Sounds like that Gibbs recoils like a 500 NE. I shot one, a Merkel double, a few years back, helping a good bud getting ready for Africa. Just a big push. I felt I had full control, actually put two rounds into a small group off hand at 25 yds. Impressed myself. MUCH better than shooting a light weight .300 WM or Wby, for sure. Now, those can be brutal, big guns not so much.
DF
The 505 Gibbs recoil is worse then the 500NE. I've got a Merkel 500NE double that is relatively comfortable to shoot, but a friend of mine has a 505Gibbs. Whenever I fired his Gibbs it felt like I'd been punched in the nose - nothing hit me in the nose but that' the sensation I got. Mind you my Merkel once let loose both barrels at the same time and that was worse then the 505Gibbs.
