Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Worst kicking gun you ever shot.

Worst I've ever let loose was a lightweight pump shotgun with a 3" or 3-1/2" OO buckshot load. Trigger guard bloodied a finger, only time I have ever done that. I'd rather shoot a lightweight .300 Win. mag any time than that thing.

7.62 Warbird or 460 Wby. I had a little 308 in a Remmy 660 that was a bear, too.

because I like /45-70s

Worst kicking gun I ever shot is my Ruger MKII 338 win mag, with the paddle stock, Kicks my @SS bad. I am only 5'7 and 160lbs.

.460 WBY Mag gave me a serious flinch.

My worst was a Savage Model 24 .22 RF over a 20 gauge barrel. The stock design was such that when the shotgun barrel was fired the comb recoiled viciously into the cheek bone. Can't remember whether it was a shot load or a slug but what ever it was I got rid of the gun soon after.

I have a .338 Win. magnum which is pleasant to shoot in comparison.

Jim

My GG with 430gr slugs going 1800fps is right there with a 835 3 1/2". That single shot doesn't even look like fun. But I would try just to see

Off the bench my old s&w 30-06 is punishing. I went so far as getting a slip on recoil pad for it. 20 rounds in session would leave your shoulder purple. I have a howa 338WWM with a hogue stock I can shoot all day without leaving a mark.

The recoil of my 50 BMG is about like a 12 ga slug, but the concussion is so bad after 10 rounds I've usually had enough. I think 25 rounds was my longest day with the 50, and that over 4-5 hours. It's still fun lobbing 750gr of love and joy at long distances.

Armednfree: I mistakenly shot a Weatherby Mark5 in 460 Magnum, TWICE!
Not only did I get a headache the blazing hot barrel burnt the fingers on my left hand after the second shot (the Rifle was being fired non-stop that morning by eager and paying sportsmen at a "range day")!
Lesson learned.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I pulled both triggers on a double barrel 10 gauge......once.

The 45-70's are really just fine if one sticks with the commercial loads and 405 grain slugs going around 1,200 fps. The issue comes when we do the macho thing and hop them up. I upped mine to 1,750 fps and it's not fun. The gun is capable of about 2,400 fps, but I will never go there.

I shot a 338 mag that snap kicked so hard it gave me a recoil headache after 3 shots. My 375 HH is a pleasure to shoot compared to that awful 338.

I have a .577" single shot rifle on a Field's patent action, which weighs eight pounds and has a steel butt plate. With nitro ammo, I photographed a brave soul firing a Kynock nitro load - first frame, before firing he was full frame, next exposure just the barrel and his left arm visible and third from, he had completely disappeared ! By the way, I used to hunt with it, in Africa.

My wife and I were married in October, and deer season was in November. When I moved away from home, my little brother "inherited" the family deer rifle, so I was left without one. A local hardware store had a Jungle Carbine and I thought it was about the coolest looking rifle I'd ever seen. I wanted that thing something awful, but the price was to much. My new bride overheard me say that I wanted a 303 British, and she told her sister's husband, who found a No.1 Mk.4 in Nashville at a gun store for $19.95. She bought it for me in time for deer season. Mine didn't kick that bad, as a matter of fact, it was rather mild. A few years later, I ran into a guy who had a Jungle Carbine he was trying to sell, but he made the mistake of telling me that it was the kickingest rifle he'd ever shot. That scared me away, and I soon went on to better deer rifles.

458 Lott was memorable

But I swear a guide gun in 45/70 with stout loads and traditional lever will play hades on my middle finger if I don't use shooting gloves

Shoulder meh, middle finger SOB

I have one of them old stevens in a 20 and when I do shoot it the forend usually comes off and stays in my left hand. No doubt it lets ya know when it goes off. Back in the 70's my shoulder was always green from that bruiser. They probably weigh under 5lbs

One day my dad and I went squirrel hunting and we really killed the that day. I think I shot at least ten or twelve. On the last one I involuntarily dropped the gun it hurt so bad. My shoulder was purple.

most of the stuff in this thread i haven't found all that much to deal with. This being the exception.
had a relative want me to sight one in on a bunch with 250grainers.
three shots were my limit.
i suggested he use it to stir paint in a 50gallon drum.

A 12 ga. Mossberg 500 with only a pistol grip sure surprised me with buckshot loads. After 5 shots, it took the wrist the better part of a week to feel normal.

Another was a Browning lever action in 358 Win with a plastic buttplate and iron sights. Not overly powerful, but I found it downright uncomfortable and gave it to my father. Between us, we didn't use a box of ammo before it went down the road. At the time, I didn't realize how important stock design was to felt recoil.

460 Weatherby was the hardest kicking gun but a cheap POS Winchester 30.06 my dad bought in the 70's is probably my least favorite gun to shoot. There is nothing good about it. The stock doesn't feel right, no recoil pad, and for whatever reason it feels like it kicks twice as hard as other .06's.

And another vote for the H&R. Dad took mine away until the bruises went away from my ear to armpit. I wasn't smart enough to not pull the trigger on my own as doves flew by taunting me.