I'm seeing that people are making 20mm rifles and 2 bores...

MAG-FED 20MM RIFLE - Anzio Ironworks

http://www.stolzergunsmithing.com/2boredoublerifle.htm They also make a pistol - THAT would be interesting to fire...

while this company built a 600 nitro revolver awhile back

Zeliska .458 Win. Mag. - Zeliska Revolver - Nitro Express - Family - Homepage - Most powerful handgun Interesting cylinder flutes...

So, many of you must have fired some interesting outsize stuff?

Thompson Contender chambered in .45-70. I don't care how big you are or what stance you use, you shoot that thing and you will take a couple of steps back.

My friend talked me into shooting it. I let him do it...twice! The first time is on him but the second time is on me. I love shooting guns but that was just no fun at all. The only way I'll ever do it again is something rilly, RILLY bad is about to happen to me if I don't.

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Real men love cats!

.458 Winchester in a Ruger #3 with a steel buttplate.... (500gr. slug.)
I made the mistake of sitting down at the bench for the 2nd shot.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I pulled the trigger on a punt gun once, probably a 2-bore. It belonged to a Belgian dentist, who also owned the first semi-auto I ever fired - a BHP in 7.65 parabellum. I remember the gun having extensive embellishments engraved, as well as an external hammer wrought in some type of animal shape. The stock was short and made of a dark striped wood, and there was a curved iron piece that hooked under the armpit.

It was attached to a gimbal, and the whole platform moved a bit when shot. I was suitably impressed.

A 300 win mag a couple of years ago.A little too old and skinny for that.I actually had to take a step back

When I was much younger, I had a #3 in .45-70. I can't remember the exact load, but I was sending a 500 gr. SP down range about 1700 fps, and that wasn't even a maximum load. In a 6.5 pound rifle! I can't imagine one in .458! When shooting from the bench, I'd fold up a towel and put it under my shirt.

My dad, who at the time was the same age I am now, could only be convinced to shoot it once. Well, now I get it.

I also had an old H&R model 176 10 Gauge. I bought it at a pawn shop in Lewiston, Idaho for 70 bucks. I shot most of a box of ammo, then sold it for 75.

When I lived in NE Oregon, way out in the sticks, we had a bunch of hippie mushroom pickers come out and camp nearby town (we had a small forest fire the year before), right next to the shooting range!

I woke them up at 7AM one morning with that 10 Ga!

If we're talking about non shoulder-fired small arms, then it would be the Browning M2 .50 cal.

A H&H 600 Nitro express. Not a sharp recoil but a big push back!
Jim

Ma Duce and Barrett M82A1 in .50 BMG

Owned a 9.5-lb .460 Weatherby for a time. Straight up nasty recoil.

Search 600 Nitro Pistol on youtube some time -- ouch.

50 BMG Barret. Shot it twice, to convince myself I was not afraid of the recoil.

Weatherby Mark V 460 WM. Again, shot it twice to prove to myself it did not scare me.

CZ 550 Safari, European stock, 416 Rigby. Once was enough. I have no problem admitting that THAT hurt, and I'm afraid of doing it again.

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I always take precautions

My 416 Weatherby....


It's gone.....

My Ruger #3 in 45-70 till I put a #1 stock on it was real bad.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Year’s back I was friendly with a gun writer named ED HALL. He wrote for Fur Fish & Game, Hand loader and a couple other rags. He had a Competitor Pistol. Very similar to a Contender but it had a cannon type breach. He had a bunch of different barrels for it, but one caught my eye. It was for a .458 Winchester Mag.

Now I have a couple 29s and have shot .45.70. .444 Marlin .30.30 out of contenders and I asked him about shooting the .458. I’m a big strong guy and have shot with Ed before so he reluctantly agreed to let me fire it, under his rules. He said I had to work up to the full factory load by shooting his lessor power hand loads. I agreed.

The first one I fired he said was more than 2 times a full house .44 Mag. . . . All was OK. Next one was about double that, still OK. Third one was double that one. Things are getting real interesting now this thing kicks like Hades. I asked about shooting full power, he said OK but I must tell you, most voluntarily stop at number 2 shot. Everyone else that fired #3 I have not allowed to shoot #4(full factory power) but me, but go ahead.

I touched off that thing and the only thing I could say was WOW, totally missed the target and the muzzle blast just about took my earmuffs off (I was wearing plugs under them) He said do you want another shot, and I said no way, FWIW I was not wearing shooting gloves. My hand hurt and it was totally numb for about an hour and partially numb and hurt for over a week. All finely went back to normal

But I sure had a good story to tell!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I have a friend who owns a Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle (he also reloads for it using a custom-built hydraulic press, which is a story in itself), and I've had the opportunity to fire it a few times. Between the weight of the gun and the huge muzzle brake the recoil isn't particularly challenging, but the shock wave really gets your attention, particularly if you're not the one doing the firing and happen to be standing in the wrong place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahti_L-39

for hand guns the largest I've fired was the 50AE desert eagle I had for over 20 years. Not that big of deal! For rifle, the nastiest was a Ruger 77 in 458 Win Mag hand loaded with jacketed 350 grain bullets, I don't know any other info, but comparing factory 500's to these was like 38 special to a 44 mag.

These are nothing to what some of you guys set off! Ivan.

Boys anti-tank rifle! .55 caliber, bolt action, 35#, on a bipod!
Several times, and then declined anymore as I could not see anymore tanks around?

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

Thompson Encore in 30-06. Was more than enough.

.45-70 in a Magnum Research. A .460 Smith. And a .454 Casull. All in revolvers. Fun little plinkers if you ask me...

Well a LAW is a shoulder fired weapon, but I'm not sure if it's considered a small arm or not.

Years ago I was an avid hand-gun silhouette shooter. I shot a Super Black Hawk in Production glass and a TC in modified class. After a match in Billings, Montana I had the chance to shoot a friends new "silhouette gun". It was a custom Wichita/Mellick single shot in full-length .308 I shot it once ( fortunately wearing ear plugs) After the dust settled and the gallery quit laughing I returned the gun with a "thank-you" !! Holy stimeee !! Now when you touch one of those off you know you did something!!

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John

I've owned a couple Freedom Arms .454 Casull's and they
would get your attention but not uncontrollable at all to me.
In rifles i have shot a .460 Weatherby once. That was enough.
I am now at the age where i don't have to prove anything to
anybody including myself, so i won't be shooting any guns that
do as much damage to the shooter as it does downrange.
Been there done that.


Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Good grief! A 9.5 pound .460? That is about 2.5 pounds too light!

45-70 +P+ 350gr JHP about 2200 fps-ouch!

I had an early T/C Contender with an octagonal 8 inch barrel in .30-30 Winchester. The 170 grain factory loads would make your tennis shoes slide backwards in the dirt.

I had a .45/70 Marlin with just the skinny plastic buttplate. I worked up a really stout load with 500 grain .458 Win. bullets so I would have something to loan to people who asked to borrow a "deer rifle" to hunt in the fall. Nobody ever shot more than 2 rounds and nobody asked to borrow it again!

Since you specified gun, I can't claim a Pershing P1a with 660kt special weapon mated. Besides, we never got to launch it anyway. So the biggest I actually fired was a M79 40mm Grenade launcher.

Ma Deuce, but as a mounted weapon. .460 Weatherby was more than I care for. .416 Rigby was nasty.
While I like the above, I continue to hold out for a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.

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50 Years of DSOTM

I have fired 50bmg rifles and Double rifles in the Nitros, but the
worst kicking gun I ever owned was a Herters 458 at same time
I had a m-70 458, that was not near as bad.

577 nitro in both double rifle and farquensen and the worst of all a 500 A Square with 707 grain bullet

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Len

Rifle, my 700 rem in 338wm. I can put two rounds through the same hole at 100yds.

Handgun, Ruger super Blackhawk loaded past max++++ 44 magnum.
I had more flames, looked like the shuttle was launched, more people leaving the range. The stupid things we did when we were young.

That was enough for me!

biggest S&W... I have put rounds downrange in both the 460 XVRand 500 mag smiths... 500 with full bore magnums can cause a flinch...

biggest firearm is tough to call... ma deuce was the most fun, but it was on tripod. The McMillan 50bmg bolt gun hurt... Ruger #1 in 458 win mag hurt more... custom reloads - HOT - 5 guys each shot 3 rounds at a10" square 1" thick steel plate... turned it into a bowl.

I got over the whole big boom thing... 460 is big enough... and pretty gentle with 454 or 45lc...

Bastogne71, A Thumper ( M79 ) becomes a gun when you put a round of buckshot in her, -- Great close quarter point gun.

I'm not sure, I shot a 458 Win Mag that my Uncle owned. I was an adult (at least over 18) and it had an incredible recoil. What sticks in my memory though is the double barreled 8 gauge goose gun that my cousin and I found in his dad's closet when we were both 8 years old. Of course the ammo was stored in the same closet, and since they lived on a farm and all the adults were somewhere else, we did what any red blooded American kid would do, we took it out in the woods to shoot it. We loaded both barrels and I won the honor of shooting it first. Neither of us knew that if you cocked both hammers and then pulled one of the triggers, both hammers fell. . That was the only time in my life that a gun knocked me to the ground. As I was dusting myself off, all the grownups arrived and we were in deep trouble (after they made sure we were both alive).

Rifle:375 H&H Browning A-Bolt.

Handgun:500 S&W mag.

I decided I liked handgun hunting more so I sold the H&H and kept the S&W

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Life's a grave,dig it!

.375 h&h for me too. I was quite surprised by the recoil. it seemed less than my 30 06.

I was assigned one summer(1976) as a medic to the Corp of Cadets at The United States Military Academy at West Point. In the summer, the cadets do field training which includes an artillery range. They let me (because I was Airborne) fire an artillery piece. I don't know exactly what it was but it was big and powerful. I was just a grunt E-4 but the cadets treated me really well. I think they admired me because I was regular army, enlisted at the time, and Airborne. They had no reason to pay attention to me but they did. They were the first people to ever call me Sir. That experience motivated me to become a doctor and serve in the Army Medical Corp for many years. I have loved the United States Army ever since. That was the biggest gun I ever shot and it took me for a ride I will always be grateful for.

1970, Boys anti-tank rifle- we nailed it to the dock.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

50 desert eagle handgun 1 handed - ahh to be 23 and naive again.

Shotgun - 10 gauge double barrel.

That's enough for me.

I've got maybe a dozen shots from a .505 Gibbs bolt gun. Shot from standing, off a tall rest, to regulate the iron sights. Six hundred grain solids.

I've shot a couple of Barrett fifities...no big deal. The muzzle brake really works well.

A friend let me shoot his .500 Jeffery Rimless in a custom Mauser action. Very nice rifle. Ammo was about $20 per round at the time, so shooting was limited, to say the least.
A definite "whump" in the shoulder and a big push back, but manageable. If I was in a situation that actually required something like that, I doubt I would feel the recoil as much. But even shooting at a steel plate at the range, it wasn't that bad.
Made my .405 Winchester feel like a .22.

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Been up since before breakfast

Hey Buff,
Can i borrow your Marlin for next years Deer season ??


Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

I shot My Son's 50 cal.Desert Eagle,It bruised My Hand so bad that I could not shoot My 38 cal. for a week.
I also shot His Smith and wesson 500 50 cal. and that was a sweet Gun to shoot.

Hand-carried: 3.5" rocket launcher, about 200 rounds. Ears rang for a week or so. (Ammo Lt. erred in ammo order, and had all the crates unsealed. "You guys shoot that all up, so I don't have to sign in each round individually."
Truck-towed: 105 mm. howitzer, about 18 months. Ears still ringing after 50 years.
As the old 1Sgt usta say, "You gotta love it!! Nobody does this s*** just for the money."

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de minimus non curat lex

Double barrel 12 gauge unexpectedly doubled on me with two loads of 00 Buck Shot. My hat turned 90 degrees on my head and my shooting glasses were on the ground behind me.

.44 magnum the most powerful. Absolute worst was a 10mm Derringer.

Fired a .458 once... absolutely no desire for a second shot.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

I owned a 50 BMG bolt gun for a couple of years. It was fun and entertaining, but I don't believe I care to take on anything any bigger than that. I have a .458 Win. Mag. now and that's plenty.

For military weapons I've fired an RPG and M2; hunting rifles include 458 Win, 416 Rem and 375 H&H, etc.

Here's a pic of me firing an RPG in the mountains above Camp Dubbs, Kabul, AF.

Attached Images

image.jpeg (97.3 KB, 50 views)

Mine would be a 458 win mag. I was a lot younger.

I own a Ruger Model 77 Safari in 416 Rigby, I would suggest that most folks could shoot it with proper instruction.
I shot a 458 Winchester Magnum many years ago and if I recall correctly it was pretty rowdy but it has been too many years for me to make an accurate comparison. Perhaps someone here will know what the recoil values of the 2 cartridges are.

Left to right, a .416 Rigby cartridge with a 410 grain solid, next a .38 Special with a 158 grain bullet and lastly a .22 stinger with a 32 grain bullet.

As for reloading, the 416 Rigby is a real powder hog, with loads typically using anywhere between 95 to 105 grains that equals to 72 or 66 rounds per pound.

terry

Have shot Barretts in 50 bmg and 338 lapua mag. Have shot #1s in 375 H&H, 45-70 and 500 Nitro. Contenders from ,223 to 375 H&H, 69 cal musket with a 730 gr mini ball. The worst was the #1 in 45-70. Why I have no idea but it was just unpleasant to shoot.
Pistols, I have shot most. .22 to 50 S&W including 45-70 in a Contender (14" barrel) and in a BFR. Worst was a .454 in a Freedom Arms.
I have said it before, but to shoot a 45-70 in a pistol , shoot it one handed. If you try to hold a death grip with both hands it will try its best to twist your wrists 180 degrees and come out of your hands. Single handed it will roll the wrist, elbow, shoulder and waist but comes right back to home. Larry