338 Win Mag

It would depend on the rifle & ammo I'd think.

I've got a model 7 custom ks .308 that kicks like a mule with hornaday light mags.

Diddo, I have a Savage 99 in .308 that kicks pretty sharp with 180gr fodder. My Win 88 on the other hand, shoots pleasantly with the same load. The 99 has a recoil pad, and the 88 does not. Note, I'm not voting the .308, but backing up eblue's point that load, stock design, balance, and how the rifle fits the shooter all come into play.

A customers 300 Weatherby Magnum kicked me harder than anything else I can remember.

30-378wby ...

I did forget a steel butt plated Remy 30-06.. ouch.

338 RUM can chase ya' across the bench.

Really does depend on the weight of the rifle and stock configuration.

Worst dang flinch I ever had was courtesy of a Marlin .444 with a scope mounted. Didn't hurt my shoulder but that comb would up and whack my cheekbone like a karate chop.

Second worse was a Model 700 BDL .338 Win. Mag. I just couldn't handle more than 10 rounds from the bench, and just a few months before I was shooting my Model 70 .375 H&H up to 80 rounds at one bench session preparing for Africa. The Model 70 weighed over 10 pounds and the M700 about 8 1/2. Don't know why that thing rocked me so bad as the BDL stock is my favotire design.

Third worse was a Ruger #1 .375 H&H with a scope. 20 rounds was enough, 30 was rough and 40 was just plain torture. And I'm not even talking off the bench but from regular field positions.

I think without scopes on that #1 and the Marlin .444 I would have been able to handle them, but lifting the head up just enough to look through a scope gave the combs a running start at my cheekbone.

My MarkV 378Wby was brutal(but fun, in a twisted kind of way)
For whatever reason, the rifle weight a full pound less than what Wby's catalog said!

I had a VXIII 2.5-8x on it, and all up it weighed just under 9 pounds.

It really does depend on the gun and the ammo,
I have a Weatherby Mark V in 30/378 and shooting 180 grain barnes at 3500 fps its a real pussycat next to my friends dads Savage 110 (?) 22 inch barreled 30/06 shooting 180 grainers as well, that stupid thing with literally kick your teeth down your throat!
I can handle recoil very well but after a few shots with that 30/06 I went back to my mild mannered but loudly speaking Weatherby.

The 378 Weatherby with 300 grainer bullets is by far the worst I have shot, man do those kick hard and fast.

460 weatherby. Kicks like a 12guage. HAPPY HUNTING

Interesting you would say that, Tom.

My little brother used to have an OLD WBY vanguard in 30-06.
It was heavy, but it really kicked pretty darn hard!

I can't explain it, but there it is!
??

How about a non-ported, bolt-action .50 BMG?

You boys obviously haven't shot a Mossburg 12ga with a 3 1/2" load.....

378 Wbymag...bar none.

True, I have not.
I do own a Benelli M4, and I was surprised how hard it kicks with 3" loads, it has a pretty short stock.

I would imagine that Mossburg with 3 1/2" load would be harsh.

Maxed out 45-70 loads in a 6 1/2 lb Ruger #3.

Mike

Oh I forgot about the H&R single shot 12 gauge with a 3" load......my dad wont either, the gun blew out of his hands and caused his whole right side of his upper torso to turn black and blue.....Woooweee!!

Gotta be my Husky 300 Win.One ignorant mo-fo.

LOL!

Thanks for posting that george...Been looking for something along those line's to check out some recoil numbers..

I would have to say dads .460 weatherby. then .45-70, 540 grain hammerheads, are awful sharp.

Sorry but those #'s dont mean to much to me......for instance the .44 mag,
I know it says rifle but recoil energy cannot be determined by cartridge alone, say if I had a S&W 629 .44mag shooting 240 grain bullets. might be (guessing here) 12 lbs of energy, now take that same load and shoot it in a S&W 329 .44mag, I guarantee the energy #'s would be dramatically different.

George,

Cool - Thanks for posting that.

Spot

BTW - I wouldn't have thought the 7 WSM was that close to a 30-06

Can't vouch for how accurate all the #'s are ...but can testify that a 12ga with 3 1/2 load is near the bottom

Yeah but a 12 guage 3.5 in a Automatic is soft compared to a pump.

Spot

Here try this table....check out the .460 Weatherby.
Table

The 300 Win Mag put a good hurt on me one day (out of a mountain weight with a solid rubber pad). In hindsight I probably shouldn't have shot it prone. I had a nice purple bruise for a week on my collar bone and the old man laughed just as long.

Man, you hit the nail squarely on the head with that one. I've shot some hard-kicking rifles, but nothing that compares with a 3-1/2 inch magnum turkey load from a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag pump gun. Absolutely brutal.

I also agree with 6mm250 that a Ruger #3 with maxed-out 45-70 loads is a brute. That thing could break bones with it's metal buttplate. I lusted after one of those little carbines, until I got it - a mint-condition liberty model. NO FUN AT ALL.

-

Not referring to gas operated semi-auto's......pumps,bolt and single shot. The Mossberg 835 only weights 7.5 lbs

Worst I have ever been 'hit' is when I was in my early 20's and bought a lightweight straight grip Marlin 45/70 and promptly went to the speer manual to see how hot I could load 400gr bullets. Put a round down range from a bench and was literally seeing stars. Shot it enough to get it sighted in and then shot a wild boar with it and then SOLD the darned thing. I have taken one lightweight .458 Win's and a lightweight 458 Lott to PH's in the last couple of years and I absolutely HATED shooting the darned things. Not much worse than an 8lb 458 Lott without going to the extreme (and unnecesary) super boomers like the 585 Nyati etc.

I have never had experience with the big magnums, but I've shot a .338 win. mag. and was prepared for some recoil and shot the 12 ga. Roman Candles and was prepared for them so recoil did not seem as "sharp". But one day I was cleaning my friends old Belgian Browning Bolt Action .264 Win Mag. Afterwards, I decided to step out back and fire a couple of foulers. Not really thinking about recoil I just sorta of propped the gun up to the shoulder, aimed at a bottle of water and WHAM! I have never felt such a sharp and fast kick out of any gun. More the element of surprise than actual recoil probably but one fouler was enough for me. And the ammo was the old yellow box Super X IIRC. Brimfish

I have never had experience with the big magnums, but I've shot a .338 win. mag. and was prepared for some recoil and shot the 12 ga. Roman Candles and was prepared for them so recoil did not seem as "sharp". But one day I was cleaning my friends old Belgian Browning Bolt Action .264 Win Mag. Afterwards, I decided to step out back and fire a couple of foulers. Not really thinking about recoil I just sorta of propped the gun up to the shoulder, aimed at a bottle of water and WHAM! I have never felt such a sharp and fast kick out of any gun. More the element of surprise than actual recoil probably but one fouler was enough for me. And the ammo was the old yellow box Super X IIRC. Brimfish

my moms horse sorry couldn't resit grin!!

Hot .45-70 loads in my Ruger #1S. Absolutely brutal. Much worse than my #1's in .375 H&H or .416 Rigby.

+1

I have an H&R Topper 12 ga with a 3" chamber. It weighs 4 3/4#. The first time I touched off a 3" mag - at a jackrabbit no less!- I dropped the shotgun to the ground and clutched my shoulder. A recoil pad would certainly help!

I shoot 3 1/2" hevi-shot loads through my Benelli all the time and don't find it too bad. That H&R has never failed me to shut up the braggards when it comes to recoil!

That H&R 12 guage with 3" 00 Buck was the hardest kicking beast I ever shot, especially with the plastic buttplate. My .375 H&H is alot easier than that thing was.

378 Wby.......by a lot.

MM

Sharpest kicking round I've fired to date was a 300 Wby in a Model 70 XTR.

Hardest kicking...toss up between stoked loads in a 500/450 3 1/4" with 500 gr bullets, and the 510 Wells with 600 gr bullets.

The worst one I had was an old model 12 12ga with the plastic buttplate. Hunting turkey one spring, sitting down with my back against a big oak, this tom comes from the right. When I eased the gun around it put my shoulder flush against the tree. When that thing went off I actually saw stars, thought for sure I'd seperated my shoulder & swallowed the mouth call to boot.

Anybody ever try those cheap Baikal single barrel 12 gauges with
short curved buttstock. It was the only gun that I ever heard of that was stolen in a cabin breakin and then dutifully returned to the front of my porch.

My uncle's 350 remington 660 mohawk with shortened 16 inch barrel was another good kicker. We used to shoot it and then laugh like heck.

Sincerely,

Thomas

Bad ones I've tried are 460 Weatherby, 300 RUM, and 375 AI.There were no flies on an 8mm mag necked up to 358 either. I actually find the 340 Weatherby and 300 Weatherby more pleasant than any of the above. The 338 Win Mag with bullets to 225 gr is a pussycat...great cartridge.

It was a 45/70 with the plastic butt pad that got me. I was trying to sight it in with the open sights. I never did get that done.

One of my Marlin .45-70 loads easily beats the .375 H&H figures posted above by dvdegeorge - 47.95 foot-pounds versus 46.06 foot-pounds.

But the hardest kicking round I have ever fired is a Winchester XXT12L4 12 gaug 3.5" MAG Dram Eqvivalent 2-1/4 ounce #4 shot turkey load in a Remington 870 Super Mag. I was very thankful I wasn't leaning back against a tree when I squeezed the trigger!

Bought a box of 10 rounds for $9.49 probably 8-10 years ago. Fired one round and quickly decided the next time there would have to be a turkey down range. I figure this box will last me a lifetime, have 9 left!

My 45-70 contender was the worst I ever had. It used to cut my fingers on the trigger guard and I learned to wear a glove on the firing hand. It was also a scope killer..I wish I could meet the person who owned it after me, just to see what he said.

I think the worst rifle I ever fired was a 30-378 wolf with an AN-PVS-4. the rifle was owned either by the Fort Ord Sniper school or the 6th Army MTU. It only has about 1" of eye relief with the starlight scope and it hit me pretty hard.

Punch it our to 3.5 inches and I will send you some turkey loads with TWO AND A QUARTER OUNCES OF SHOT for it - in exchange for pics posted here of the first guy you allow to shoot it

I thought about building a model 1917 with a steel buttplate and original stock into a 505 Gibbs once... as a 'loaner rifle'

Maybe that explains why a rifle that weights more - oh say 20lbs makes a 50 browning more shootable.

Spot

Tom264,
You're right about the kick of that Savage Mod. 110, .30-06.
I bought one for my son, in left hand configuration, while he was still in his teens. I never shot it much myself, but noted that the recoil was right up there. He soon became so recoil-shy that he was unable to hit anything with it.
This past year, we went elk hunting together. Before the hunt, I asked him if I could borrow the rifle, work up some handloads, etc. I had forgotten that this rifle had a steel buttplate- hmm.
I replaced it with a Pachmayr Decellerator pad, and loaded up some 150 gr. Barnes TSX bullets. Took it to the range, and was amazed at the difference a good pad and lower bullet weight could make.
My son was also amazed, and shot the best groups he has ever done with this rifle.

My nephew used the 835 loaded with 3 1/2" loads to tag his 1st tom this past spring...he'd been using and practicing with a 20 ga,we had a bird hang up out of range of the 20ga,so he asked if he could take my 12 ga 835....had that bird in to 10 yd's and he was so excited he still doesn't know what the recoil felt like....grin

Yep.....

The worst I have felt yet is shooting a 45-70 guide gun of a guy I went to school with. His load was 400 gr Speers at over 2000 fps from that 18 1/2 inch barrel. Those Marlin stocks just don't fit me. I did get a group around one inch though.

In descending order. 450 Dakota,340 Weatherby,416 Rigby. The Rigby is a pussy cat compared to the first. The owner took 2 elephants with one shot each.

My vote would go to the H&R single shot 10 gauge. A friend of mine has one, for one reason only.... to watch his friends shoot it.

Fellow Campfire Members:
Thanks to you all for the interesting thread as it makes for interesting reading to be sure.

I�ve never tried a 3�� 12gauge and have no burning desire to do so. I grasp the concept of the potential recoil that amount of shot would be able to develop, so thank you but no.

I recall shooting a .284 built on a 600 Mowhawk action, with a very small diameter barrel and a light Chet Brown stock. Shooting 150 gr. NP, it had the �sharpest� or quickest recoil sensation I�d ever experienced, much like being punched as opposed to pushed. As an aside, my group was the same size as the fellow who owned it, but was almost 2� higher. He outweighed me by at least 75lbs and obviously held the rifle differently than I did.

The title of most recoil for me went to a lightweight (8lbs?) Belgian Browning in .458Win. The owner said it was a maximum load with the 500gr projectile. After 1 or 2 shots, I refused to shoot it off the bench as I couldn�t get a good enough grip sitting down. That light rifle hit me so hard with the trigger guard that it took about a minute to realize the bolt has smashed my trigger finger as well. The chap didn�t use it for anything except for his personal �range amusement�.

I recall he also had a .416 Rigby built on a No.1, with gorgeous wood and an octagon Hoba (SP?) barrel. He�d built it complete with a steel Neidner style butt plate, so I passed on any opportunities offered me to touch it off.

Thanks again for the input into an interesting topic.
Regards,
Dwayne

older marlin 1895 with crescent buttplate in .45-70.
cheek slap was, er, significant.
but hey, that was stock design, NOT the chambering ...

12 gauge short barrelled rem pump loaded with police slugs laying prone has kicked me a few times...378s suck too.

10 ga shotgun for me i wish i lived in rifle country but i don't
i have a franchi 28ga that kicks like a mule i would of never thought that a 28 would kick at all but the franchi is so light

I own a M70 African in .458 Win Mag and a M70 XTR in .338 Win Mag - both are sharp kickers, but neither is as bad as my relatively light Model 1300 pumpgun loaded with 12 gauge, 3" MAG, 2oz turkey loads - OUCH! Odessa

This momma grabs the attenion of most folks who fire it.

As a side note I'll add he shot it well not being privy to knowledge of it's recoil.....figured it be the case if he had a turkey in his sights.....

348 winchester nailed me pretty good. even got a hint of scope-eye from it.

Forget to mention the 4 bore I handled at our SCI banquet a few years ago. Each shell was $25. The owner said the recoil was memorial. If you watch the hunting shows the owner shot an elephant & buffalo with the gun. Each fell like they had been pole axed. I referenced shell, not cartridge, because it resembled a small artillery shell.

I forgot the fact that when I was 18, a cousin of mine managed to borrow a freinds 8GA punt gun. We had no idea how much powder or shot to put in the damned thing but I was determined to fire it! As I recall we put about 1/2 lb. of black gunpowder down the tube and 'about a cup' of reclaimed shot..... Wadding was torn up rags dipped in candle wax. It is a GOOD thing that my guardian angle was on duty and on high alert that day! Upon getting it to fire (after 5 or 6 misfires) I was knocked back several steps and barely hung onto the 25lb gun. Whoo BOY that was a ride!

MARK

I once arrested two 13-year-old trailer park punks for stealing something. While mom and I were retrieving the loot I noticed a sawed-off shotgun in the closet. Mom said she had never seen it before (good answer). When I looked closer, there were two. Both had cotton shoe strings tied around them. The kids told me that they hung them under their trench coats when they dealt drugs!! I then had them turn over the drugs( brilliant kids these two)

I found the shot shells and several had very leaky crimps. When I asked one about it he told me that they took them apart and dumped all the powder from 2 shells into one!

I asked him if he fired it. He said the other kid did (they had sawed the stocks into pistol grips- sort of)

He mentioned that it had hurt the other kids hand and arm pretty good (he told mom it was a bike wreck or something) I guess the shotgun blew out of his hand and stuck his arm- splintering the stock and cutting him deeply.

I would love to have seen him touch that double charge off!

You know, the 45-70 doesn't need to be loaded so hot to kill thin-skinned game. I have one made in 1972 (first year of the modern 1895s) complete with the cresent buttplate. I reserve that gun for light loads ("light" as in 400 grain cast at 1000 fips). I bump the 1895G up a little more than that, but not crazily so. A 400 grain jacketed flatpoint at 1500 fips will kill any elk or moose that ever walked, and you get to keep your shoulder joint intact too!

Same deal with turkeys. I found out that they die just fine when shot with cheapy field loads. Last year I shot a tom at 30 yards with my old Stevens 5100 16ga and a 1-ounch loads of number 6s, and he died on the spot.

But we all go through the phase of shooting hard-kicking guns. It's like a right of passage into gunny maturity, or something (sounds good anyway).

-

I haven't had too many hard kickers (7mm WBY, 300WM, 7mm STW), but the hardest hitter was my Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun with hotter loads. Even though it was a hard recoil, it still was a lot of fun to shoot.

By far and away the most painful shooter I've ever owned was Model 7 synthetic stainless in 7mm-08. I bet my dentist still hasn't fixed all the fillings that thing knocked loose.

I think the 300 Winchester and 300 Wby are a little "sharper" to stand behind than the .338. Worst one I've put a bullet through was a 378 Wby.

I'll vouch for DVD on the 3.5" turkey loads....

So far my hardest kicking experience has been firing turkey loads out of a Winchester 37 single shot 12 gauge. I did some patterning with Winchester 1 3/4 ounce high velocity loads and Remington 2 ounce loads. Heavy loads and a light gun do make things interesting.

I did the shooting from sitting rather than from the bench and after each shot I had to re-adjust my hat (sometimes a fair bit) and I had a slight head ache for sure. Then again, it was one of those gun nut things where it was actually kind of fun to see the way the recoil would smack the snot out of you. LOL

.378 is the only rifle that I have fired that actually hurt..for a while. The recoil went through my shoulder, down through my elbow and to my wrist. Just plain bone jarring. The .460 is pretty bad as well but not as fast and jarring. If that makes any sense

LC

378Roy

378 Wby

Mossberg 835 with 3.5"mags #4 shot, patterning that gun from the bench is a real buzz killer, Im getting a stinger from just thinking about it

I will second the Ultimag Mossberg 835 with 3.5" mags.

That is flat out VICIOUS. It's the only thing I've ever put a sandbag on my shoulder to shoot!

The Marlin Guide Gun I used to have was pretty chippy with hot loads. That straight stock did NOT get along with the side of my face!

I'm not experienced with the big boomers. My .338 is a pussycat as are my .325 WSM's.

-jeff

my 7 lb 30-06 with out a recoil pad and 180 grainers knocks the dog snot out of me!

1. Sauer .375 H&H
2. Savage 110 in .270, for some reason that thing really hurt.
3. Rem 870 with 3 inch Foster slugs.

Ithaca Deerslayer 3" full boat slugs. Those Ithacas are FANTASTIC guns, but they do kick

Rem 700 ADL open sights hard butt plate 7mm Rem mag.

YOUCH.

BMT

2 1/4 oz turkey loads out of my Browning 10 gauge pump. When I first got it I rushed out to pop some caps. Made it thru 5 rounds and I looked like I made it thru 5 rounds with a good Golden Glove boxer. That high hard comb was whacking me in the cheek like a hard left bareknukle jab not to mention what the tire tread butt plate was doing to my shoulder. Had it Magna-Ported and that pretty much did away with the muzzle jump but the recoil is still there. Every time I shoot it I get a headache. Son inherited that one early. He's bigger, younger and heals faster.

50-90 Shiloh Sharps with a curved Buttplate! Ouch!

There is no free lunch with the 338 Ultra Mag. pushing 250 grain hand loads.
HD

Among the sharpest I have felt would be a 7.82 Warbird. I have now shot 6 or 7 of these, and the Sako was the most wicked. Custom built rifles from RMR were not bad to shoot, but the Sako has a bite. One day I was tasked with shooting a 7.82 Warbird, two 30-378 Wbys, and a 38-378 Wby from the bench. The Warbird was the sharpest of the four.

378 Wby non-braked. Fired it and it rung my bell pretty good. Sad thing was I fired it a second and third time. Learned my lesson.

On one occasion I was asked to develop a load for a 270 WSM built on a Borden action. It was a wicked little gun. The customer had requested a twenty inch fluted barrel with a muzzle brake. It had an ultralight stock that was quite straight. Despite having a limbsaver pad on it, each time I shot off the bench the rifle would kick up. I broke two sets of ear muffs with that critter. It wasn't hard to shoot, but it sure did twist and snort whenever it was torched off. It wasn't the sharpest kicking round, but it may well have been the most wicked rifle I ever shot, except for a model 70 chambered in 7 x 57... but that is another story.

I'll go with this one. The .378 unbraked is rude, closely followed by the .338/378 also unbraked then teh .458 in an open sighted 8.5 pound model 70.

JW

Although you wouldn't think it to be a hard kicker I had a Mod. 24 Savage O/U 22 LR/ 20 gauge shotgun. The gun was stocked to allow a scope to be used so the comb was high. Every time I fired the shot gun it cracked my cheek bone like you wouldn't believe. Sold it shortly thereafter!
My Mod. 870 12 gauge deer gun loaded with home cast 525 grain slugs over a max. load of 4756 powder. At the bench it is suggestive of a .458 Win. In order to hunt with it the powder charge was dropped 2.5 grains below max. It still is not much fun to sight in!

300 win.. pure evil.....

woofer

I had a Warbird in a Sako for a couple of years. It was certainly fast coming back. It would get my vote too, topping my 460 WBY.

the worst gun i ever shot was a rem 870 12g turkey gun with a rifled choke tube firing 3 1/2" lightfield slugs. thankfully, i was standing up when i shot it. don't know what kind of recoil it generated, but i was knocked back a few steps. had a s@#t-eating grin, though. second worst gun was a savage 110 synthetic in 30/06. gun recoiled and broke my nose! pretty crazy, considering i own a rem 700 classic in 375 that only weighs 8 1/2 pounds with a scope! that gun is nothing compared to the savage!-keith

I shot a Police 870 Remmy 3 inch 12 GA with police loads, off of a bench, once. I do not intend to do it again.
R.

I have a couple of the most listed combos.

Mossberg 835 with 3.5 turkey loads, worst recoil I have experienced, mostly because it hits my cheek from the bench.

Two Savage 110's in 270, the Monte Carlo stocks hurt me.

Savage 99 in 308, steel plate, high comb.

"Sharpest" is my bud's Tikka T3 Lite in 338 Mag. It gives me a headache. I feel the recoil in my back, my neck, up the back of my head to my eyes.

Oops! Forgot about my .458 Lott.
Basically, I don't fire it unless in anger!

Sako TRGS 338 Lapua. Not bad in the field, not fun at the bench.

One of the worst I ever got involved with was a custom ultra light in .308 Winchester. I wouldn't have believed it it if I hadn't shot it. I would rather shoot my .458.

If you think a 3.5 is bad in an 835, try a 535 that weighs about 1.5 lbs less. I saw a friend of mine get knocked right off his stool last year while shooting at a turkey, he missed, too. Every one that i sold last year wants to trade them off on something else. An evil little gun. My daughters have shot several turkeys with 2.75 inch field loads of 4 shot all the way out to 45 yards. Smacks them right down. You want tight chokes out of any shotgun, find one of those cheapy star dot chokes they used to sell at wally world. Tightest thing I have ever seen.

I had a 20" custom barrel built by Bullberry Barrelworks of Hurricane Utah for my T/C Contender Carbine in 45/70. I used to lob 400 gr Speer cannonballs out the end of it. I don't know exactly what this little combo weighed but I suppose in the neighborhood of 6 lbs. I killed an elk with it and kinda enjoyed shooting it in what someone else called "a twisted sort of way." The key with this rifle was to make sure you had alot of clearance between your head and the scope. I have two semicircular scars between my brows....

Finally sold it. Don't miss it.

sabot slugs from my 12-ga. shotgun

Rem 870 Kickmaster + 20" slug barrel + 3"mag slug = start using my muzzleloader.

Amen, was also nice to find one on clearance for $5