I am curious as to where other guys top out as to which cartridge is getting to be too rude for them to handle. I personally can handle a .270 with 130's pushed to the max and a .308 with 165's truckin pretty good. But those are the largest guns I have and don't really desire to go much bigger. Just curious where you guys start gettin uncomfortable and groups start to open up.

I had a 300 Win Mag knock me back into the minor league. A 270 is about as much as I care to play with at a bench without taking extra precautions (recoil shield).

For me, my 338 Win mags give me all I want for recoil.

Richard

22 LR........

It only took one shot for me to realize very fast that a non-braked 378 wby mag is not my friend. I think I'd rather have been clipped by a Geo Metro or similiar...

Hey, at least you are man enough to admit it!

i 'll shoot 50-60 rounds a session out of my unbraked 300 rum praticing

depends on what rifle im shooting it out of and how it fits me.....my Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 with top end loads is above what i can handle for more than one or two shots but thats due to how the rifle fits me......i can soak up alot of recoil if the impulse is slow......dont care for quick jabs.....i could shoot the light 375WSM well enough when i had it for a shot or two but the stocks wrist was to skinny for my hands and kinda slick so my knuckles took a hell of a beating on the bolt handle and trigger guard due to my hand slipping on every shot....that was causing me to flinch much more than the hit my shoulder was taking.....

I suppose that body size, frame size, build and strength may have something to do with one`s recoil tolerance either from the bench or in the field.

From the bench, I can do and have done 40 to 60 rounds with my 375 Ruger Alaskan with just my Hawaiian shirt or tank top on. Ooooops! I do wear pants too! Just thought I`d clarify that!!

That is not at the top of my particular tolerance level though. What is, was 40 rounds of 460 Wby (with no brake), full power 500 gr. re-loads that I did from the bench,,, on a bet.....I won the bet!!!! Shoulder very sore, but my pocket was full of crispy 100`s!!!!.........

Have no idea really, but my 30-378 gets my attention if I don't have the brake on. Runs about 120 gr of H870.

If I hit you in that shoulder afterward, would ya be prone to hit me back? LOL

416 WBY. is over my limit
Probably 375 H&H, though above that I have limited experience.

it can get a little sore

I can shoot my 9lb 338WM for quite a few rounds, even off the bench. My new 8 3/4lb 375HH is a bit much off the bench but off shooting sticks it is much better. It is all the rifle I want to shoot from a bench and is as large as I see myself going.

RH

My 3006 and 338 are pretty comfortable.

My 416 Rigby took some getting used to. When it's loaded right up I think it's as hard kicking as I want to go.

My 8 lb 375 Chatfield Taylor is my worst kicker. 260 accubond going 2775 is the most I care to experience. To quote Clint...a man has got to know his limitations.

Several years ago, I built a .375 Rem Ultra Mag for a Cape Buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe. I only shot 8 shells through it before I put a mechanical recoil reducer in the buttstock and had a KDF muzzle brake installed. Now it's not too bad to shoot, even from prone.

It's just way more gun than I need for anything in Montana.

Seven rounds out out a 460 Roy is all that I wanted to shoot --don't care to do it again. Yesterday, I shot my 375 H&H Whitworth for the first time. Not bad but I did feel it after 3 shots and would not hesitate to hunt with it nor am I afraid of it.

I had a friend that swore his .264 Win Mag was the rudest rifle to shoot. It seemed pretty tame to me, but I wasn't sightin her in either.

Another buddy recently bought a Browning A-Bolt slug gun. He must of shot 20 boxes of slugs through her and kept tellin me how it wasn't bad at all. One good poke in the arm while we were headed down range to pick up his targets and he was cursin pretty good!

I've never shot anything big. I've shot a 45-70 with some pretty hot handloads, but I doubt that the recoil was much over 40 lbs of energy.

When I shoot my 338 I ask myself if I really need this. My shoulder seem to be getting older
Coop

Daisy Red Ryder.....

I had a 458 Lott for a while and the trigger guard beat my hand badly and couldn't get used to it. I've got an 8' 425 Express that with a 350 gr X or Woodleigh at 2350fps is about my limit. My range is in my yard so sighting in and practicing can be strung out a few shots at a time. Plinking balloons on the lake we shoot variuos 30s and 35s until cartridge supplies are exhausted.

I shot an un-braked 460 Weatherby once! I thought it had a ridiculous amount of recoil. 375 H&H would probably be my limit and I wouldn't want to play with it at the range for long.

half dozen rounds from the 400 Jeffrey and I'm good for the day.

Oh, and I don't launch those from a bench either....

A 3.5 inch 12 gauge Mossberg pump is all I want after about 25 rounds.

My Deeerslayer pump with 3 inch slugs out of the rifled barrel kicks plenty as well. I should do the math but I am pretty certain it is quite a bit more than my 338. The smoothbore barrel with 11/4 oz Brenneke's is not as bad.

My Featherweight '06 is pleasant with 180 NPT over 57 H4350 for a bit over 2700fps.

My 8# 12oz 338 w- 225 gr at 2750 is pretty easy to handle with proper technique.I love the newer recoil pads.

The biggest round I have shot regularly has been a couple of 375 H&H. One was on an Enfield action and heavy. Maybe 10.5 lbs. Not bad at all. The other was a push feed Winchester Model 70 about 9.5 lbs. Again not bad.

I shot a .458 a few times and it was plenty. More than I really want. I think I would top out with a .416 as most folks say that is plenty unless you need a stopping gun.

I've never shot anything more than a .450/400 or a .375 H&H, and those weren't really too bad. I can shoot my buddy's .338 Win Mag with full house loads from prone for 50-60 shots without too much trouble. I guess I've never shot a truly big rifle from the bench enough in one sitting to really know my limit.

I use a 300 weatherby all the time, and I am comfortable with my 416 Rigby.

I shoot my 375HH alot. 2000 rds. in the last 3 years. Sometimes 30 to 40 rds. a day. Great stock fit and fun to shoot and I've killed alot of animals with it. I don't want any more recoil than it. I've shot 300 weatherbys that hurt my 375 doesn't.

I have no idea though I'm sure the limit is there somehere. :-)
I shoot 12 ga slugs off the bench to sight in at 50 yards and about 15 rounds of that are enough. 3006 no problem all day long. 35 Whelen bangs me with the trigger gaurd on the bench but not too annoying still can shoot 250 gr loads all day with it. I don't own anything bigger so...... So far nothing bothers me off hand or sitting. Bear

I've never really thought that much about "maximum" recoil. I've shot a lot of rifles and never been very sensative to recoil in most "normal" rifles......just don't think about it.

Yes, some rifles do let you know they have gone off more authority than others, but as my daughter used to say, "They don't really hurt you so much as they buck up a might". Admittedly this is the same daughter who was shooting my 44 Mag. revolver and a .300 Mag. rifle at age 12, but I have to agree.

For me, the edge of "comfortable" is somewhere around the .458 level. I've only shot the really big stuff on occation, but do fire the .338, .375 and .458 pretty regularly. The first two are brisk, but not uncomfortable if proper technique is applied (keep a good grip on them to avoid an introduction to the scope), while the .458 is beginning to not be as much fun.

Oddly, my .45-70, loaded hot, (400 gr @ 2000) seems to hit harder than the .458 and is certainly more robust than the .375 The guns I notice the recoil most on are the lighter shotguns. I have a 7.5 pound 12 ga. magnum that is no fun at all to shoot for extended times.....and a 10 ga. magnum (10 pounds) that is almost as bad even though it weighs 2 pounds more.

This thread got me thinking, so I pulled out the calculator to chech recoil and recoil velosity of some of my rifles. This is what I found,

.338 Mag. (8#) 250 @ 2800 36.51# recoil 17.14 velosity
.375 H&H (9#) 270 @ 2650 33.51# 15.48
.458 Mag. (9#) 500 @ 2150 70.50# 22.46

It seems, that for me, the "limit" of comfort is somewhere around 40# of recoil....or about 25# of recoil velosity.

Interesting are some of the other figures I calculated,

.45-70 (7#) 400 @ 2000 50.87# recoil 21.63 velosity
12ga. (7#) 1 1/4 oz.@ 1300 42.69# 19.82
12ga. Mag (7.5#) 1 3/4 oz.@ 1300 66.63# 23.92
10ga. Mag (10#) 2 oz @ 1300 61.89# 19.96

Surprise to me....no wonder the .45-70 seems harsher than the .375. IT IS!!! And that light weight 12 ga. Magnum and 10 ga. are getting into the recoil level of African stopping rifles!

Seems sort of strange though that so many will shoot a standard 12 ga. all day at the skeet range, but shy away from a .338 that (on paper) kicks less.

The .30-06 (180 @ 2700) has 25.19# of recoil with 15.22 recoil velosity and the .270 (130 @ 3100) comes in at 17.57# with 12.71 velosity. So, it seems, the "average" shooter can tollerate around 20# of recoil or 14 of recoil velosity before it starts to "hurt".......of course that still doesn't explain the 12 ga. being OK. ODD!

30-06 and my 280 are about all I want for shooting sporter weight rifles.

Probably the 'worst' I've ever shot was my Remington 870 3-1/2" Super Mag with Winchester 3-1/2" turkey loads. Was standing up and fired one load. Still have 9 rounds left out of the box of 10 and will likely never shoot another one unless a utrkey is downrange. Thought the trigger guard broke my middle finger, got my glasses knocked off and came very close to getting knoocked on my kiester.

Other than that, heavy .50 caliber muzzleloader and .45-70 loads have been the worst, at around 48 foot-pounds recoil. Ran about 30 of the .45-70 460g loads during load development with no shoulder pad and only a hard buttplate. Ouch.

The good news is the above loads make everything else I shoot seem tame by comparison.

I worried about my 375H&H in a 7 lb rifle before I bought it - but since then, I've found that I've shot 30-06's that hurt more (bare metal butt plate in a Remington 760) and 300 magnums that seemed more unpleasant.

I think my 7 lb 375 with top loads feels a lot like my 8lb 12 guage shotgun with top loads in it.

I don't mind shooting my 12 guage all day - but of course I don't shoot it off a bench. I prefer a Caldwell Lead-Sled for ALL bench work. Why bother developing a flinch?

The comfort plateau ends with the 7 STW, or 300 winchester from the bench, and 300 weatherby standing offhand. Or a 30-30 with a steel butt plate. Of which I no longer own any of these.

My 300 WSM with a LimbSaver pad is more comfortable to shoot, and my all time favorite 7 RM is no problem to shoot 60 rounds from the bench wearing a tee shirt. I am a small frame guy and maybe they push me around rather than absorbing all of the recoil like some of my large friends seem to talk about.

There was a good interview awhile back with a gentleman in his 70's that regulated .600 Nitro's for a living. I have seen small framed women shoot a 460 Weatherby much better than I can.

I have been bruised by .243 Winchesters with a sharp metal butt plate. I think the Macho factor works against most men.

I have shot an 8.5# 378 Roy with no break and full power loads. Took a chunk out of my nose on the 4th shot and the 5th shot stacked the bullets. I have shot 416's plenty, but now days at the bench I wad up a shirt in my shoulder every time. I am pretty skinny and it hurts with about anything at the bench. That said, in the field, I routinely hunt with a 416 and am really getting comfortable with my 338rum. My 12 ga slug gun is pretty routhless at the bench. I have noticed certain gun stock designs hurt more than others too. I now use a lead sled at the range to get zeroed then practice with my hunting cloths on in feild conditions. I just don't like shooting at a bench anymore without the sled.

I dont think the cartridge determines my largest I can handle.
Case in point I have a friend who's dad has a Savage model 10 (I believe) in 30/06 with a 22" barrel wood stock and when you touch that thing off it feels like a pipebomb going off in your hands!
To the contrast I have shot a 375 ultramag and it didnt kick near as bad.
I also think that my old H&R single shot 12 gauge shooting 3" slugs is more than I care to handle on a daily bases......I'll just stick to my 11/87 shooting 3 1/2" mag turkey shells.
I believe its all about the platform that it is being delivered on.......

I shoot my .375 H&H from the bench with a sand bag on my shoulder and even then get a headache after a dozen of so rounds. I have shot 20 or so in a session off hand with no problem while still maintaining accuracy. While hunting the recoil has never been an issue even from the prone position.

Picked up a 105 mm canon round, handled, set it back down, does that count as the largest handled?

A 7 lb. 12 gauge with 1-7/8 oz loads is too much for me. Thanks to TexasRick's calculations I now know why! Even with lighter shotgun loads, I find that if I do a lot of early season goose hunting with heavy loads my rifle shooting suffers and I may develop a flinch until I train myself out of it. So I mostly use a mild mannered .308 or 7x57 for my practise shooting and big game hunting.
My max. hunting rifle cartridge is a 35 Whelen loaded with 250's at 2500. I tried a .338 but it was just a bit too much for accurate, comfortable shooting.

I think these guys found their limit...

577 T-Rex

Ouch!!!

RH

577 N.E. I was dumb enough to carry a double so chambered for a week once. Dam rifle weighed 16 lbs. And after that two shots was enough. I can handle a 416 Rigby or 416 Remingtion ( of all the 40+ cal. Cartridges, the remington makes the most sense and its shootable) I hunt mostly with 6.5 x 55's 7 x 57's of late 7mm RM. and 338 Winnie. I have a 300 WSM that I shoot but have not hunted much with it of late. As for shotguns, I like low base 12 Remington Sure Shot loads in a Berreta O/U. I find that if you go to much on the shotgun shell recoil goes up and you start having pattern problems. When its all said and done, I do way better shooting with a 28 ga. When its all said and done, you could do just fine with a 30-06 for your big game, a 375 for what dangerous game that is left to hunt, and a 12 ga shotgun for bird hunting (Low base shells). I think we have been going over board on the size of cartridges, shotgun shells and scopes that we hunt with. I know that steel shot has a lot to do with it when it comes to shotgunning. The other thing is that most people have no Idea that in order to shoot really well, the gun has to fit, and fitting has never been much of a deal here in the states like it is in England and Europe. They pay more attention to that than we do.

One fine day I learned that a 340 Weatherby was not fun, tho I find a 300 Win Mag perfectly acceptable, even on the bench.
Also have found some older double barrel 12 gauges not fun, particularly when they fire both barrel simultaneously.

Only rifle I have that is difficult for me to shoot more than 10 or 12 shots with is the .45-70 Guide Gun with hot 400 grain loads.

Start approaching 100 shots with my ported 12 gauge trap gun and, while it's not painful, I really have to focus mentally to avoid flinching.

Encore with a 24 inch turkey barrel firing 3" turkey loads is no fun at all.

S&W 500 with 350 grain XTP's that are still well below maximum is a real test. I'll shoot five, do something else, shoot five more and that's it for that gun for the day.

Ive shot a 12 ga slug gun that flat out puts a beating on your shoulder..5-10 rounds and that was enough. My buddy only got 1 down the tube...he got a little to close to the scope;)

Now in a handgun (Encore) ive got an 338x284 Win that is not to bad..but i wouldnt want much more on a regular basis.

Rem 458 is the largest I have ever shot. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Hemi

My two occasions that really beat me up.

Bad = Iron man Skeet Tournament:
1000 rounds (500 in 2 day sessions) of min 12ga Citori O/U with 2.75" #7's
(It is not nasty recoil, but after a thousand soft punches to the shoulder, I was plenty tender)

Worse = Snow Goose hunting North Dakota unlimited bag:
A case of shells (250) in 2 days of 10ga Mossberg pump with 3.5" heavy steels.
(It is real nasty recoil especially for 250 rounds. On day two I wasn't sure if the tears were from the pain or the cold damp wind blowing on us. I had to take a couple finishing shots on wounded birds and I did it left handed to give myself a break.)


It is amazing how after a while your shoulder and cheek just go numb. The tough thing is the second morning and pulling the trigger the first few times.

12 gauge 3" 2oz. loads out of a less than 7lb gun. Shooting a few of those in the summer months without a shirt on hurts.

"It is amazing how after a while your shoulder and cheek just go numb. The tough thing is the second morning and pulling the trigger the first few times."

I've found this, too, when doing some two day shooting sessions with friends.

My 300 wm doesn't bother my shoulder in the least, but after 20 or 30 rounds at the bench, my bad neck can't take anymore. I'm going to try a 325 WSM, and see if it is a little easier on my neck and head.

I don't know. .338 Win Mag is fine, shoot it all the time. 45/70 was a little chippy loaded HOT from my Guide Gun but that was in large part the straight stock, I think.

My 3.5" Mossberg 12-ga turkey gun is flat-out brutal. I couldn't handle a rifle that kicked that hard, however hard that is. Could also be a stock fitment issue.

If I can't do the job with my 340 Wby I think I'll stay home. This is good since I'm not terribly excited about the prospect of something that comes back any harder. A co-worker came over with a round for his 416 Wby. I did not like the way it looked at me.

I'm still learning to handle my .375 Ruger and .35 Whelen. The only problem with the Whelen is the person who built it went as light as possible and still keep a wood stock. Beautiful rifle just hammers you at the bench.

338 WM and 375 H & H don't bother me much. Even off the bench. My 3.5" 870 with turkey loads is the worst. I hate it.

...The bench is one thing, the field another. I've fired the Weatherby 416 off hand, and had no problems with going with the flow, now off the bench my 338 Winchester wears me out in less than a box of loads.The 210 gr. 338 is a pussy cat next to the one that beats me at the bench, the 250gr.loads. A few rounds isn't bad, but they build up on you!

Looking forward to sighting in a pard's 416 Taylor this spring. He's a sissy-boy and don't wanna shoot it.

I have an 8 pound H&R Buffalo classic in 45-70 with the brass butt plate, and a crescent shape with lots of drop in the butt stock. I sent a 3 shot group down range with 405 Rem FP bullets and a charge of 55 gr of Benchmark. I have no idea what the velocity of the bullet was, but I couldn't force myself to shoot the other two bullets that were left. It shot good, but it flat hurt!

My Ruger #1H in 405 with a 300 gr Barnes X at 2450 fps is a little stiff after about ten off the bench, but standing up on my back feet like a man it's not that bad at all, and it really is an off hand shooter.

I'm finding as the hair on my head turns a little closer to white, I don't mind being called a wimp in the recoil department. I still have a couple rifles I'd like to have, but a quarter bore is looking more plausible than another 40+ bore. 35 Rem might happen soon, though.

Glad there's still a few "real men" on the planet like you so the rest of us will know what it means to "man up."

damn whats this world coming to I agree with JO

Used to really like the .375, and tried a bunch of the over 40s, didn't truly like any of them. Am just a tad older now and notice that my age is inversely proportional to the size rifle I think I need and like. Nowadays the 7x57 is the "big one" and most of my deer/antelope hunting gets done with centerfire .22s.
Looks like I am destined to" weanie out" One Day At A Time...
Ingwe

Didn't say I was agonna enjoy it. Just looking forward to it to see what it's like!













At least once!

i can take about 10 shots with my barrett 99, 50 bmg.
it's not the recoil that get to me, it's the concussion from the brake !

I do 6-10 rounds at the bench pretty well with my 338 WinMag and/or my 450 Marlin. After that my concentration fades a little and my groups start to open up.

I've not shot some of the big shoulder cannons that others have mentioned in this thread. The worst kicker I've owned (out side a young mule... but thats another story) was a Thompson Center Contender set up as a carbine with a custom 20" 45-70 barrel. I never weighed this thing but I would imagine that it wouldn't have missed 6 lbs much. Might have even weighed a tad less. I used to run 400 grain Speer flat points through it as fast as I dared. Anyway, it was wicked in front and behind. You wanted to make absolutely sure that the scope had adequate eye clearance. It split my forehead twice. Didn't hurt too bad but bled like a stuck hog and was rather hard on a guy's pride. Still have the scars. Don't have the rifle anymore. Don't miss it much.

ttpoz

When I was shooting a lot my most powerful rifle that was easy to shoot was a 375 H&H. I actually shot 33 round off the bench without a problem after shoulder surgery and a 6 month lay off. Now, I don't get to shoot very much and 270 Win with a steel buttplate gets tiring after awhile. I hope to build back up to the 375. The most punishing I own is a Browning 1886 Carbine in 45-70. I don't like shooting factory loads with that off the bench at all. With a slip on pad 400g bullets @ 2000fps are not a problem.

Largest cart, I care to handle would be a 404 jeffery. Not too bad in the recoil dept, and big bullet. I like a 378 but the more I use it, I use it with a break (so thats cheating)

Over my limit, 500 A-square with 600 grain bullets, my buddies synthic stocked 458 lott at about 8 1/2 or 9lbs Ouch!!!

Ed

Just do it till it starts to make your eyes blink.

You be a beeg help!

One of the worst to be around was a 300RUM at the range. The concussion bothered me more than the recoil did the trigger man.

an 8 lb rem 700 in .300 wby with wby 180s was painful...
an almost identical rifle in .300 win and max 180 handloads was OK...

a 10 1/2 lb mauser .375 was a creampuff offhand.
a ruger that didn't get weighed was a little much..

my 99f .300 savage with a 165 loaded to 2580 avg needs a cheekpad
same rifle with factory 150 winchester power points is OK...

I can handle anything.

Once, anyway!

I do most of my hunting with a 9 pound .375HH. If I can keep the scope out of my face the recoil isn't obnoxious, even with 300s. I suspect that I could handle a .416 so long as it has iron sights. I'm not eager to get a scope in my face again. Certainly the most powerful rifle I have shot was a .450/400 3" and the recoil was not bad at all. Of course the rifle was an old Rodda hammergun and quite heavy...

I cannot handle an 8 pound .338 Winchester. Not from the bench and not offhand. I think I went 11 shots from the bench before I started to flinch. To that point it had taken every bit of my concentration to avoid flinching. After that I could not do it at all. The recoil was simply too fast. I will take a good push any day.

Right now it's my Ruger .458 Lott with 600 gr bullets at 1950fps.I limit myself to 6 at a range session.I had a Merkel .470,which was always shot standing up,not bad.I have shot a .510 Wells and the .585,but either gun fit me very well and was not going to fight them. Another one that surprised me was a P64/Featherweight in .358 Win..wow!!

Many years ago, when I was younger & much more foolish, I shot a full round of trap with a double barrel 10 gauge using 3 1/2 magnum 2 ounce load. The cumulative effect impressed as it took a couple days to recover from that beating. The gun was one of those inexpensive Churchill's that came out about when non toxic shot became mandatory.

You shot trap with that!?
Last time I shot trap was #7's and 1 1/8 oz in 12 gauge......I even busted a few too.

An 1895G marlin with some stout hardcast loads really got my attention. The worst I've ever shot was a Winchester Black Shadow chambered in 444marlin. That thing was light and the stock would slap the crap out of you.

For a more general statement I'd say a 30'06 is about where I like to stop on the recoil level. Anything I want to get done can be handled with the 06 and propper bullets. Why punish myself.

My 3.5" turkey gun literally knocked me on my butt one time.

I called in a jake. It was all happening fast (jakes tend to come runnin' or not at all), and I just had time to crouch down flatfooted behind some blackberry bramble... he came skidding to a halt looking for his nookie, and I shot him from that position and it put me right on my butt!

Didn't feel the recoil though... grin...

I'm switching to "mere" 3" shells this year.

Things have changed since I turned fifty. Several years ago, I shot my .338 RUM with minute of dinner plate accuracy at 100 yards off-hand. Now I love my .260, 7mm-08 and .300 Savage best. .300 RUM's are definitely.

I bought a 3 1/2" 870 turkey gun that weighed about 7lbs. After patterning some turkey loads, my neck and shoulder felt like they had been in a car wreck. I sold the 870 and bought a Browning Gold 3 1/2" autoloader. It is much more tolerable.

Ron

WIMP!

The heaviest kicking guns I've shot would be a couple of .375's, one Marlin .45-70 and one 7 1/4 lb. 12 ga. w/ magnum rifle slugs.
I could shoot good groups with all of them. Naturally, I prefer to shoot them from standing, not the bench. But I did put about 75 rds. through the light 12 with it's mean magnum rifle slugs one day from the bench.
But that is not the whole story.
What I've found is that when I'm tired, tense, or out of breath, I don't shoot the heavier kickers as well as I shoot the .308's and the 7X57 class. I can go to about the '06, or even the .300 magnum level if the rifle isn't too light and the stock fits me right right. But that's it. Anything heavier and there are days, and conditions, where I simply won't do as well. I learned that shooting couple of 7mm magnums at game. I can shoot them, but I shoot the milder stuff better particularly when I'm under stress.
It's taken me along time to discover this. Some of it is simply because I like shooting the lighter kickers more. But some of it is simply because it's gets to be too much of a strain to concentrate and shoot the heavy kickers well. E

My .35 Whelen with max loads is my comfort limit but it is more of a push. My buddies light .300 win mag will get me flinching in a couple of rounds and feels like my face has been crushed. The worst I have ever been was at a tactical shotgun school before all of the low recoil stuff was out, put 200 slugs through a light weight 870 in one morning and felt like my brain had disconnected from the stem.

I have shot a .458 and a .460 a couple times which was plenty to know I could put the shot where needed and that I had no desire to own either one.

I recall reading about Ross Seyfried building a 6 or 7 pound .416 for tracking elephants all day and cannot fathom what that was like to shoot.

When I was younger and dumber I used to punch paper at the range with a 338 mag using full snort 250 grain loads. The old Sako and I held them to MOA for 5 shots, so I guess I wasn't flinching too bad.

The rudest thing I've fired was a shotgun, a 6.5 lb. "coach gun" with short barrels, a narrow stock and a hard buttplate. The shells were some kind of 3" heavy magnum that my friend had. I wouldn't want to shoot a rifle that nasty from the bench very many times.

416 Rigby for me. I reached my limit with a 416 Rigby.

I can easily handle a 375 H&H (sold) and my 9.3x64 Brenneke's are a lot of fun.

My brother (medicman) has or had a T/C Contender with a 12" 45-70 barrel with the muzzle tamer ports on it, and we shot a few 500 grain hard cast bullets out of it ay nose bleeding velocity -- for that platform for sure. Using proper shooting technique -- locked wrists, locked elbows, locked shoulders, that thing would unglue you. First thing that happened is that your wrists unlocked and then your elbows and then your shoulders, and then the grip would torque in your hand.

We both came to the conclusion that about 5 grains less powder would be a lot more comfortable to shoot. Can't remember for sure, but IIRC, the velocity was over 1,500 and maybe even closer to 1,600 ft/sec.

And the concusion from the muzzle blast would part the observe's hair.

I'm in the camp with the guys on the 3.5" 12 gauge. My Mossberg probably won't see another 3.5" unless I got them for free and I was out of everything else. They are brutal!
They most definitely kick worse than my iron sighted Stainless Stalker .375. I'd not be afraid to shoot a .458 after shooting that stinkin' Mossberg turkey gun.
My 300 Ultramag is fairly brisk but the stock has very little drop and it just comes straight back. I always use a shoulder pad when shooting from the bench and get a firm grip but I have never flinched when launching 200 gr Accbonds at 3200 fps.
Give me a well stocked rifle chambered in a medium bore magnum vs a poorly stocked '06 any day!

My 375 H&H gets my attention, but I love shooting it.

22 short in a 40lb target rifle ;-)

I know for a fact that Wby MkVs in .378Wby and .460Wby are definitely more than I can handle, or care to.

WUSSIE'S!!!!!!!!!!

The largest caliber I have used is a .338 Win Mag in a Tikka. Sighting in wasn't much fun, but I had a light O/U 12 gauge I used for turkey hunting that was probably worse.

+1

I will stop at my .375 H&H, thank you very much.

Shot a .378 Weatherby in a genuine Weatherby rifle with lots of drop. Gave me a hellova slap in the chops!

John

The biggest cartridge I have hunted with is a .458 Lott (500 grains at 2,300 fps), and I have hunted pretty extensively with my .416 Remington Mag in an 8-lb rifle. Both are a handful off the bench, but you don't ever spend a lot of time on the bench and I don't really seem to notice them when I hunt......

The biggest cartridge I've shot is a .577 NE and that was like a giant push.......

Back in the 70's i killed a few groundhog with the 458 Win Mag and i didn't think it was all that bad to shoot off bags. I don't really like recoil but i can take it and still hit what i aim at most of the time. If you can stand the 3.5 inch 12 ga from the Mossberg Pump shotgun then you can handle most rifle cals.

I forgot I did once pull both triggers on a 10ga sxs with full power 2.25 oz loads. I am not all that big, and it jumped out of my left hand on the forearm, the gun jumped straight up vertical and I got rocked back on my back foot and had to take two hops back to keep from tipping over. Another 100 fps would have toppled me. So I guess that was a tad over my limit. I have had several shoulder injuries over the years and now don't get into the recoil so much. I have turned down offers to shoot my brothers 500 jeffrey, not to mention rounds were $14 a pop and worse now.

i'm a 270 win or 30-06 guy now. i've had a 300rum, winmag, and wsm and they didn't do anything the 06' didn't do killing wise, so they are all gone. besides, i'm getting older. in another 10 years i'll just be a 270 win guy.

Thats a trick question..I have shot a 600 N.E. and shot it well. The kicker is when I shoot the .458 Lott and up, I have to first convience myself that its not going to cripple me and that is counterproductive to good "hunting" even though it only takes a brief second to focus myself...

I don't have to do that with the 40 calibers, so I shoot the 40 calibers in all my African hunting or Dangerous Game hunting...The 404 Jefferys, 416 Remington or Ruger. In double rifles I like and use the 450-400s mostly and the one exception might be the 450-3 1/4. It doesn't seem to bother me..I still have a spot for the great .375 H&H, and it gets the job done.

In the USA, I shoot the 30-06, 300 H&H, 270, 250 Savage, 25-35, 30-30 and 7x57 for the most part and none of them bother me anymore than a 22 L.R.

Recoil tolerance varies from person to person, it depends on how much one shoots the big bores, as well as body size, and other varies reasons, not to mention stock fit.

Hardest kicker I own is a 338RUM, shooting full tilt 250's.....I have shot a 375H&H but IMO was a pussycat compared to the 338.

Tony

The hardest kicker that I own is my 375 H&H, other than the gun wieghs a ton to pack I don't mind the recoil. I've killed a red fox with a 458 mag in a ruger #1. the recoil was managable.

With that said I care a Tikka T3 lite in 270 wsm 90% of the time unless I'm hunting dark timber then the 45-70 [1895 SGG]is gun of choice.

There are many factors that go into this question, perception of recoil not being the least. Loud noises and muzzle jump both increase perceived recoil, despite being largley harmless in themselves in the "recoil" equation. Recoil impact speed ( a hard iron butt-plate vs a Decelerator Pad, say), is also a factor.

Shooting my near-10 lb Mag-Na-Ported .338 (with hearing protection) across the bench with 250 gr. slugs beats the heck out of my non-ported 7.5 lb '06 with 180 gr. loads.

I'm betting i could put 50 rounds an hour through a well- designed and equipped 60 lb .50 BMG with no ill effects or flinching...

So this thread is largly meaningless without some parameters on it... IMHO.

have and use a .338 pretty regular, not a problem, don't have a .375 but have shot one enough to know it's fine too.


have only shot a .416 Rem Mag a few times and it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be.


pard has a .458 Lott, he can keep it too, shot it offhand, but I love to watch him shoot it off the bench, he takes an azz whuppin every time.

So why did you post on it then?

We all know that every gun is gonna recoil differently. We all know that a muzzle brake will tame recoil. Your entire post needs a big "well duh". And yet you claim this thread is meaningless. You're a genius.

Hoo boy! I guess my character defect puts me in the minority. 30-06 is the most I would care to shoot, and I wouldn't like it! the worst I have ever been slammed was with a buddy's short barreled 12 gauge riot gun, with a rifled slug. I wondered why he was a'grinnin when he handed it to me. Whoa! ONCE, that was enough, thank you very much.

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.

I must say at this time the biggest boomer i have in my collection is a Model 70 300 WIN. MAG. With its heavy weight and good recoil pad it is mild to shoot. Truthfully the ADL 30.06 without a recoil pad hurts more than the 300 winnie. I did shoot a short barrled 45/70 in T/C one time but it was not too bad for me. One of these days I will probably get a .338 caliber just in case the .300 winnie will not take down those tough Zombies....Grin

Full-house 45-70 loads in a Handi Rifle maxed me out. Same load in an 1895CB not so bad.

Well, 'bout all I can say here is, a Ruger 77 in 338 Win Mag, on a day when the temperature hovered around zero degrees F, is a NASTY, EVIL beast; and I want no more part of that puishment.
So for today, I can safely say, that a 7x57 is just about right for my taste.

338 WIN MAGs all i can take

Biggest I ever shot was a 358 Norma pushing 250 grain partitions at 2700 fps.

Not so bad . . .

BMT

My 458 Lott at 9.5 lbs is invigorating and I cannot say I enjoy it. I have had to work on control technique with it or a second quick shot is impossible but the worst handheld firearm I've fired was one of those cheap, muzzle-light NEF 3.5" 12 g. single shots that probably don't go over 6 lbs. I bought it thinking of a down and dirty turkey gun to throw in the truck on out of town hunts in case something happened to my primary.

The first time I fired it was to pattern some Win Supreme 3.5 inchers. It had just rained and my set-up was pure makeshift. I set up a target 40 yds away and squatted indian-style to keep my behind clean and dry. That worked out well as at the shot I was dumped backwards in the mud on my butt; I could just as well have been sucker punched by Mike Tyson except it was on the shoulder which looked like a pale rasberry in a few minutes. It made me wonder about whom it was that decided on that long chamber in that pipe.

I gave the sucker to my son-in-law as a start up and told him to go no bigger than 23/4 shells.

before the stroke my 350 ram mag. After my 6 mm. But it's all good.

I've just bought a .35 Whelen in the Hawkeye and I was surprised that the barrel profile is the same as that of the .257 Roberts. Due to the bigger hole, the .35W is lighter than my Hawkeye in .257R. The first trip to the range was an experience. After about 10-12 rounds the thing was really booting me, and after about 20 I packed it in. I've fired about 100 rounds through it now and it's not too bad, but I'd really think hard about buying a bigger cartridge in the future.

Thank you very much.

I find that my 45-70 Handi-rifle kicks pretty good, so I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it and that seems to help. My 7MM Mag has a Brake and recoil pad, so I can shoot it all day long.
.30-06 is no problem either.

Before the lead sled appeared a 300 WM was about all I could shoot more than a few rounds of off a bench. Now anything goes.

Punching holes in a target with Ruger #1 375H&H just isn't my idea of a fun afternoon but recently short term memory loss kicked in when I saw a Ruger #1 .458 Win Mag for sale. It sure wasn't my shoulder that was thinking when I bought that "only one round through it" .458

22 Hornet...

With a half a case of Blue Dot? joshing ya!

In a handgun 4570 is the largest shot so far. After a few years away from shooting an 6 was too much, but my 338 is ok again. I used to enjoy 458 win maag and 375 H&H but my 338 is top end now. 45/70 handi rifle is quite pleasant, and I have a date this summer with a 405 win #1 of the shootist's that promises to gain my attention.

I am looking at downward expansion to 22cf for more bang, less buck and snort. 22lr is a shear joy to shoot in target brno #5 26" target barrel. or any other rifle for that matter.
Randy

I shot a 375 H & H in a T/C with a 15 inch barrel once...

I thought that was kinda overkill and a little much for the T/C hand gun package...

45-70 over a .410 in a derringer was just about a tad more than I like.
Sako 300 wsm is just fine, have a Model 70 in .300 wthrby that is quite pleasant, but I have a Ruger 77 7mm RM that is just plain snotty. Depends on the gun as much as the cartridge.

My screen name sums it up. I shoot my Lott very well. the recoil on it is worse than my brothers .416 Rigby or .470 NE. I used to shoot my bosses .416 Weatherby a bit. It was a hand full but not unmangable. Recoil managment has a lot to do with size, techinic and a short between the ears that does not register pain. Luckily I have all three.

BTW!!! Lead sleads will ruin your rifles and scopes!!! I would highly recomend that people seriously annalize the reaction of the rifle in the sled when you pull the trigger. If you need a lead lead sled then look for another position to shoot from or get a lighter recoiling rifle. Just my opinion and experiance.

Have owned 300 rum,.340, .350, 375H&H & 458... no problem
Had a .378 wby and just to be sure , got another a few years later..like bearstalker so eloquently put it: Flinch, Jerk, Pull, close your eyes and wipe away the tears when no one is looking !

The '06 with 200 grain Partitions at 2650 is O.K for a steady diet. But I have an ancient M70 in 375 that doesn't thump the shoulder near as bad as a little M660 I had in 350 Rem Mag. Depends on fit and load, I think.

Wayne

If you are talking bench shooting I stop at the 30 magnums, off hand or sticks I don't mind my 375 H&H and have yet to shoot enough 12 or 10 ga. while hunting to get there.

My pet rifle is my 9.3X62, and the various .458's and .416's I've shot are within the realm of reasonable. I'ver never tried to find my recoil limit, but an early hot loaded Marlin 45-70 with the curved buttplate came close to mine.

alot of it depends on rifle weight for me. I am very comfortable shooting my CZ in 416 Rigby. but I have a custom 340 Weatherby by Rifles inc that brings tears to my eyes from the bench

600 grain conical behind 110 grains of 777.

20 rounds of 375 H&H and then 20 rounds of 450 Dakota off the bench left me with blurred vision for 5 days. I don't mind the Dakota when I'm offhand but it's a bit much from the bench.

I shot a 458LOTT twice and decided,nothing needed to die that bad.

378 tops the list for me. I�m getting older now so I don�t even shoot the 300 grain bullets anymore. 250gr seem to knockdown anything in North America.

I have enough aches and pain so as it is. If it kicks harder than a 30-06 than I'am not interested in shooting it anymore.