked. A lot. Was glad I took the shot standing and not from the normal seated position used when turkey hunting.
"Kids don't remember their best day of television."
I once shot a Contender in .35 Remington, loaded with a cast 250gr. bullet, supposedly 2 grains heavier than recommended powder charge.
It kicked so hard I didn't believe it, and had to shoot it again.
That, and another Contender in .357 Maximum ruined it for me. I wouldn't own a Contender on a bet. I revile them.
As far as long guns go, the most memorable was a Weatherby in .378, with a brake. It seemed like a 12 gauge slug gun to me, tolerable, but not enjoyable. I once had a 600 Remington in .308 that wasn't fun, either. I don't like recoil any more, I can only take about 12 rounds of .454 and I get headaches and flinch pretty bad.
Now I shoot stuff like .17 and .22 Hornets and call it good. Shooting is fun again!
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
Funny that lots of people mention the 3.5" loads as being such high recoil loads.
The thing is, you actually get very little real world difference in a 3.5" load, and a 3" load. But it does kick more.
Certainly not enough difference to justify the recoil.
In my view out of certain guns the same could be said for jumping up from 2 3/4" to 3". Get a turkey in range and he's not going to like a concentrated 2 3/4" load one bit. Heck I killed 1 once stone cold dead with 7 1/2 shot out of a 20 gauge. Granted it's not what I was hunting for at the time and not what I'd of left with if I was, but it killed it dead outright.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
I've never understood why someone would let a kid shoot a gun that hurts a man. Any joke that hurts someone just ain't funny. Scope bites, and torn flesh are just about as funny as an adult arm wrestling a kid and breaking bones. I'd toss anyone playing those kind of games out of camp. A large part of hunting, is passing on the knowledge and skills. Why would any kid come back to the sport after that? Damage a kid's growing shoulder for a laugh? Not my kind of humor. I've introduced my kids, and a few neighbor's kids into hunting. Apprenticed 2 and ran them through the hunter safety course as well. The idea of knocking any on them on thier azzes for a laugh, just doesn't seem funny. Just my opinion, YMMV.
An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.
the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.
I've never understood why someone would let a kid shoot a gun that hurts a man. Any joke that hurts someone just ain't funny. Scope bites, and torn flesh are just about as funny as an adult arm wrestling a kid and breaking bones. I'd toss anyone playing those kind of games out of camp. A large part of hunting, is passing on the knowledge and skills. Why would any kid come back to the sport after that? Damage a kid's growing shoulder for a laugh? Not my kind of humor. I've introduced my kids, and a few neighbor's kids into hunting. Apprenticed 2 and ran them through the hunter safety course as well. The idea of knocking any on them on thier azzes for a laugh, just doesn't seem funny. Just my opinion, YMMV.
100% agree. 22's, 17's 222's and the like. Get em to ignore the pop of the rifle and learn to shoot first, they will learn to ignore the kick later. Start them out with the kick and live with the consequences.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
#1 spot goes to a 6lb H&R 12ga. Single shot, 3 1/2"er. I was squatting over a rain puddle and going to pattern it at 40 yds. The vicious little thing left a baseball-sized bruise on my shoulder and dumped my a-- into the water. I deserved that for thinking it was a good idea.
#2 was the famous Browning Stainless Stalker in 338 Win with a butt plate surface area just greater than that of a wedge. We named it the Flying Wedge.
#3 was a Rifles Inc 458 Lott with 500's.
All three made me apppreciate that famous philosopher Mike Tyson's quip : "everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth."
First one was an early 80's Model 70 in 30'06 ,hardest kicking rifle I ever owned. Sold it a week after I got it. Second was a Franchi AL48 with slugs,god that thing just plain hurt
My worst kicking rifle would be boat paddle Ruger in 300 Winchester. I put it in an HS Precision stock and it was a lot more fun to shoot. The worst kick I have ever received from a firearm was from a H&R single shot 3 inch mag 12 ga. Looking back on it, I find it hard to believe I shot that thing voluntarily.
I worked at a rifle range many moons ago, and shot a .600 Nitro Express for a guy headed to Africa. I was damned lucky I didn't drop the thing when it went off. Man, that thing was brutal.
"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth." – Robert E. Lee
A Guild gun M98 Mauser in 8mm I used to own. Narrow horn but plate, way to much drop in the stock. Bloody noses and a bruise was guaranteed. And yes I have shot a lot of the big stuff
Remington 7400 chambered .270Win. Sighted it in for my dad. Three 3 round groups. I had a head ache for the rest of the afternoon. Have since benched multiple 7RM's, .30-06's, .300 WM's and .375H&H's in bolt rifles that did not hurt me like the 7400 in .270...
3.5" turkey loads in my Mossberg pump. That gun is too light, and the stock puts the recoil on my cheek. I also have a light 458 Win Mag, but it fits me better.
Some of those 12 ga. turkey loads are brutal. Fired a couple of those out of an old 12 ga. break open my buddy picked up at a garage sale over 20 years ago. Also got to put a few rounds through an AR-50 bolt action in 50 BMG about 1999 or so at my local range. I thought that thing was gonna kick the snot out of me...... But it wasn't bad at all..... Then I found out why;.... It weighed 30-something pounds.
LCR 327 mag has quite a bit of recoil, maybe I'm just getting old and weak.
My Marlin 45/70 I just shoot off hand, so it's not bad. Only other one I have is a 45/70 Sharps that after 20 or so hurts. I just going to have to stand using sticks on that one in the future. I have got that OK'd at the club range.
With all the references to these H&R single-shot 12's, i'm remembering the one i have.
Admittedly, i've only shot 2 3/4" out of it.
That little bugger seemed just a bit light to be shooting 3" loads even though it's chambered for 'em. The 2 3/4" seemed to give plenty of "feedback".
3" loads in that thing?!!? No thanks!!!
Got one of those in a 16 gauge that I had since I was a kid. Other than the obvious disadvantages of a single shot, I always liked that gun. Best of both worlds in my opinion. Always seemed to kill like a 12 gauge but doesn't come close to kicking like one.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
Having worked in a gunshop for over 34 years, I have owned or still own about everything above mentioned. The 600 350mag has a strange kick that causes bone pain. Sort of like a tuning fork running through your body. But for shear punch a Mossberg 835 with 3.5" 2 1/4oz loads holds the title over 416 Rigbys, 458 Wm and a light weight Ruger No 3 in 45-70 with hot loads. I have not gotten an opportunity to fire a 600 Nitro or 755 Tyrannosaurus nor do I want to just to say I have.
A bowhunter at heart but a gun guy at soul. I'll take craftsmanship, wood and blue steel over plastic and composite any day.
8th birthday - my grandfather's Ithaca 12ga SxS with exposed hammers. It had a malfunctioning trigger group that most of the time fired both barrels if you pulled the front trigger - which was required to prove your manhood! Steel butt plate and cracked grip probably added to the pain. It was a family rite of passage and all the grandsons had to do it. Not sure whether the hype from my older cousins on the run-up to it or the actual shot was worse. Without an adult behind us, the shot probably would have put us on the ground. No doubt would be classed as child abuse today...
My cousin has a sporterized winchester 1917 that has a bishop stock and was rebarreled and smithed to a 358 norma magnum. The stock was too long so he had the smith remove the recoil pad and fit a steel buttplate from a pre-64 model 70. That thing is God awful brutal. Shot it once and handed it back to him. It is still his go to rifle for about everything he hunts. It makes my Marlin guide gun 45/70 with stout Buffalo Bore loads seem mild.
If it looks good, you'll see it If it sounds good, you'll hear it If it's marketed right, you'll buy it But...If it's real, you'll feel it Kid Rock
I've never understood why someone would let a kid shoot a gun that hurts a man. Any joke that hurts someone just ain't funny. Scope bites, and torn flesh are just about as funny as an adult arm wrestling a kid and breaking bones. I'd toss anyone playing those kind of games out of camp. A large part of hunting, is passing on the knowledge and skills. Why would any kid come back to the sport after that? Damage a kid's growing shoulder for a laugh? Not my kind of humor. I've introduced my kids, and a few neighbor's kids into hunting. Apprenticed 2 and ran them through the hunter safety course as well. The idea of knocking any on them on thier azzes for a laugh, just doesn't seem funny. Just my opinion, YMMV.
+1
If I shot something that kicked when I was younger I did it with full knowledge ......
There was always a few %^% holes around that thought it was funny . It was always more then appropriate to put them in their place as I got older. Respect garners respect, some of them did not deserve respect.
I've seen several instances of such at our local range with both young kids and accompanying girl friends. I'm old enough now, that I'm going to start getting into the middle of those instances.
Also, I agree on the hot rodded 45-70 Guide guns. There is no need to do that, and I'm looking for someone to take on the remaining 85 rounds I've got loaded up.
I hadded a tauraus 450ti 2" titanium 45lc+P rated pistol that weighed 19oz. A 329pd weighs 28oz for comparison. I could never fire more than 3 365gr pills for the Lee factory crimp was not enough to keep from pulling the bullets enough to lock it up.
That gun was unreal when loaded with big heavies.
Originally Posted by BrentD
I would not buy something that runs on any kind of primer given the possibility of primer shortages and even regulations. In fact, why not buy a flintlock? Really. Rocks aren't going away anytime soon.
Toss-up between a Browning B78 .45/70 with the tomahawk buttplate and an Ithaca Super Single slug gun.
Honorable mention goes to my uncle's 20" Deerslayer. Recoil was manageable, but the K4 in pivot mounts scarred many unwary folks who just had to try out that newfangled scoped shotgun.
Have a light 10 ga single shot, lighter than NEF but not sure of the maker anymore... with heavy turkey loads it still wasn't bad at all.
Wife and I have shot all the way up to 460 wtby.
To this day the horror remains a 378 wtby a friend had.
It doesn't fit the OP question really, as the recoil was manageable totally BUT it hit you so quickly it was brutal there... slow those foot pounds down just a bit and it might be ok.
Broke my buddies shooting glasses in half on the first shot when it shoved something into them, likely his thumb...
I"ve had others that kicked like a mule, a buddies Rem 78 in 06. I"d rather shoot my MK5 300 wtby, both without brakes..
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
For sure a single shot H&R, shooting a 3 1/2" turkey load. Rough but doable.
Another vote from here!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
Not the hardest kicking gun I ever shot but one that kicked all out of proportion to what it should have was a Remington 700 ADL wood stock in .270. It just hurt. It didn't wallop you, it just was painful to shoot.
Maybe not the worst but I sure remember it. The first centerfire rifle I ever shot; an 03-A3, 30-06 with 220 gr bullets from prone position when I was 12 years old.
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Probably that first experience has made me mentally recoil sensitive to the 7 Mag. Never liked but one that I've shot over the decades.
Worst recoil I have endured and I have shot quite a few. ![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/medium/45390.png)
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