Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Largest cartridge you can handle?

My 416 Rigby is quite manageable. That being said, I have no great desire to spend significant time with anything bigger.

I live in a slug gun area so have spent a lot of time shooting them. Few things are more unpleasant than a lightweight Mossberg 500 with 3" slugs. After that, the mere thought of a Mossberg pump with 3 1/2" turkey loads makes me break out in a sweat!

405wcf

My .416 Weatherby, without muzzle brake, is definitely at the upper limit of what I can tolerate.

I am in the process of handloading a .416 Rigby equivalent load, which at the present time is 99 gr. of RL22 behind a Barnes 400 gr. TSX at 2400 fps. This one is going to Africa for a Cape Buff.

This 'Rigby' round is still a handful, but I find I can handle it pretty well.

You guys are men.......................

I'm not having fun after a normal weight 300 WM with 180's. I hate anything bigger than a 375 - and I've shot most of them.

Compared to some of the rifles my hunting partners shoot, I'm a puss. One rifle I shoot is an original, full stocked Model 98 Oberndorf Commercial Mauser with a 20" barrel in 8 X 57. The gun weighs about 6.5 lbs. I would stack-up it's ability to "clear your sinuses" against a lot of magnums.

The most recoil I ever subjected myself to was actually a 12 ga. 2 3/4" load I brewed-up from a Ballistic Products loading manual. I was looking for a stout turkey load. When I test fired the first one I knew something was wrong. A friend I was shooting with looks at me and says, "hey man, your cheek is bleeding". His next comment was, "can I shoot that". The mans crazy. By the way, the load didn't make the cut.

My upper limit for rifles that I own are a Ruger No.1 in .450 #2, and a Sako L61R in .458 Win Mag. Bear in mind, that I only shoot these rifles about 10 rounds in one range session. While in Africa, I shot my PH's "stopper", a ZKK in .458 3"...it was on par with my two rifles, as he loads it to around 2200fps, to insure low pressure. If loaded to max pressure, I suspect it would peg my fun meter pretty quick. The more I shoot, the less I like hard kickers. Definitely have no use for light weight/heavy caliber rifles. Passed through that phase, in short order. I prefer a rifle that's a little on the heavy side....carrying it, ain't that big a deal.

Jeff

Heck I have handled a 50 Browning before...

shot it...

was a lot of fun..



sure was a big cartridge...

not much sporting use tho..

10 gauge, 3 oz. Tri-plex loads, super full choke, resole Your Schnees Boots.

Well, so I am.

Why, given your above, did you make the original post?

Yanked your chain, did I?

haven't found the largest i can handle yet but can say i hate shotguns.And unfortunitly i live in shotgun only area for deer hunting

Biggest i've shot is a 338.I have a 444 marlin but don't think it kicks hard

That's my aunt. What the picture doesn't tell is that her right arm stayed in that exact position for years after she made that shot. Up until her last day on earth she could barely move it, and not without considerable pain. They poured her that drink in the picture, but she couldn't tip it into her mouth to celebrate, so Uncle Len had to kind of tip her sideways and let it drip towards her mouth. You ought to see her eat spaghetti...sad.
It worked out ok later on though, because she couldn't write checks any more, and they saved enough money because of that to send her to physical therapy in South America. She stayed there until one day Uncle Len asked her if she was ready to go home, and she replied, "I'm game." So he shot her.

I shot a few 338's and a 375 but the worst whoopin I ever took was with a new post '64 264 Magnum.I think they called them the Westerner or something like that.After 5 shots from the bench my right eye was almost swollen shut. powdr

A 300 Win. Mag. or 300 WSM is about as much as I want to shoot and can hit accurately from a bench. I've found over the years as recoil goes up accuracy seems to go down for the average person. I'll take a lighter caliber and more accuracy anyday.


270

You should've seen the casket; funny looking thing, and hard to hold on to...

.375 H&H, but only for a few rounds at a time. Would rather stay with rounds based on the '06 case for day to day use

Have ya got a load using Blue Dot for it????

Now that's TFF!

It is. Had a friend try that. We are still looking for him. Last we saw, tho, he was still gaining altitude.

Use enough gun.

Worst recoil I have ever felt was from a old H&R Singleshot 12 Ga. The gun only wieghed about 5 punds and the stock rode up into my cheek bone with real force. 3" slugs were just plain BRUTAL ! But it shot well enough and put meat in the freezer so I used until I could afford something better

not much sporting use... speak for yourself, I shoot deer and hogs with mine...

458 Win Mag gets my attention if I don't snuggle up close
and tight. Not a particularly pleasant experience.
The 375 H&H is quite a bit down the line of 'bruisers',
but when loaded to the max with 300-grs can rattle me some.
Generally load those 300-gr bullets to 2400 fps for a more
harmonious relationship. Can easily digest 20 rds or so at
the range before my shoulder wants to break for lunch.

The key to what you're asking really isn't so much the size of
the cartridge as it is the design of the stock. I once owned
a 300 WM that abused me regularly until I had it restocked.
Another 300 WM I owned recoiled like a 30-06.