Having been pummeled into a quivering mass of gelatonous matter by several big rifles and shotguns over the years, it has occured to me that some of the worst beatings I ever took were at the hands of front stuffing firearms, and I shoot big centerfires quite a bit so here is a question for ya'll..... please relate for our twisted amusement some of the worst mule kicking frontloaders OR centerfire rifle or pistol experiences you have ever endured. Here are my three:
1) At the bulletproof and knowing it all age of 18 (a rather long time ago) my cousin and friend borrowed from an old neihbor a really long - perhaps six feet - and heavy 8 bore punt gun. Designed really to be fired from over the bow of a john boat, not stood behuind and such like I tried to do. Steel buttplates were the norm on these. I scrounged some musket caps, we poured what was likely about 1/4 lb of 2F down the muzzle followed by a wad of aluminum foil, then some torn sheet material, then about a half cup of reclaimed #8 shot then an over wad of more aluminum foil and torn sheet material. Can't exactly recall where I got this "recipe" Since I was the biggest and strongest and ...... well, you know, PLUS it was my idea to try to fire the damned thing I manned up to the tortu.... uh.. shooting station and placing a cap upon the nipple and cocking the massive hammer I tensed up and leaned forward and pulled the trigger and.... pop! Just the musket cap..... Dang it! two more trys gave the same result so, not recognizing the providential hand of a loving and protective God I came up with yet ANOTHER of my bright ideas, a touch of green dot under the nipple! Simple, really.... just unscrew the nipple, drop in a few flakes of modern gunpowder to 'help' things along and... Well, that flat WORKED!!!! Had I not ran backwards several steps upon being slammed by the 6 foot tall punt gun I would have been thrown to the ground and hard. THAT one made me go OUCH! But just a little
Fast forward to the still knowing it all years and buying a kit to build an early Lyman Great Plains 54 caliber rifle. NICE looking guns, these, and I wanted to take an Elk with mine so off to the range with my good buddy Rufous from here at 24hrcf. Forgetting that Black powder guns CAN generate some backwards thrust and ignoring the sharp edged, deeply curved and thin STEEL buttplate I had so carefully inletted to the Walnut stock I proceeded to pour 120gr of 3F down the tube, folowed by a Hornaday Great Plains bullet of great weight (540grs?)and inertia meaning a great desire to stay put right there in the barrel and not move forward without extracing some wampum in return from the firee - me. THAT one hurt like H%!! and I have NEVER tried to replicate the event! Me likey round balls in that rifle now!
Much more recent..... Cape Buff Client wants to take a big African Buff with a custom muzzleloader soooooo.... he proceeds to have built for him a side by side rifle in 54 Caliber BUT with a very fast twist rifleing so that it will stabilize with SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY GRAIN SLUGS! backed by TWO HUNDRED GRAINS OF 2F! in each barrel. Here is how this deal works..... Intrepid hunter wiggles up to unsuspecting big black Mbogobuff, takes careful aim and Ka-BOOMEY!!!! when the considerable smoke clears, whomever gets back up first from the dual blows just delivered has won that round and we do this again, unless it is considered more pleasant to simply allow the buff to now merely plow us under rather than to fire the other barrel of that miserable rifle!
So, what tales of woe do my buds here have to tell?
PS still shooting hot loaded 416 Rigby and a titanium/scandium framed 44 MAgnum (329PD) so I guess I am a little low on the learning curve.......
