I've fired 338 mags, 8mm Rem mag, 375 mags, 458 mags and 458 Lott. This little damn thing is the worst kicking gun I ever shot. The 8mm rem mag was nearly as bad. My uncles rem 700 8mm mag with it's Monte Carlo stock damn near broke my cheek bone. He put that in a classic stock and it ain't so bad.

Model 600 350 mag. Probably because it fits me very badly.

Light mossberg 500 slug gun. Kicked so hard it actually unloaded itself. I went to pump it and the action was already open. My eyes teared up and my nose was running. That thing was miserable and it took several shots to dial in.

Rifle....Remington 760 pump, 30-06 with 180 grain bullets. It had a steel buttplate, and I was a very skinny 15 year old kid.

Shotgun....friend bought a new turkey gun, a NEF single shot that wouldn't have weighed 5 pounds, in a 3 1/2 inch 12 guage. I shot it one time. That was one time too many.

My Winchester 1300 pump using 3 inch turkey loads will do that every time. All you have to do is to just push it forward.

Without a doubt, a Mosin M44 carbine. Horrible!

Yup, those M600s in 350 RM are brutal; lightweight, poorly designed stocks will do it every time.

My worst was one of THE worst: a .577 Nyati. It was on a modified Win M70 weighing only 10 pounds. Without the muzzle brake, it has double the recoil of a .458 Win. Yes, double. Even with the brake screwed on, it exceeds the 458 by a goodly amount. The gunsmith sighting it in was allowing others to shoot it (no surprise!) but limited us to two shots each because the cartridges cost $20 each.

2oz(875gr) Turkey load thru a alloy receiver shotgun.

once was enough.

Never fired something like a 458 Lott, but out of all the guns I've ever shot and some of them kicked worse then what they should've, to this day nothing kicks worse than a straight lined heavy loaded 12 gauge. Many of the single shots would fall in that category and for whatever reason the Mossberg's seem to kick like a mule.

That

At one point in time I would have said my Mossberg 835 with 3.5" 2 1/4 oz turkey loads. Then I bought an open sighted .416 Rigby barrel for my Encore. A 400 gr bullet handloaded to 2400 fps lit by over 100 grains of powder from a 7 lb gun is brutal. Even gripping it tight the first shot slammed the front of the trigger guard into my trigger finger, so naturally I shot it again. Yep, that hurt just as bad as the first shot. My finger hurt for a week, my shoulder for a couple of days. Off to gunbroker it went.

My grandfather's single shot Boito 12 gauge with 3" magnums. Grandpa always said " it draws meat on both ends".

Same experience here with my slug gun....3" Partition slugs in my 11-87 are pretty sporty from the bench. Not fun to dial in. I decided that 2 3/4" were just fine.

A Winchester M 70 SS .338 Win mag using 275 gr Swift bullets.

Not sure...could be my Ithaca 12 ga. Slug gun...or Encore with 24" turkey barrel and 3" turkey loads...or Guide Gun with hot-rodded 400 gr Speers...or .500 S&W with full house 400 grainers. None of the above are especially pleasant to shoot much.

Probably not the hardest kicking firearm that i ever fired, but I remember how much I dreaded tripping the trigger on my H&R single shot 20 Ga. I was 8 years old at the time. I'm sure it didn't fit me correctly. A few years later, I graduated to a Winchester 1400 in 12 ga. Much less felt recoil that that single shot!

For me, a .460 Weatherby. No joy!!!!

Ithaca featherweight with heavy pheasant loads.

Thought I'd broken my nose.

Mossberg 500 Magnum with 3 1/2" coyote loads.

Kills on one end, and cripples on the other.

For me it's essentially the same thing as above, an H&R Topper in 3.5" 12ga w/English stock. Shot it into a test bbl w/2.25oz 3.5" Turkey loads and my hand went numb for a few seconds.

I've shot both the .378Wby and .416 Wby MKV's in Classic Mark stocks without brakes and they're both brutal. I shot the 378 twice and the 416 twice.

The worst recoiling "session" I ever had was sighting in a 340Wby MKV Fibermark in .340Wby w/250gn factory ammo sans brake. Got it dead on @ 200 and shot a few groups @ 300 to confirm drop as well. 'Bout a box and a half later I had a raging headache. Did this while I worked @ a gun shop in college, I'd sold the rifle to a very good customer going on a Musk Ox hunt and both of us knew he wouldn't get it sighted in properly so the sight in was a condition of the purchase. The guy had some great life experiences and was a masterful story-teller so the abuse was certainly worth it. He had some great stories about growing up only having "scrip" to spend.

I have 2 308 win.chambered rifles one is a savage bolt and the other is a savage 99.
No matter how you load them they just kick like a mule.

I do know that they don't fit me and one day will get around to it,but even when loading down to 300 savage loads they just are not fun to shoot.
I have had several try them and they say they kick more than their rifles in same caliber.
They make the 30-378 seem enjoyable.

7mm Rem mag
ADL wood stock
Iron sights
Bad fitting stock to me.

Mossberg bolt gun in 7mm Mag. That sumbitch HURT!

Gifted new, but I sold it off with the remaining half box of shells. Bad stock design and with a hard recoil plate, but I've had little use for 7Mags since. I know- not the calibers fault, but there is nothing a 7 Mag can do in my world that a less harsh '06 won't, or a 300 Mag won't do better with the same felt recoil as the 7 Mag. I'm not recoil sensitive within reason. I handle my Ruger 338 mag up to 10-15 bench shots, then I give it a break for a day before I do develop a problem.

That's my opinion, and you're not changing it after 40 years! Probably that first experience has made me mentally recoil sensitive to the 7 Mag. Never liked but one that I've shot over the decades.

I did once try to buy a customer out of a Husquavarna in 7 Mag after working on it. I'd have kept that one. Sweet handling/ sweet recoil, and a sub MOA, near one-hole shooter. I'm prejudiced, but I'm not completely foolish! Arguably.

A 458 Lott and 338-378 both on #1 Rugers. #1 's don't fit me very well for some reason but those cartridges have substantial recoil an any rifle.

Yep, I shot a 12 gauge Mossberg with 3 1/2 inch slugs...once.

Boat paddle Ruger's in any of the magnums with heavy bullets and slow powders are no slouch in the "ouch" department either.

My Savage 110 .338 Win Mag was a creampuff. It was a heavy rifle with a laminate stock, but I've had .308's kick worse.

Had a Savage 99 in .308 that kicked as bad as any rifle I ever shot.

10 GA single shot with slugs. Like shooting a bullwhip. Fierce, to say the least.

Quigley shot with s 50-140 Sharps, but at only 200 yards. I was not ready for how light the set trigger was. I did not have a firm grip on it and did not have it in my shoulder properly. The new owner took it to Fairbanks. Hope I never see that gun again! I did hit the bucket though.

my 870 supermag with 3.5" superx turkey loads. we call it "the headache gun".

Ruger 1B 45-70. Only weighed 7 1/4 lbs. Used the Hornady 50K loads for the 500gr soft point. I nicknamed the gun Buster.

M-71 Winchester, 200 gr bullet, 63 grns of 4350. Shooting at deer 175 yds from the prone position and not quite settled into a proper position due to deer wandering. Killed deer and nearly myself. Collar bone (mine) seemed to be severed.......it was a warm day in SD, so no thick jacket. The stars stayed misaligned for a time.

I had, emphasis had a 300 Weatherby that for some reason kicked like a government mule. I shot harder kicking stuff but it was like hit by a short straight right cross and just snapped me every time. I named it the Chiropractor because my back popped the first time I'd pull the trigger every session.

Mossberg 500 12 gauge with 3" Copper Solid Slugs

A 3.5" turkey load from a Remington or Benelli pump are tied for worst. A close 2nd place finisher is a Marlin 1895 with hot loads.

An Ex buddy's 12 Ga. 3" mag slugs

Next in line is my Kel-Tec fold up Backpacking 223
it is like a knife is cutting you.
Not pleasant at all.

I do not mind heavy recoil it just needs to be distributed properly for me.

Two come to mind, A Fox SXS in 16g first time duck hunting, had "chopper" mitts on, touched off both triggers/barrels. Went over backwards in the boat.. Did get the duck I was shooting at.. Was black and blue for weeks and did not want to shoot that Fox again. Second is my first deer rifle, a Bishop stocked 98K Mauser in 8X57. Must be the stock fit, but that SOB hurts every time..

M2 HB, but as it was on a tripod it did not hurt.

I have an absolutely beautiful Ruger #1B in 300 Win Mag that I am good for about 6 rounds. It makes me a believer in 243.

Single shot 50 BMG.

.500 A-Square

Ruger M77 paddle stock in .30-06.

Once while using a buddy's Ithaca featherweight, I accidentally scooped up some debit in the barrel.
Upon firing at an incoming mallard the barrel exploded, the recoil was tremendous and i really didn't notice the barrel at first.....my buddy hollered from across the pond "What the hell was that?"

I bought him a new barrel, but got damn lucky nobody was hurt or killed.

A lightweight Win M70 .458 WM that was re-chambered to .458 Lott shooting 550gr Woodleighs, probably didn't weigh more than 7 pounds and with a small footprint that distributed the recoil onto a very small part of the shoulder. Brutal.

I have a CZ 550 I had re-chambered to .458 Lott which is not bad to shoot at all. That Winchester was almost unshootable.

My Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt with 320 gr Keith bullets at 1,200 fps is also a handful and very unpleasant.

This one just needs a bigger Break on the end of it.

My girl friend shoots my AR50 and I think she Orgasms with every shot and she doesn't take recoil very well.

I shot an 50 BMG EDM and it three shots I was done for the day.

Ruger #1 in 416 Remington Mag, no recoil pad to speak of. Open sights made the rifle even lighter. I believe we were shooting 350 gr factory loads.

Still much more manageable than the 460 Wby Mag somebody mentioned.

A double barrel 10ga. For me. I know my dad's vote would be his 30.06. He made the mistake of backing up his shoulder with a nearby tree once. (Only once!) That kind of mistake hurts for a long time. He said it was worse than when a mule kicked him. Blinding pain, and he saw colors he had no names for.

Rifle - 30-378 Weatherby Sako TRG-S
Pistol- Freedom Arms 454 Casull (300 gr full house)
Shotgun- Mossberg Pump 3.5" 4 shot

22 LR suppressed.

Clark

For me it was a 458 Win Mag. Felt the back of my thumb brush my nose so I got pretty lucky and am very thankful it didn't have a scope!!

H&R single shot with 3.5 12 ga. 2 oz. once was enough. As said, nearly broke my finger in the trigger guard not to mention collar bone. Close second is same frame with a 45-70 barrel, 405 at 1600. .35 Whelen in a different H&R kicks like mad.

Once I loaded 120 gr. FF and a 505 minie in a Zouave "just to see". Don't.

As for things that shouldn't, a Savage 99 in .300 with that steel butt plate kicks way over it's weight.

Look up the stories of 4 bore and specially 2 bore guns.

Had the opportunity to shoot a .416 double, nore of a push, and a beuatiful .460 LH Weatherby, I fell instantly in love.

The hardest to control gun I ever shot was a german Weatherby Mark five in .378 with lighter 24" barrel. with factory loads it jumped to 11 o clock fast!!!!

I also owned a Savage single barrel 10 ga. I used turkey hunting. I took the 2 lbs of steel out of the butt to make it easier to carry. Gun had a 36" barrel , but with 2 1/2 oz handloads would still raise the muzzle a lot and bury the hammer in the web of my hand!!!!!!!

Yep tried to sight in a turkey scope with that combination. The third shot I didn't have the butt fully into my shoulder, painful. Had a bruise around my upper arm and shoulder about 7" in diameter. What's really stupid is that I fired that combo 2 more times to zero the scope. Won't ever do that again.

Yes sir - first time I shot my Winchester NWTF pump with a 3 in turkey load I had to pry my thumb out of my eye socket and wrap the shoulder - to say I was surprised is quite the understatement. Next was a single shot NEF 20ga with a 3 inch that I was getting for my son - we passed on that pretty quick.

H&R handi rifle in 45-70 with stout 440gr handloads going 1700fps.

Gun must have only weighed 5 lbs with a plastic stock, made my 458 mag seem fun.

Winchester 1300, rifled barrel, with 1 1/4 ounce Remington Buck Hammer slugs off the bench. I thought that I had dislocated my corneas or something, but it just turned out that my glasses (as well as everything within a three-foot radius) were covered with snot. Through the ringing in my ears, I thought that someone was standing behind me, applauding, but that turned out to be the sound of my right shoulder blade meeting my left shoulder blade in the middle of my back.

835 Mossberg with 3 1/2" turkey load. Shot it once and sold it.

Rifle - Savage 110 .338
Shotgun - Ithaca 12ga Slug gun with Litefield Standard velocity slug. I can only imagine the 3 inch. Picked up the low recoil ammo and use my 1187 now.
Revolver - Charter Arms .357 snubbie. One shot with this one..it is safer in front of it than shooting it with magnums.

A great deal of it is in the stock. Years past a lot of rifles were made with Monte Carlo stocks. The worst dang stock design I can think of. Damn things bust you in the chops.

My Stevens double barrel 12, both barrels go off sometimes. It's OK, when you cut them loose in purpose, hell when you don't.

In long guns, the .450 Marlin and .330 Dakota are about on par. In handguns, the worst was the S&W 329 PD with full house, heavy for caliber, hard cast lead, .44 Magnum loads. Fired six rounds and it gave me a hairline fracture of a wrist bone that took a year to fully recover from.

6-1/2 lb short barrel Mauser in a fibreglass stock, chambered in 458 Win - from the bench, it hurt so bad that I thought I did something wrong. Yep, I shot it a second time and it hurt even worse.

An 870 twelve gauge with the short barrel and folding wire stock, darned thing brought tears to my eyes, still does just thinking about it.

Savage 99 in 308, surprising how often it has come up in this thread. I used one for a lot of years as my only big-game rifle and I developed a flinch that took a long time to get over.

I now shoot 223's and my big-game rifle is 243.

drover

I've shot a lot of old single barrels that were never designed to be fired with today's high velocity loads and with stock that were designed for sooting 2 !/2 inch 410. They all hurt but none to the point that I remember it distinctly.
I shot an 8 ga double rifle from a bench rest and got moved around a lot. I thought i'd been knocked out because the cloud of black powder smoke blotted out the lights in the indoor range I was shooting in. Impressive but the pain level was manageable. The one that hurt was a Westley Richards Bolt action in 425 WR. If I had another round of ammo I would not have fired it. It was fast recoil from a rifle with a beautiful old classic stock with a small sharp butt plate I think made of steel. There is a reason they don't build rifles like that any more. I think I forgot to stand up after the shot and my brother kept asking me if I was alright. I've never been hit by a hammer on the ball of the shoulder, but that would probably come close to describing it.

Buddy has a custom Ruger #1 in .460 Lott. It's Fuggin BRUTAL !

My own RUGER #3 in 45-70 with Ruger ONLY handloads.

About 40 yrs ago my buddy bought a Browning Safari 458, man it was a pretty gun. We went on Sun. to try it out we both shot 1 rd apiece and he took it back Mon.and sold it.

Shot 460 Weatherby once, figured I could shoot it about 4 or 5 times standing before it began to be painful, ten pound rifle with scope.

Shot 45 Colt derringer once, felt like a firecracker going off in your hand.

Most painful was a CVA Kentucky rifle a buddy had built about 40 years ago.
He read you couldn't over load them, the excess power would just go out the bArrel, so he wanted to shoot it with 240 grains of powder. Like a dumbazz I told him if he shot it and it didn't blow up, I'd shoot it.
That curved brass butt plate really hurt, turned my shoulder black and blue.
We only did that once.

I haven't read the whole thread (lazy, among my other faults too numerous to mention), but I assume that someone has upheld the honor of real men everywhere by declaring all who offer experiences to be pussified wimps who should find another line of work.

A little Stevens break open 20 gauge that was jointly my brothers and my first gun when I was about 9 years old. I shot it after I became an adult and it was and still is the worst recoiling firearm I ever shot. Short stock and weighed very little. In addition to kicking your shoulder without mercy it would jump up and hit you in the face.

I shot one of those that was owned by Abie DuPlooy and had been re-chambered to .458 Watts which is basically the same as a Lott. My reaction was about the same as yours. Those are very hard kicking rifles.

Benelli Supernova with a 3.5" turkey load, everytime it goes bang I say " this is just stupid".

Worst felt recoil has to be a Winchester M70 "Ranger" in 30/06...belonged to a buddy of mine. He told me how miserable it was to shoot and I didn't believe him, he was right. No way a 30/06 should pound you like that, but it did.

I got the notion that I just had to have a Benelli SBE2 for a turkey gun. I knew a 3 1/2 inch 12 guage turkey load would have a bunch of recoil, but I figured the semi auto would soften the recoil enough that it wouldn't be bothersome. It was very noticeable, not the worst I've ever shot, but much more so than I was accustomed to. I hunted with it 3 years, and that was enough. A good 3 inch gun, with the right choke, and the right shell will kill just as good as a 3 1/2. I've even started shooting a 20 guage for turkey, and have killed every one I've shot at. No need to be punished when you don't have to be.

The NEF 12 gauge with the fully rifled barrel 3 inch slugs most recoil.

The marlin guide gun with max loads and 400 grain bullets is in second place it's sighted with no more than 2 rounds from the bench.

Most damage I have received from recoil was shooting my .325 WSM left handed; moving to get a right hand shot would have spooked the deer, cut the bridge of my nose and left a wee bump for a couple of weeks. Luckily it was cold enough the blood froze before it made a mess of anything.

Mossberg 835 shooting Winchester HV 3.5" turkey loads. I traded it off and went to a 20 gauge.

Exact same thing happened to me, BIL gave me a little single shot 20 guage, Iver Johnson or some such, I shot the dang thing 3 or 4 times and give it up as a bad job. Actually brought tears to my eyes and bruised my cheekbone right smartly, I gave it away some years later. Worst recoil I have endured and I have shot quite a few.

Running a close second was the Reminton 721 in .270, got it new for my birthday when I was 12 or so. That thing was just brutal, I never shot it much at all. Still have it, took it out and shot it a little a couple of years ago, yup, still brutal.

Worst one I have ever fired was a Ruger #1 in 458 win mag. Shot it off the bench. BIG mistake! Standing was not as bad but we were trying to zero in the Leupold on it so we tried it off the bench.

A friend of mine had one of those double barrel coach guns. 12 gauge, short and light, butt stock with lots of drop, hard buttplate and narrow comb. A couple of turkey magnums through that thing was enough for me.

A more recent example was one of those light crack barrel single shots in 35 Whelen, with heavy load Buffalo Bore cartridges being the round of choice.

+1 on .300 Weatherby Magnum, that rifle just plain kicked hard and I was used to shooting my .338 Winchester Magnum with 275gr. handloads.

Mossberg 835 12 gauge with 3 1/2'' turkey loads....fired it twice and it was
GONE!!!!!!!!!!

Wife still laughs her ass off if that subject comes up.......my shoulder still hurts.

I thought I knew what recoil was, and then I fired my 500 Jeffrey from the bench. My starting loads were 100 gr of H-110 under a 600 gr cast bullet and they clocked 2200 fps. It was a moving experience. I had to re-set my sandbags after every shot as they’d be knocked off the shooting bench. I have yet to work up full patch loads, though a proper stock might make the rifle semi tolerable.

The most painful gun I’ve ever fired is the S&W 340. Sure, it’s “only” a .357 magnum, but the felt recoil with magnum loads is on par with laying your hand open on a bench and beating it with a 16 oz ball peen hammer.

4 bore.

This was the hardest kicking gun I ever shot. I made this about 15 years ago. This guy is firing it with a light load of powder. (And no... I am not kidding)

2 bore.
I made this one for a man in Illinois a few year back, but I didn't fire it from my shoulder. If you have the same velocity and you double the bullet weight you quadrupedal the recoil. Knowing that fact I thought I'd be better off not sighting in the 2 bore. I'll make it, but I won't shoot it. I only test fire the barrel and that's done with it ties to a tractor tire.

My single shot 50 BMG will shake your fillings loose but the recoil is not worse than a 12 ha with slugs.

Beretta 1201FP with 3" 00Buck

Aluminum ramrod out of a 50 cal muzzle loader with 300gr cast bullets and 120gr of pyrodex. The ramrod hit the 50yd target,don't know where the bullet landed. Flipped me over backwards in my chair at the bench. This wasn't planned.

Without a shadow of a doubt a .416 Remington Magnum in a Remington 700. I've fired All sort's of 458's, 416's, .375's but that Remington was brutal. The stock was all wrong. Close second is my Remington 870 Super Mag with 3.5" Heavy Shot loads. I fire about 3 rounds per season. 2 to check the pattern and 1 to down a turkey. Knocks em down like they got hit by a truck.

Rem 700s in 06 kick half again as much as they should.

The 700 plastic 300 RUM is unfun with the factory POS recoil pad.

Oh crap that is funny. Thanks.

Yeah, the big kickers are manageable if you're standing, but from a bench they are brutal. I remember sighting in my .330 Dakota (now sold off), and I recall it bringing tears from time to time during the process.

A Browning BPS with 3" turkey loads or 2-3/4" sabotage slugs in a rifled barrel is a beast from a bench.
My Rem. Model 7 carbine in .350 Rem. Mag. with 200 gr. loads has less felt recoil than most 30-06 165 or 180 gr. loads that I have shot. The Model 7 has a well-designed stock.

3.5" Tukey load.

savage 340 in 30-30. that particular gun just rang my bell every time i shot it. if i emptied a mag on the bench my nose would be bleeding when done. i always wondered if some how the bore was undersized. i have had probably 10 of the same model and chambering since and none came close to that one. traded it for a lyman tumbler. still have the tumbler 30 years later.
second was a sxs 12 with 3inch mag loads i inadvertently touched off both BBL's at the same time.

Funny that lots of people mention the 3.5" loads as being such high recoil loads.

The thing is, you actually get very little real world difference in a 3.5" load, and a 3" load. But it does kick more.

Certainly not enough difference to justify the recoil.

Today I took one shot from a bench with my Benelli SBE, stuffed with a 3.5" COCKKNOCKER of some sort. Blended 5,6 and 7 shot with "goldish" colored hull.

Yup, one shot. Fugg that, it'll work fine.

Two of you said that. I never noticed it with my brothers or buds gun.

The worst thing I ever shot was a T/C Contender handgun in 45-70. It ripped the webbing between my thumb and hand and gave me a blood blister on one of my knuckles after 1 shot. All I know is that the bullet went West.

I think it has to do with the stock design on the rifle. My .243 is perfect.

But, after sighting in that .308, I sold it. Shot about a box of shells in one sitting, and I literally thought I was gonna puke.

Like many others here. Mossburg 500, synthetic stock and some sort of 3.5 Turkey load. Much worse than my 300 Bee or a buddies 458 Win Mag.

A friend that has shot his share of elephants let my son and I shoot his lwt. 458 lott, yikes that was tuff.....

Ya know, 99s must fit me pretty well because I've shot both a 300sav and 308 in the same session as a 94 Winchester 30-30. I found that light Winchester to be worse than both of the "big" guns. And not by a small margin.

Though my dad hates the recoil from that same 308 worse than his h&r 30-06. The 30-06 is still better than the 30-30.

+1 to the nagant carbines

I'm helping a fellow work up loads for a his 8.5 pound 460 Van Horn. It ain't pleasant.

My 2 308's kick worse than a savage chambered in 338 lupua.

Other than being way to noisy,it was fun to shoot.

My first 458 lott weighed just over 8#'s and wasn't terribly pleasant to shoot even with the ported barrel. The second one was built using a Ruger #1 takeoff truck axle barrel and finished up right around 10#'s. It was much more manageable to shoot.

The .460 Van Horn is the .378/.460 Wby shortened,correct?

Sounds like you found your new jackrabbit rifle!

Could be.

Ha. My cousins old Stevens Double 12 deer ahead of hounds gun did thst too.

that's good to know!

Worst is Moss 835 with 3.5 turkey loads. Next was an old 30-06 Mossberg bolt gun. Third is my Win.#94, 32 special. Funny, last year I sighted in a .300 Wby. mag. Thought it was light kicker.

My 870 with 3" turkey loads. Most painful at the bench is my 760 30-06.

Rem 600 in 308 Win shooting 165gr heavy loads. Rifle has only a plastic butt plate and is darn light little gun.

I'm loading up some 125 gr "reduced recoil" ammo to if I can enjoy this little rifle a bit more. Should about like a .243 Win in the load I'm planning.

Then again, it might have been my 870 pump in 12 gauge. Was going turkey hunting for the first time and bought some brand of "Turkey Utra-Mag High Brass Double Express Anti-Aircraft" shells. DAMN! Knocked my hat off and almost lost my glasses.

Gave the remaining 9 shells to a buddy.

A Dakota 76 in .458 Lott and a Winchester 1300 Defender 12ga./3" chambered 18-1/2" barrel with 1.5oz. slug. Ouch!!

This^^^. Win ss mod 37 12 ga full choke was no fun for a 9 yo shooting high base 6s for squirrels.

Made the mistake of firing a slug out the bottom barrel of a G 1V english straight grip ltwt 20 ga once years ago. Had to stop doing pushups for 3 mo. I cant imagine it didnt break at the grip.

Cousin had SShot 12 ga HanH or some crap with the side lever. First shot wasnt too bad as it only got hide, second got meat, third got into the bone at the base of the index finger joint.

Thinking my uncle must have gotten it real cheap.

Weatherby 30-378 with no brake.

TC Contender 375JDJ handgun.

A Stevens single shot 20 gauge. For a smallish 9 year old, that thing with high brass shells was an absolute terror. I had to really enjoy squirrel hunting to put up with that thing.

Weatherby mark V in 300 weatherby mag with the pencil barrel. Abusive rifle.

Weatherby 460 ultra lite.

Ruger #3 in .45-70. If I remember right, the handload pushed a 400 grain Speer bullet to 2178 fps from that 6 pound rifle.

Tom

I carry a S&W 360PD in 357mag when I walk the dogs in the mountains. I avoid shooting it because it is literally painful. I guess the snap of a 357 is too much for the 12 ounce weight. Interestingly I also have the 329PD in 44mag, and it is not as bad.

Yes it is. The young man who owns it is an assistant guide and wanted an open sighted thumper for a bear stopper. This one ought to do the trick.

I had a plastic Wby 300 mag ltwt with thin grooved barrel and Monte Carlo. It had a good pad and I had no problems with it.

That dayom Rem 300 RUM was dis-enjoyable to shoot with 150s, miserable with 180s. Dayom but it would group them. 3/4 inch gun with 150s or 180s. It shot better than the WBY. Got a freaking semi-expensive REM after market recoil pad and it was mobetter.

Now why the hell they couldnt put a decent pad on that kicking sob from the get go?

Bob Hagel did an article on the .460 VH in either Handloader or Rifle magazine some years ago.

Should do the job on bears.

I had two .308's, one a Savage 99 and the other a Parker Hale. The Parker Hale was a p ussy cat, but the 99 recoil was worse than a friend's 7mm Remington Magnum.

The 99 is now a .243 and because I wanted one, the Parker Hale became a .257 Roberts.

The 99 has almost zero recoil now.

Another cousin had something like that with a brown plastic stock. May have been a savage. That sucker was savage, all right.

If you ask my son...when he was about 5 he shot my browning buckmark, cozy'ed right up the the rear sight and at the shot he caught the slide right on the tip of the nose...took him a while before he wanted to shoot again....but nowdays he's quite the killer...

my uncles 10 gauge double barrel - first time I shot it I pulled both triggers at once - knocked a goose down at close to 100 yards though - set our skull boat back some too...

first time I shot my newly acquired 348/450 in a model 71 with the short stock and the steel butt plate I almost broke my nose with my thumb...

Ruger #1 .458 Open Sights Winchester 500gr Factory Loads

When I was much younger and dumber? On a bet
I shot a rifle silhouette match with it.

Actually hit 9 targets, when I finished I was bruised and the skin had started to split on my shoulder.

That steak dinner sure tasted good.

Flyer

The guy who taught me how to reload had a few kickers to reload for a couple of his customers. The instruction I got on how to reload was free, but i "got" to do the sighting-in.....

He had me shooting all sorts of stuff up to the 375 H&H and 458 Win which i thought were the "King Kong" cartridges of the world. Then i shot a 404 Jeff for someone going on a safari. That lit me up pretty good. I don't remember the rifle brand, but it punched hard.

He had me shoot some loads out of his personal rifle for a moose hunt he had planned. His rifle was a 338 Win mag in a Ruger 77. He gave me the box of cartridges with a smile. I suspected nothing.

I loaded some cartridges in the mag and touched the first one off. I instantly saw stars. My trigger finger felt smashed and i immediately checked around my eye for blood convinced i was "scope-eyed". The old man was chuckling. I finished off the few rounds in the mag and that was all i could take. I was shoulder-bruised for days and trigger finger was black and blue from the trigger guard.

All my shooting for him was from the bench so i got the full "brunt of it".... Incidentally, the old man had bursitis in his shoulder which i then understood the cause...

Boat paddle Ruger 7 mag left a mark on my buddy's arm visible to this day. Damn gun didn't like any load, and after we both shot it a bit we were walking aimlessly like we had been involved in a train wreck.

Also had a Franchi Lightweight AL 12 gauge that must have been crossed with a angry Clydesdale.

Both brought the most joy the day they sold.

16 lb 600 NitroExpress. 900 grain Woodleigh @ 2000fps. Absolutely brutal to me.

Rugers sound like they are the weiner.

That and Remmeys in the rifle realm.

I have a 99A straight stock carbine in .243 that will have you questioning the whole "light recoil" theory after 4 or 5 rounds.

But, as many have already pointed out any of the 3.5" turkey loads are just plain brutal.

When I was about 12 a guy at the local gravel pit talked me into firing his LW .300 Weatherby from prone. That still stands.
A 12 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer shooting slugs would take second.

Boat paddle stock Ruger 77 in .338. Worse than a .378 Wby or a .505 Gibbs.

I had a poorly stocked .308 that kicked like a regular SOB too.

This^^^. The 3.5 hasnt added a half inch of meat more to the 2 3/4 or 3 inch pile.

My M70- super-grade .458win 500gn factory, open sights off the bench,
with an old hard factory pad and just a t-shirt...one curiosity purchase rifle
that didn't take long to find a new home...

next was FA .454casull with heavy compressed loads...but i enjoyed it.

I had a Colt 12 ga.pump action shotgun with an aluminum receiver. With 3 inch shell that thing kick like a mule.

yeap 835 with 3.5in turkey load or maybe it was the 3.5in slugs I had FOR [bleep] AND GRINS for the the tough teens. (my son and his friends )

as far as what should not have "kicked" was marlin mr-7 in 25-06 that [bleep] for what it was was awful

In 1976 the Remington 600 in 350 Rem Mag. I was 16 and shot that rifle from a prone position, over an ammo can. Got a little too close to the scope. It made an impression that I never forgot. Looking real close, you can still see it...

Several come to mind:
1) Ithaca 500 o/u and a BPS Upland Special with 3" 4Buck off a bench to test the pattern.

2) An early LH Rem 700 FS in 338 mag with no scope so about 6.5 pounds.

3) LH Win 70 458 Lott with no scope off the bench.

4) Weatherby 460 with no scope, luckily off hand.

All got my attention and we're not forgotten.

Dean

Hmmmm. Probably my Garcia Bronco .410. Not the heaviest, but most unpleasant.

Used to have a Browning BPS 10 ga. and touched off a 3 1/2" turkey load with 2 1/2 oz. of shot one time...and once was enough. I knew it wasn't needed to kill a turkey, but was curious just how much it kicked. A lot. Was glad I took the shot standing and not from the normal seated position used when turkey hunting.

I once shot a Contender in .35 Remington, loaded with a cast 250gr. bullet, supposedly 2 grains heavier than recommended powder charge.

It kicked so hard I didn't believe it, and had to shoot it again.

That, and another Contender in .357 Maximum ruined it for me. I wouldn't own a Contender on a bet. I revile them.

As far as long guns go, the most memorable was a Weatherby in .378, with a brake. It seemed like a 12 gauge slug gun to me, tolerable, but not enjoyable.
I once had a 600 Remington in .308 that wasn't fun, either.
I don't like recoil any more, I can only take about 12 rounds of .454 and I get headaches and flinch pretty bad.

Now I shoot stuff like .17 and .22 Hornets and call it good. Shooting is fun again!

Hardest kicker was a 18.5" barreled 835 with 3.5" turkey loads. Two was all I wanted to handle.

In my view out of certain guns the same could be said for jumping up from 2 3/4" to 3". Get a turkey in range and he's not going to like a concentrated 2 3/4" load one bit. Heck I killed 1 once stone cold dead with 7 1/2 shot out of a 20 gauge. Granted it's not what I was hunting for at the time and not what I'd of left with if I was, but it killed it dead outright.

I've never understood why someone would let a kid shoot a gun that hurts a man. Any joke that hurts someone just ain't funny.
Scope bites, and torn flesh are just about as funny as an adult arm wrestling a kid and breaking bones.
I'd toss anyone playing those kind of games out of camp. A large part of hunting, is passing on the knowledge and skills. Why would any kid come back to the sport after that? Damage a kid's growing shoulder for a laugh? Not my kind of humor.
I've introduced my kids, and a few neighbor's kids into hunting. Apprenticed 2 and ran them through the hunter safety course as well. The idea of knocking any on them on thier azzes for a laugh, just doesn't seem funny. Just my opinion, YMMV.

drop at heel on that thing is HUGE!

100% agree. 22's, 17's 222's and the like. Get em to ignore the pop of the rifle and learn to shoot first, they will learn to ignore the kick later. Start them out with the kick and live with the consequences.

#1 spot goes to a 6lb H&R 12ga. Single shot, 3 1/2"er. I was squatting over a rain puddle and going to pattern it at 40 yds. The vicious little thing left a baseball-sized bruise on my shoulder and dumped my a-- into the water. I deserved that for thinking it was a good idea.

#2 was the famous Browning Stainless Stalker in 338 Win with a butt plate surface area just greater than that of a wedge. We named it the Flying Wedge.

#3 was a Rifles Inc 458 Lott with 500's.

All three made me apppreciate that famous philosopher Mike Tyson's quip : "everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth."

First one was an early 80's Model 70 in 30'06 ,hardest kicking rifle I ever owned. Sold it a week after I got it.
Second was a Franchi AL48 with slugs,god that thing just plain hurt

I had a Rem. Model 7 in .308 that would darn near make me cry!

Couldn't agree more.

Lol. Never figured Tyson for the brightest tool in the shed but he's spot on with that one.

1895 18" 45/70 P+ loads......wasn't pretty.....3 or shot and I called'r done.

winchester 94 black shadow in 444 , it sits in my safe with 11 total rounds fired.

My worst kicking rifle would be boat paddle Ruger in 300 Winchester. I put it in an HS Precision stock and it was a lot more fun to shoot. The worst kick I have ever received from a firearm was from a H&R single shot 3 inch mag 12 ga. Looking back on it, I find it hard to believe I shot that thing voluntarily.

I worked at a rifle range many moons ago, and shot a .600 Nitro Express for a guy headed to Africa. I was damned lucky I didn't drop the thing when it went off. Man, that thing was brutal.

.416 Rigby

I got a Ruger RSM in 458 Lott. It's stout.

A Guild gun M98 Mauser in 8mm I used to own. Narrow horn but plate, way to much drop in the stock. Bloody noses and a bruise was guaranteed. And yes I have shot a lot of the big stuff

Remington 7400 chambered .270Win. Sighted it in for my dad. Three 3 round groups. I had a head ache for the rest of the afternoon. Have since benched multiple 7RM's, .30-06's, .300 WM's and .375H&H's in bolt rifles that did not hurt me like the 7400 in .270...

3.5" Magnum 00 out of a Browning Citori.

3.5" turkey loads in my Mossberg pump. That gun is too light, and the stock puts the recoil on my cheek. I also have a light 458 Win Mag, but it fits me better.

H&R single shot 10 gauge

Some of those 12 ga. turkey loads are brutal. Fired a couple of those out of an old 12 ga. break open my buddy picked up at a garage sale over 20 years ago. Also got to put a few rounds through an AR-50 bolt action in 50 BMG about 1999 or so at my local range. I thought that thing was gonna kick the snot out of me...... But it wasn't bad at all..... Then I found out why;.... It weighed 30-something pounds.

Kinda skimmed through so may have missed it, surprised the old M-79 hasn't been mentioned.

With all the references to these H&R single-shot 12's, i'm remembering the one i have.

Admittedly, i've only shot 2 3/4" out of it.

That little bugger seemed just a bit light to be shooting 3" loads even though it's chambered for 'em. The 2 3/4" seemed to give plenty of "feedback".

3" loads in that thing?!!? No thanks!!!

Ruger revolver in .44 mag.
I am 6-3 and 225 and thought I was a tough guy. Shot that damn pistol three times and handed it back to the owner.

Damn! Guess I am a wimp I will stick with the .38 Special or the 9mm Beretta.

LCR 327 mag has quite a bit of recoil, maybe I'm just getting old and weak.

My Marlin 45/70 I just shoot off hand, so it's not bad.
Only other one I have is a 45/70 Sharps that after 20 or so hurts.
I just going to have to stand using sticks on that one in the future.
I have got that OK'd at the club range.

Got one of those in a 16 gauge that I had since I was a kid. Other than the obvious disadvantages of a single shot, I always liked that gun. Best of both worlds in my opinion. Always seemed to kill like a 12 gauge but doesn't come close to kicking like one.

My 12 ga 870 mag used to beat me up a bit with 3 in loads, and an old Parker Hale in 7 Rem mag was a bit sharp on the shoulder.

But sharp recoiling handguns are the ones which bust my threshold of pain.

Taurus Tracker Titanium in 41 mag is a sweetheart with 170's at 750 fps. 210's or 250's pushing 1400 fps hurt. But I had to try them.

Actually a Glock in any cartridge including 9mm feels like a ball peen hammer slamming right into my arthritic base thumb joint.

.303 LE MkV Jungle Carbine

Having worked in a gunshop for over 34 years, I have owned or still own about everything above mentioned. The 600 350mag has a strange kick that causes bone pain. Sort of like a tuning fork running through your body. But for shear punch a Mossberg 835 with 3.5" 2 1/4oz loads holds the title over 416 Rigbys, 458 Wm and a light weight Ruger No 3 in 45-70 with hot loads. I have not gotten an opportunity to fire a 600 Nitro or 755 Tyrannosaurus nor do I want to just to say I have.

For sure a single shot H&R, shooting a 3 1/2" turkey load. Rough but doable.

Wow, a double winner: a kicker and ugly as a mud fence.

In my case, it's all relative to age and size:

8th birthday - my grandfather's Ithaca 12ga SxS with exposed hammers. It had a malfunctioning trigger group that most of the time fired both barrels if you pulled the front trigger - which was required to prove your manhood! Steel butt plate and cracked grip probably added to the pain. It was a family rite of passage and all the grandsons had to do it. Not sure whether the hype from my older cousins on the run-up to it or the actual shot was worse. Without an adult behind us, the shot probably would have put us on the ground. No doubt would be classed as child abuse today...

My cousin has a sporterized winchester 1917 that has a bishop stock and was rebarreled and smithed to a 358 norma magnum. The stock was too long so he had the smith remove the recoil pad and fit a steel buttplate from a pre-64 model 70. That thing is God awful brutal. Shot it once and handed it back to him. It is still his go to rifle for about everything he hunts. It makes my Marlin guide gun 45/70 with stout Buffalo Bore loads seem mild.

+1

If I shot something that kicked when I was younger I did it with full knowledge ......

There was always a few %^% holes around that thought it was funny . It was always more then appropriate to put them in their place as I got older. Respect garners respect, some of them did not deserve respect.

F

A vanilla 458 Win. wouldn't do the job?

My buddy's single shot 10 ga was not fun to shoot.

I have a Marlin 1895 GBL 45/70 that, with my (technically over-max) handload of H322 with a huge chunk of lead, is no fun.

No fun at all.

I've seen several instances of such at our local range with both young kids and accompanying girl friends. I'm old enough now, that I'm going to start getting into the middle of those instances.

Also, I agree on the hot rodded 45-70 Guide guns. There is no need to do that, and I'm looking for someone to take on the remaining 85 rounds I've got loaded up.

I hadded a tauraus 450ti 2" titanium 45lc+P rated pistol that weighed 19oz. A 329pd weighs 28oz for comparison. I could never fire more than 3 365gr pills for the Lee factory crimp was not enough to keep from pulling the bullets enough to lock it up.

That gun was unreal when loaded with big heavies.

this .45-70 is my worst kicker, and I have a Mossberg 835 turkey gun and a sub 8# .375 RUM.

Pound for pound its my Ruger 44 mag carbine. Not my biggest kicker but its the most uncomfortable to shoot.

Rem M870 3 1/2"... Gotta close my eyes when I test one to ensure my retinas stay in place...

Savage 210 bolt action slug gun with 3" partition gold slugs.
Only time I ever actually felt recoil while hunting.

505 Gibbs. Don't do it.

Winchester Model 12 in 12 gauge, full choke. Sitting on the ground it'll lift your feet off the ground

I just hate practical jokes that embarrass folks, usually.

Mossberg 500 with 3" magnum slugs.
S&W scandium 44 mag.

Toss-up between a Browning B78 .45/70 with the tomahawk buttplate and an Ithaca Super Single slug gun.

Honorable mention goes to my uncle's 20" Deerslayer. Recoil was manageable, but the K4 in pivot mounts scarred many unwary folks who just had to try out that newfangled scoped shotgun.

I did not read the whole thread..

Have a light 10 ga single shot, lighter than NEF but not sure of the maker anymore... with heavy turkey loads it still wasn't bad at all.

Wife and I have shot all the way up to 460 wtby.

To this day the horror remains a 378 wtby a friend had.

It doesn't fit the OP question really, as the recoil was manageable totally BUT it hit you so quickly it was brutal there... slow those foot pounds down just a bit and it might be ok.

Broke my buddies shooting glasses in half on the first shot when it shoved something into them, likely his thumb...

I"ve had others that kicked like a mule, a buddies Rem 78 in 06. I"d rather shoot my MK5 300 wtby, both without brakes..

Another vote from here!

Not the hardest kicking gun I ever shot but one that kicked all out of proportion to what it should have was a Remington 700 ADL wood stock in .270. It just hurt. It didn't wallop you, it just was painful to shoot.

.577 Nitro Express. It was a lovely gun, and a privilege to shoot it.

If an elephant was charging me, and the rifle was laying in front of me, I'd have to think about it....

My 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun with 400 grain bullet at 1800 fps, kicks like an angry woman.

The question immediately comes to mind: "Why do you even have that thing?"

Maybe not the worst but I sure remember it. The first centerfire rifle I ever shot; an 03-A3, 30-06 with 220 gr bullets from prone position when I was 12 years old.

I was going to say that. I saw a used one in a gun store. The clerk said that he would throw in a box of shells with 19 unfired shells in it.

Yes


Mike

Mossberg 835 3 1/2" loads will get your attention

I can think of a couple:

1) My cousin's Hawken 50 caliber with the brass butt plate

2) NEF single shot 20 gauge with slugs

3) My friend's 350 Grizzly (basically a 300 Winchester Magnum necked with a 40 degree shoulder)

4) Any Ruger centerfire for me. Their stocks are painful.

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.

Rifles, I had a Winchester 70 SS .375 H&H that would make my eyes water. Traded it for a one pound lighter Rem 700 SS in 375 H&H and it hurt slightly less. Guess it fit me better, but got rid of it too. Strangely, I had a Win 70 .338 prior to that and the recoil bothered me none.

Shotguns, I've shot hundreds and hundreds of 12 gauge slugs thru everything form lightweight single shots to my 870 pump, but they didn't hold a candle to a 10 gauge 36" barrel H&R single shot that I owned briefly. Ran a box of 3 1/2" magnums and one box of slugs through it. Always had wanted a 10 gauge.. til I tried one. And I really wanted to shoot one deer with it, but with 2 1/2 foot groups at 50 yards, it wasn't going to happen. (And I wasn't flinching when I shot that group.)

Worst of the worst, a S&W scandium 360 using .357 magnums. Closest sensation I imagine would be holding out your hand and letting someone smack you as hard as possible with a ping pong paddle. After a little experience, I'd wrap my thumb in black electric tape prior to firing because on the first shot the cylinder latch would remove a chunk of skin from the inside of my thumb! Sold it. After 12 years, I recently bought a scandium 340. 11.5 ounces. Really wanted a snubby revolver again, but didn't want any more weight than necessary. Haven't had time to shoot it yet, but will probably stick to .38's when I do.

Rynite stocked contender in 45-70.
Literally knocks the spit across your face.

Long ago, in a place far away,...made up some dies to reload original pull down brass, revamped the cases for regular primers, and lathe turned some bullets.

......wasn't bad standing off a platform,.... but the first shot with it was foolishly fired from the prone,...

.....ouch ?

GTC

9.3x64mm Brenneke in a 7 1/2# rifle. Never sure whether the shoulder or jaw hurt worse.

I'm limited to about 8 rounds off the bench with my #1 .45-70 with 405's @ 1750fps, but it's not terrible off hand (that said, I'll probably never load all the way to the 2100fps that it's capable of).

I was at the range one day, just me and a guy down at the other end. He was shooting a Titanium Smith .38. I was monkeying with my chrony and some rifle loads. He walked down and asked if I could shoot his pistol over my chrony. Sure. IIRC, it was Speer factory 135 +P. When it went off, I darn near dropped his gun. 835fps, for those wondering.

A buddy has always had an affinity for his 11-48 Remington 16ga. We were shooting skeet out in a field one day with it and for some reason, every round felt like my face was soaking up every bit of the recoil. After a box of dove loads, I was done. Lots of folks around here still love 11-48's, someday I'll have to ask why.

Bro-in-Law's 870 Supermag with 3-1/2" Hevi Shot Loads give a pretty good shove. First time I ever shot it, I shot it kneeling, it spun me half around. Despite the shove, it doesn't really hurt (though I'm sure it would after a box of shells). The stock fits me pretty well and it has a nice, big, soft, recoil pad. It will also hammer turkeys at stupid ranges.

I figured out a long time ago it's (within reason) all about weight, stock design, and recoil pad. I've shot a buddy's .300 Weatherby with 180's and I was pleasantly surprised. I've shot another buddy's M77 .300 Win Mag that was considerably less comfortable to shoot.

A Nagant model 44 carbine shot from the bench was memorable.

My brother had one like that. IIRC, the 20 gauge recoil was only bad with 3" shells and when you thought you had the selector set for the rimfire barrel.

Reading through some of these, I'm reminded of one I forgot when I did my first post which is my 357 PD with full house .41 mags. Someone said something about getting your hand slapped with a ping pong paddle....yep, that's it.

TC Encore 12ga slug barrel with 3" Breneke Magnum Crush.

a friend's .338 lapua

my own, my 10 gauge with 3 1/2" 2 1/2 oz turkey loads
or my .444 contender

.470 Nitro Express with a steel buttplate. A guy at the range was trying to make 20 empties and asked me to help him at about shot 5. I took my medicine a few times and decided I wanted to keep my retinas attached.

Don't remember exact specs, but that rifle was stupid light for a .470, and the steel buttplate instead of recoil pad sucked big time.

I don't know if he finished making his empties, as it was a weekday and the range was empty-ish.

That rifle was truly brutal.

This is pretty nasty too. 480 Ruger SRH.

Boy, does that bring back some memories. I bought a brand new Remington Model 700, ADL in .270, in probably 1973 or 1974. It was a beautiful gun and I was proud as hell to own it, being only in my early 20s. That SOB was punishing to shoot. Like JB said probably not the hardest kicking gun I ever shot, but it was just miserable. It turned my shoulder black and blue more than once. I ended up selling it. I could never figure out what made it so. Shot lots of .270s in a lot of makes and models, but nothing was as miserable as that 700 ADL.

Awesome!

I have one of these 5 shot 32oz in 44 mag I carry in bear country loaded with 300gr FP or 250gr fmj silhouette bullets. It will numb your hand after about 20 rounds. I will admit I only put a few cylinders through it a year. It is handy to carry though when your tromping around in the mountains, but not my favorite range gun.

A single shot 10ga with turkey loads when I was 14+/-.
Was sitting on a bucket then was lying on the ground. Only shot it once.

Have that same H&R, shot it one morning[turkey hunting] twice as fast as I could reload and squeeze again.
Painful doesn't really describe it.

20GA Mossberg syn stock youth gun with 3" deer slugs - no wonder my son didn't like shooting it! S&W 360 with full house 357 mags - as poster above said, like holding you hand out and someone smacking it with ping pong paddle (I was thinking baseball bat). Double Tap derringer in 45ACP 230gr. Made my hand numb for a couple of days. Two shots was plenty.

Rossi Coach gun exposed hammers, double triggers.
I was calling crows and by the time it was over the trigger guard was full of blood.
The crows flopping around on the ground brought more in, it seemed to infuriate them.
whelennut

870 slug gun , forgot what slugs I was using but they were rough. I've not shot a lot of big rifles but have shot a .577 bp express, a 450/400, a 405 Winchester plus a few othersover .45 cal. but none were as bad as that 870. Have had a couple of double barreled 12 ga guns double on me. That can get your attention too.

Shotguns have been pretty bad, but having shot from a 22 rimfire right up to a 458 win mag, the worst was a Ruger no3 in 45/70 with my heavy loads, beat the crap out of my trigger hand and with that metal buttplate it beat the shoulder pretty good too, seem to have avoided getting a flinch and still enjoy shooting my Sako Finnbear in 375 H&H magnum.

same here my friends model 37 lightweight.......

what is funny reading this is, I wonder how many folks like me are thinking. I've got that rifle just like his and it doesn't kick that bad. Either folks are shooting a completely different load in their gun then I am or their recoil perception is way off. Now granted the perceived recoil I felt shooting a gun when I was 12 and 40 pounds lighter would be different than now that I'm full grown, but some of these I'm thinking how does a person consider the recoil of a (whatever) harsh.

A Handi-Rifle in 45-70. Brutal.

I've thought the same, but you have to consider that a particular stock fits different people a lot differently, and stock fit can be a huge component of recoil perception. I wonter too, if there might not be, in every caliber/gauge a "sweet spot" with regard to projectile weight/speed where recoil might seem worse, either due to actual foot pounds generated or recoil speed. I know that full house 140 grain loads seem, to me, to generate more recoil in my .357's than top end loads in any other weight, above or below that. Just wondering...

Have a Encore with a 405 Win barrel that can be unforgiving off a bench. Only rifle that has given me a cresent cut above the eye, but the deer died anyway . My friends also pass on the Marlin guide gun in 45-70 .

It's good to have smart friends.

Marlin 1895 .45-70 loaded with a 405 hard cast at about 1900-1950 fps. Darn thing rattles my brain with that load.

Have some 300 grain Partitions to try in my .375 H&H that I'm sure will rock me

As far as rifles go, my Remington 600 chambered in .350RM. It's ridiculous. I don't think it's necessarily the caliber, but the lack of weight.

When it comes to shotguns, hands down, my buddies H&R Topper 10 gauge Turkey Gun. It will lay a turkey down at well over 60 yards with pellets to spare. It will also dislocate your shoulder if you aren't paying attention when you squeeze one off.

I've shot a Barrett 50, but it didn't kick as bad as my Steyr 300 WM, then I just put together a 35 Whelen T&C Pro Hunter and it is a little more then my 300 WM.

I had a T&C Pro Hunter pistol in 7-08 and that joker had about 12 inches of muzzle rise!!!

I pulled the trigger once on a .45-70 Contender pistol...loaded with a Buffalo Bore something.

That hurt. Smacked the front of my trigger finger with the guard and cut it.

What hurt more?

.357 Smith Ti-Scan Airweight with full-hot 125 gr. loads. I managed two rounds...and unloaded the remaining three. Apparently I did better than most.

Since breaking my shooting hand forearm (lovely 3-piece butterfly break, both bones) I've become a bit more sensitive. My Smith 69 5-shot is pretty dang stout. I think I need to work a handload of 300gr. bullets at 1,000. That may be the limit anymore. The current loads I have rattle me.

On the rifle front: I'm good for 40 rounds of .375 H&H 300 grains from the bench...but damned if my Merkel 141 in 9.3x74r doesn't rock me. 8# scoped with two 286'ers in the pipes and no recoil pad makes for an interesting day on the bench. And doubling it sent me scrambling for a new set of shooting glasses and a day with a shrink. Rang my bell proper and I packed up and went home.

It's funny, I used to think I wanted a true big bore...I'm pretty damn happy where I'm at anymore.

Shooting 20+ slugs from a Mossberg500 in the probe position. In a t shirt, that's it.

Prone position. Gay autocorrect.

Prone position. Stupid autocorrect.

I have one of those and you are right, it is one nasty bastid on a bench!

I think it might have been the "probe" position that hurt.... Probably wasn't your shoulder that was hurting! ;D

378 Weatherby; fast, hard, wicked SOB.

Never shot a 460, but 458 & all the 416's are pussycats compared to the 378 in the configuration they are sold in.

MM

my perception is about the same on the guide gun, i brought them down to about 1600fps.
the 375 isn't bad to me, more or a push.

I have a 660 in the same caliber. One of the first things i did was get rid of that factory kickpad that after all these years was rock hard.
replaced it with a limbsaver, and it's nothing now.

Miniguns have a fair bit of recoil. More of a shove than a jolt. My main objection however is the noise.

Worst for me was a Ruger No. 1 458 Win Mag a former BIL talked me into shooting. Can't remember if I shot it twice, or just the one round. I shoot No. 1's in 375 H&H and 450/400 NE with no issues but that 458 turned me inside out

R n F

I'm sure you know stock 'fit' has A LOT to do with felt recoil.

A little framing first. The largest (biggest) rifle caliber I've shot is 375 H H in a Rem 700 BDL. Not too bad. I could hunt one if I needed it.

I have had an 8mm RM several yrs. I've hunted and killed deer with it. It's a little sharper than the H H but does NOT punish ME.

However the Rifle & Cartridge that is FAR & AWAY the WORST I've ever shot was.....

Ruger 77 tanger, red pad --------- 338 WM. I'll never have another one of those. Literally it hurt every time I shot it. Enuff - Enuff

Different people. - Different Rifles.


Jerry

Browning BPS stalker 3.5" 12 g with turkey 🦃 loads. Brutal.
They made a 10 as well but it was a wee bit heavier - not pleasant by any stretch, but not nearly as nasty as the 12!

My 5 lb 6 oz Baikal 12 gauge single shot with heavy loads like the 2 3/4 " 1 1/2 oz magnum loads were pretty bad back when we used lead on geese. These days it's noticeable when I shoot buckshot but not too bad with standard 1 1/8 oz lead loads.

As for rifles, firing a friend's Marlin guide gun in 450 Marlin and another 45-70 with hot loaded ammo cured me from wanting either one of those guns.

Ha. That is funny.