For me it would be the 105 Howitzer. There are much larger guns, ship's guns, and such.

What about you folks?

458 Win Mag.....and once was enough!

105mm recoilless rifle.

.500 Nitro express--2 shots.

.458 Winchester magnum--many shots.

5" 50.. Heard the blast, but no recoil. M2 Ma Deuce 50 cal. fun..

.500 A-Square. It was a beast but actually more comfortable than the .460 Weatherby because of the weight and stock design.

.460 Weatherby, two shots.

Forgot the .50 BMG bolt gun.

I actually dry fired a 16" on the USS Missouri, they have the butt handle of a 1911A1 at each of the barrels in the turret, for local fire control. Seats remind me of the old metal John Deere tractor seats.

I’m sorry to say,a 350 rem mag?

50 BMG single shot.

8 inch self propelled.

404 jeffrey

105mm M60A1 main battle tank.

45-70 hot Marlin loads,
338 mag,
150gr powder charged muzzleloader.

None of those were among my worst kickers.

75 mm anti air craft sky sweeper, I was the fire control mechanic on it for 4 years.. loved shooting down drones at the firing range at FT Stuart

Ma Deuce.. Sweeeeeet shooting piece of metal!

3 1/2" 10ga


Mike

3.5" 10ga slug out of a light single shot. Like shooting a bullwhip.

470 Nitro Express and 458 Lott. Lott kicked more.

460 Weatherby......kicks like a mule

338-378, 460 Weatherby, 378 Weatherby wil all get your attention when fired. So will a 45-120 X 3 1/4" Sharps. Fun guns, but not something to shoot all day!

.50 BMG single shot. Recoil isn’t bad, but the concussion is something else.

Rifles: .450 Marlin, .330 Dakota.

Handguns: .500 S&W, .44 Magnum.

8" self propelled.

Ed

.416 Rigby sxs
.458 weatherby. Both at gun club owned by members
Passed on a .50 bmg, I dont know why now

Of things I own 45-70 h&r with middling loads, but did 30 rounds benched; h&r .35 whelen, and 3.5 12 ga 1 7/8 oz hr 45 frame. Once was enough of that put a knot on my shoulder blade and trigger finger, anyone need 9 shells?

Six gauge flintlock shotgun. Bunch of drams of fg and three ounces of shot. Once.

5” 50 on the USS Forrest Sherman (DD 931).

Me too, .458 Winchester model 70 Safari. The worst recoiling gun was an ancient single shot 10 gauge "Long Tom" with a 36" barrel and a red rubber recoil pad that had long since turned into concrete, shooting a Remington 3 1/2 " BB magnum....WOW!

Barrett M82A1 .50 BMG

How bad did they kick?

Ditto.

And spotting for it feels like someone slapped you on the nose a bit. Neat gun.

Also the M2. Also fun.

a short, light 458 lott .......yikes.

Those two rifles kicked pretty bad. I sold both. The .450 Marin to my nephew, who still has it, and the .330 Dakota to someone online.

The .500 S&W wasn't all that bad, since it's a big heavy handgun. The .44 Magnums differ, depending on how light or heavy the gun is, but my 329 PD .44 Magnum kicks so bad you can't really shoot full power loads without damaging your hand. I fractured my wrist firing six rounds of a bear defense load from mine.

Mossberg 835 12 gauge 3 1/2" turkey load with just a t shirt....hurt.... wife laughed so I did it again...hurt more..stopped and sold it......458 win mag in a Ruger #1....once....did not hurt. Not my gun and not my ammo so that was all she wrote.

50 BMG and pretty much all the big calibers down from there.

505 Gibbs improved “the sound of thunder”

333 OKH belted

In the older days it was the 106 .........

Airborne?

The ships gun recoil, the Iowa.

50 caliber M2. Not much recoil but it is loud. I own a 375 H&H and, while not terribly punishing, that is about as much recoil as I want to deal with on a regular basis. I did chip a tooth while shooting it once. My dentist just laughed. He told me that is why he shoots a 30-06. Kind of hard for me to get past the 30-06 as well. I rarely hunt with anything else....

.50 BMG

12 ga 870 magnum with three inch goose loads kicked harder than the 340 Wea MkV deluxe which I fired about two hundred times doing load development ,200 and 250 gr bullets at maximum charge weights, for a (sadistic) friend.

But the 340 had a factory original brake. It saved the shoulder, but I never fired it without good muffs and plugs.

Things that are drop fired:
60mm motar( also can be trigger bar fired with one in the tube)
81mm mortar
4.2inch motar

Direct fire shouder rifle:
Barret. 50

Direct fire tripod mounted:
M2 and Mk19


Shoulder fired rockets:
Law
At4
Smaw-d
M202 flash
M67 90mm RR

Missile systems:
Dragon ATGM
Javelin ATM
Tow2

Things you can get on a radio
mortar systems already mentioned
Bradley's
M1A2,s
105,s
155,s
Apaches.

Worst recoiling military rifle i ever shot
Barret .50 followed by Dragunov SVD

Worst recoiling civilian gun I ever shot
20 ga H&R USH with the 1 pound weight rod in the buttstock removed
Shooting hastings lasar accurate 410 gr discarding sabot slugs.


But this system right here is awesome
Used em mostly on fortified schools house,s in Iraq and fedeyeen tech vehicles with Dshk,s on em in Karbala

Range is further than 2500m.....

All useless skills mostly, from the past.

Any of you shooting the H&R USH in 12 or 20 ga
Dont take that weight rod out of the buttstock.
Just saying.......

Shoulder fired - 8 Bore African Trade gun. 2oz roundball, 210gr Swiss fg, musket cap and a metal buttplate.

Handgun - .375JDJ Contender. 14" barrel and max handloads under a Sierra 300gr SP. Shot that one a lot. Too much, actually, along with a .454 Casull with 300gr handloads. Wound up with ulnar nerve damage. I can't shoot heavy recoiling handguns anymore. even a warm .45 Colt load is uncomfortable.

Ed

3.5" Rocket launcher, AKA a Bazooka in 1969 was probably the biggest. For rifles I've put a few rounds through an AR-50; which is a big 50 BMG bolt gun. Didn't kick that bad, as it weighed about 30 lbs IIRC. Have shot my buddies braked 340 Weatherby a number of times, as I reload for him, and that wasn't bad either. And let's not forget those 3" 12 ga. slugs and turkey loads fired from pump shotguns. I'd rather shoot my buddies 340.

H&R made a 10 ga too.......wicked

I bet it is.

Jack Lott brought his 8 bore double into Pachmayr's Gunshop one day and he let me and another gunsmith there shoot it from the bench. That one shoves you around a lot. Not really much pain involved but a big long push. Most painful rifle I've fired was a Westley Richards bolt rifle in 425. That was a very sharp painful experience due to stock design and weight I'm sure.

TC contender in .35 Rem just once. Don't think my wrist is just right years after. Recoil is not my thing. Knock yourself out if you want.

We need one of the self made rich affluent guys on the fire to buy one of these.
And let us know how it shoots.

Self made or inheritance babies?

Love that Carmina Burana background music.

Self made only....

Inheritance babies can suck a boiled egg.....

Fired all the machine-guns in the Army up to the M2 .50 Cal. Laws, and AT-4 Anti-tank rockets. 25mm on the Bradley. Also got to drop a few 4.2 mortar rounds.

Longest shot was with the TOW guided missile at a target over 3000 meters.

Biggest shoulder fired was the M47 Dragon. I was a new Private in Germany and they handed my the Dragon, not the training round, but with the HE warhead and blew a huge hole in the side of an armored personnel carrier target at 1000 meters.

50 BMG Barret..other than that a .470 Nitro Express..

.404 Jeffery.....and handloaded to 60,000 PSI.....it was a bit much for deer so it now belongs to someone else.

458 WM.

Depends I guess. But not all the way to the top of the list I suppose. Shot a friends 460 a few times. Wife and I both. Ok but did kick a bit.

We shoot our 50 bmg from time to time.

Everything else is kind of small compared. Even my 458 Win mag is smaller IMHO.

Barrett 50 BMG. Once was enough.

Built and shot the sights in on a 7lb 500 Nitro once. About 10 rounds was way plenty. A 7lb iron sighted 458 Lott was a bit sporty too.

3 1/2” 10ga buckshot loads aren’t bad at all out of my SP10. They really suck out of an H&R, even worse out of one that’s been chopped to 18 1/2”.

.45-70.

870 Rem 3 1/2" turkey loads fired from bench sighting in a scope for turkey hunting. Left about an eight inch diameter bruise on my shoulder and arm. Lucky they dialed in in only 5 shots.

That’s right I shot a 45.70 in a Ruger no3

416 Remington in a Dakota Safari would be the biggest, but it didn't really kick much. It wasn't hard to shoot well at all.

Shot a friend's 460 Roy and my 58 muzzleloader. The 58 percussion gets 120 gr FFG and two patched round balls or 100 gr FFg and a 705 gr Minie' It pushes a bit. Be Well. Rusty

Nitro Ray's handloaded 12 ga 501L (IIRC) 2 5/8ths oz 3.5 inch 1200 fps turkey load ain't pleasant to shoot in a 835 ulti mag on the pattern board.
But it threw a hellava pattern.
Then he changed the hull from a federal red to a brown fiocchi.
Changed buffer material and wad and started bait and switch with the 4c 5c and 7h pellets for 4l 5l and 7l
Got a following on the original load and then cheapened em.
Hoping no one would notice.
I did.
Pellet count in 10 inches at 40yds dont lie.
Cutting an old one open and new one open proved it.
I dont buy em anymore .

Buyer beware with nitro ray....
JME......

10-15 gallons of a diesel gas mix that I slightly miscalculated.

M-197, 20mm under the chin of a AH-1S.

First detent on the trigger was a 32 or 36 round burst. Second detent was rock and roll baby.

12" Black powder mortar, shoulder 50 cal Barrett, tripod M2 Browning

Single shot 50 BMG.

The .460 SUX fired prone. Sorry I tried. 've shot a truck load of .470 and .450#2NE. .500 NE is a shoulderful.

AT4
M2
M203

155mm Artillery. Boom.
40mm MK19 has some low velocity spunk to it.

As far as sporting arms, I would guess my .450 Marlin or .58 Muzzleloader.

Muzzleloading 3.5" cannon.
60MM mortar.
M2 Browning machine gun.
2 bore muzzleloading sporting rifle. (test fired from tires, not from my shoulder)
4 bore muzzleloading rifle, was fired from my shoulder.

50 caliber semi-auto Barret and a 458 lott

M2 Browning MG
M-72 LAW(Trng rds only)
M-203 Grenade launcher (trng rds only)
Golf ball cannon

I also own a .54 cal. Lyman GPR, but it's really a pussycat to shoot.

A friend/neighbor up north has a James Lang .500 x 3 1/4" double rifle I shoot just about every year.

Sam;
Good evening to you my cyber friend, I hope the weather's been good for your corn crop and dry enough to get any hay off that needs to be.

Your terse sentence made me wince just a little Sam - and feel the hair on the back of my head - interestingly the only place there's hair left on my head anymore other than the mustache and goatee...

Anyway when I was younger we did a lot of tearing down farm yards that my brother and cousin had bought. This was in the late '60's and early '70's as small farmers became a thing of the past in our part of Saskatchewan.

As it turned out I developed a wee bit of skill as the resident pyromaniac so when they'd pile up a barn and corrals, it was me that lit it up.

My favorite mix was about 1:3 gas to diesel - or my memory says it was Sam - could be off on the mix.

We'd piled up a big barn and a whole bunch of corral lumber, so I mixed up maybe two 5 gallon jugs of mix as I wanted to show them I knew what I was about.

As it turned out I had a tad too much diesel in the blend Sam, so even though I spread 10 gallons everywhere, when I shot the match over to the last pool of fuel - oh quick explanation on that, I used wooden matches and could sorta "flick" them a good 6' to 8'.

After many Red Bird Strike Anywhere's didn't do anything, I walked up to the last pool of fuel and managed to get a very small flame - that's all.....

I turned in disgust to go get more accelerant and managed about two steps when a "whump" behind me knocked me onto my face!

The ever present tractor/seed company ball cap kept the top of the turnip covering from being fried off Sam, but I do recall needing a "trim off the back" on my then shoulder length hair afterward.

Oh to wabigoon, a late shooting buddy had a really light Browning Hi-Power in .458 Winchester that would smack my trigger finger so bad with the bolt that it took me a couple minutes to realize the trigger guard had smashed my middle finger so hard I couldn't feel it until then..

It wasn't a pleasant firearm to discharge whatsoever.

All the best to you both Sam and Richard.

Dwayne

50 BMG was the biggest rifle. The worst recoil was a 7.5 pound 460 Van Horn. Brutal. And then some.

I guess the M203, 37mm and 40mm grenade launchers i fired count as bigger guns than the 50 BMG but much different application.

A shoulder fired firearm: a 416 Rigby in a #1 Ruger. I expected more recoil....it was pretty much a “pussy cat”! My hunting rifle provides a lot more felt recoil! memtb

50 BMG Barret and a .460 weathby magnum.

500 nitro. Single shot rifle

50 bmg. Some kind of weird bull pup was pretty ugly and awful to shoot.

458 Lott. Bolt action with ghost ring

105mm and a single TOW missile

.375 H&H

.338 Lapua

Both were pretty fun to shoot.

This.

The Barrett has a brake, is semi-auto and fired from prone. No problems.

The WBY was standing, no brake, and almost knocked me out.

I had a 470 NE double for a while in Alaska. It was a gentle push compared to the 460 WBY.

Interesting comment the barrett. Have shot one quite a bit and found them mild. Own a single shot 50 Armalite and find it mild also.
OTOH a 378 Wtby has to top the list of worst to us. Wife shot a squirrel with it before it was sent back, a friend bought it to try, he said no after it broke his shooting glasses on the first shot. Wife and I fired a few more rounds including the squirrel and that was that.

Have shot a few deer with the 50,the least blood trails I've ever seen in my life, but a cool 50 cal hole all the way through you could eat right up to, about zero meat damage from the 50.

I loaded a muzzleloader with 150 grains of 777 and a 300 Gr XTP. Then proceeded to leave the ramrod in the barrel. I dont know what other guns kick like, but I may have taken a couple years off my lifespan with that one shot. The ramrod engaged the rifling and actually hit the target, spinning itself into a spiral somewhere in flight. If that entire projectile had been a solid bullet, it could do a Chicago heart shot on a brontosaurus.

50BMG
Sure clears everybodys chit off the benches immediately to each side too.

50-140 Rolling Block . . . ONCE was enough. My 45-90 is a light-weight comparatively

A Long Tom

20 bench rounds of a 460 Wby will make yer day.

I shot a 50 Browning single shot bolt gun five times. Kicked like my .30-06. It had a brake like a tank. Was a regular pussy cat.

I shot a friend's rolling block 45-70 standing and it about screwed me into the ground. Kicked my like a mule.


I have a 9.3X62 that bucks you pretty hard because it's chambered in a tang Safety Ruger 77 that's pretty light.

And, I have a .270 Winchester that isn't supposed to kick but it will hammer you on the bench after about 4-5 rounds. I know, .270s are supposed to be women's guns and aren't supposed to kick. But this thing ain't pleasant, especially after 5 rounds on a bench. But it's such a good killer of game and most of the time it only requires one shot to down game that it's still one of my favorite rifles.

60mm mortar, handheld, Kentucky aimed.
Mk19
LAW
AT4
M202 Flash
Dragon

My 1895 in 405 win is no fun off a bench and the stock shape sure doesn't help when sighting it in.

20? My God dude you must be a glutton for punishment! That thing is supposed to give about 60 pounds of felt recoil. That would dislocate your shoulder.

........................Well I'm not exactly a wimp......lol.....lol......Won a grand on a bet several years ago..............Bench rest 20 rounds, two minutes or less between rounds, wearing a T shirt firing my buddy's 460 Bee......He had a pretty nice recoil pad on it........My shoulder was a little black and blue......lol...lol......No shoulder dislocation......

What fun!!!

458 Lott


I can’t say which would be worse, being mauled by a bear or beat to death by your rifle.

My pards rifle

First time he shot it knocked his hat off and made his glasses go askew on his face. It was funny as hell. But that’s his big bear rifle, you know for coasties

I haven’t run the numbers.....but, I think that the 460 Bee is somewhat north of that figure. My rifle is right around 60.....I’m sure the 460 is substantially more! I’m good for 20 to 30 from the bench in one sitting......though, can’ shoot for crap the next day (sore). I don’t want to sit behind a 460 for 20 rounds! memtb

81mm mortar.

500 Jeffery

50 BMG. Not in a M2, a Barret!

Elk Country

175mm self propelled gun.

Neil

Shot a S&W 500 Alaskan short barreled survival pistol, one shot.

Was able to hag on, just barely!

Had a Browning 1886 carbine in 45-70 that would leave two vertical black and blue stripes on my shoulder.

Also owned a 458 Win. mag. that came with a box of ammo with three rounds fired out of it, and fired the rest of the box before trading it off.

Virgil B.

My 9.5 lb, 1885 High Wall in a 45-70 shooting a 530pp bullet w/50gr of 4831. It is a bruiser!

50 Cal Hush Puppy. It was a bolt action custom build by another Campfire member that brought it to the 2017 Campfire Hog Hunt. I can't remember who built it though. All I can remember about the rounds is that it had incendiary bullets. Kingston has a video of us shooting it. Maybe he can post that and tell us what the hell that thing was and who built it or anybody else that was there. We were shooting it at a 1" steel plate. I don't have a picture of the gun. It had a break on it and it wasn't too bad to shoot.

50 CAL is the largest I've shot. The worst has to be a large Weatherby 460 (?, I was young, the gun belonged to my uncle, and was the worst recoil I can remember).

I have a modern 1886 in 45-70. Due to the stock &/or butt shape, it becomes uncomfortable to shoot large amounts of ammo (20 seems plenty but who ever stops there).
Conversely, I have a rather well made 30-06 with a steel butt plate that has little felt recoil, I'd say about the same as a 220 swift in a Ruger #1. I've concluded the rifle template/design has more to do with felt recoil than CAL. JMO.

My Winchester model 70 .375H&H came with a box of Remington 300 gr. ammo with 17 rounds remaining. I love that rifle.

Do you mean 3" 50 or 5" 54?
My biggest was 18rds from a 5" 54 from OMC(one man control). USS Semmes DDG 18. Great fun.
Biggest shoulder fired, 460 Weatherby, 3 rds. It wasn't terrible but you definitely knew you shot something big.
The Ruger 77 in 458 Win Mag was way more obnoxious.
I made the mistake of sighting in my Remington 700 in 375 H&H and my Ruger #1 45-70(warm+ loads)
in one day. I didn't start crying til about the 20th round.


navlav8r, I was a Gunner's Mate on the Forrest Sherman 77-78.

90MM M-48 tank round

Wabigoon: 460 Weatherby - twice was way more than enough!
Nowish to repeat that mistake.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

155

105mm main gun out of an M-60A1 (Rise) tank.

458 Winchester Magnum with 500 grain factory loads. Recoil was adequate. It's a big slow push so you can roll with it. Ok, it's a BIG slow push, but livable from a standing position. I'd rather shoot it than a 300 Weatherby Magnum. That was a fast, hard punch.

460 Wea...

20 mm.

458 Lott, at an indoor shooting cinema.




once.

Dad slipped a 3 inch nitro mag into the 1187 I was shooting trap with. Does that count? Lol

Honestly nothing bigger than a 12 gauge slug gun but that was enough for me.

Fiddy

40 mm

Shot at 3 130mm artillery pieces back in the day, does that count? 😁

50 cal single shot

.577 double gun. That one will separate the men from the boys pretty quick.