My shoulder hurts just looking at these...

[444 Magnum]

BMur's thread on the the 44 Russian got me digging around in my ammo accumulation.

The first pics are a couple of 8 gauge shells next to some 12 gauges.

The rifle cartridge headstamps are as follows:

Winchester .38-55 (for comparison-same case used for .30-30 and .32 Win Special)
Eley 577 Nitro
Kynoch 577 Nitro
50-Sharps-31
Bell 470

I have to confess...I have no ambition towards shooting ANY of these.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Shot a friend's Ruger in 300 Winchester Magnum for the 1st time the other day: IMHO the difference (recoil-wise) between it and my more normal 270 Winchester, 7x57 & .308 rifles was just about the same as another friend's 338 Lapua Magnum.

Maybe I'm just not very sensitive to recoil (or, perhaps was anticipating even more?)...

Cheers!

 

[wyo-man]

I was hesitant to shoot a friends .458 Winchester Magnum in a Ruger #1.
It was more of long push than sharp recoil.
But, you don't shoot it from the bench - you stand and shoot it offhand.

wyo-man

 

[444 Magnum]

I did shoot a Marlin .444 from a sitting position. The recoil was substantial. On the second shot, I involuntarily blinked and jerked the trigger in anticipation! My buddy and I both laughed. The third shot was OK.

I saw a video of a large man shooting a 577 double rifle. It rocked his world enough that I have no desire.

 

[Buzzzer]

The biggest rifle caliber (power-wise) I ever shot was a 375 H&H magnum with some heavy loads. 4 shots in a row and the fourth one hurt, quite a bit. Anyway, glad it's not mine...

I do own a 444 Marlin and while it kicks a bit it's nothing like that 375...

 

[Borderboss]

I'm sort of recoil sensitive even though I'm a big guy. Shotguns are fine, but large caliber rifles just don't do it for me. A couple of decades ago I bought a Marlin Cowboy in .45-70. Couldn't wait to sell that baby.

 

[racoonbeast]

On a dare (I was young) I shot an old Spanish made ten gauge double barrel, both barrels at once from the hip a bunch of years ago. The thing had a tang safety. When I started, I was firmly gripping the pistol grip. When it came to rest after recoil I was firmly gripping it up around the receiver. There was what I learned was a strip of my skin curled up in a ball on the flange of the safety. My hand had a perfectly square trench dug right across the palm that was made by the flange on the safety as it went through my grip. No more two barrel demonstrations of macho for me after that.

 

[Skeet 028]

Shot a 600 NE one time. It KICKED. I chose to not shoot a 2nd round. I will say if I was hunting where I needed that 600...bring it on. Shot a couple of geese with the 8 ga...about like shooting a 3 in 12 ga. I used a 375 as a backup when guiding all those years ago...not much worse than a heavy weight 300 Win mag round. I also sold my Marlin Cowboy 45-70. I also shot lots of waterfowl loads guiding over 35 or more years. Worst recoiling shotgun I ever tried was a short bbl Mossberg 835 3 1/2 in Steel Shot load. Pass shot a pair of snow geese at about 50-55 yds straaight overhead. Sirring on the ground for #1 laying on the ground #2. #2 really hurt

 

[Greyman50]

Had a Ruger number 1 in 375 H&H, magna ported and with recoil reducer in stock. Still kicked like a mule and most friends would not even try it. After some health issues Grandson got it, he's a Big guy and loves big cartridges.

 

[310Pilot]

My younger brother talked me into ordering a 10 gauge double for him back in the 1970s. The first time he fired it was with both chambers loaded with 3.5 inch 00 buck magnum loads. Both barrels fired simultaneously, and the recoil actually knocked him down to the ground from an offhand position. Assuming that to be an anomaly, he tried it again with the same results. That was the end of that day's shooting, and he brought it back to my shop, where we disassembled it and repaired some flaw from the factory. After that, it could be shot without both sides going off at once, but still kicked like a mule. BTW, his target that day was a 55 gallon drum filled with water, and the impact of those two rounds created quite a spectacular fountain!

 

[Skeet 028]

I remember a friend getting one of those Mercury Magnum doubles you'd see in the Klein's Sporting goods ad in the back of Field & Stream magazine. That thing would double like that. Oh it was brutal...for him. I never pulled the trigger on that thing. I did have a bunch of Ithaca and Remington Mag 10sGood shooters and great pass shooting guns. I sold a bunch to my hunting parties over the years

 

[ArchAngelCD]

An 8ga shotgun is no joke! I have never shot a 10ga or 8ga shotgun and have no urge to do so. I did see a very large man shoot an 8ga a long time ago. He was at least 6'2" tall and must have weighed well over 350lbs. When he shot that monster the muzzle lifted about 2 feet up and almost moved that man backwards. He was no novice at shooting and his form looked correct to me. That gun and shell was just that powerful. The barrel was very long too. (can't remember how long) From what I'm told that combination was created as a goose gun since they tend to fly so high. (not sure if that's true or not)

 

[Nevada Ed]

A 10 Ga. is not bad to shoot... if...... you have a heavy in weight shotgun.
You just don't want to walk around with this Ga. and is used for a "Blind"
where you sit and wait for the birds.

Somewhere I remember seeing people in India (?) shooting a heavy African rifle, for the first time and where they ended up in the room.

No one was injured, or bloody but they did have to re-adjust their clothes and train of thought !!

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Have not shot any REALLY big bores, biggest was a .500 BPE - not that bad. A lightweight .338 Win. Mag. is a hard, sharp kicker. I Believe the worst I've shot is actually my Mossberg 835 Ultimag with 3.5" 2oz. turkey loads, followed closely by Dead Coyote 3.5" 1 7/8 oz. T shot. Really heavy loads in a Marlin .45-70 will get your attention, too. My Model 71 .348 Winchester isn't too bad the first few shots, but I shot 20+ rounds through it a couple of weeks ago off the bench regulating sights, and I was bruised and sore the next day although it didn't bother me too much while shooting.

 

[Narragansett]

Had a Ruger number 1 in 375 H&H, magna ported and with recoil reducer in stock. Still kicked like a mule and most friends would not even try it. After some health issues Grandson got it, he's a Big guy and loves big cartridges.

The 375 H&H is a hand loaders dream. An inherently accurate cartridge that can be loaded down to 30-30 performance. Somewhere I have an old shooter's bible article on this round.

Always thought I would own one, but never did. I know I could not take the recoil from a factory loading. 30-06 is it for me in the recoil dept

 

[acermanco]

I shot a .510 Wells (Overkill for elephants) 3 times. I had a headache and extremely sore shoulder and cheek bone. Never again!!

 

[Engine49guy]

Most powerful rifle I've ever owned was only a 7mm Remington Magnum.
Years ago a friend invited me to an outdoor range on the edge of the everglades, approached him at the shooting bench and noticed the target was a 55 gallon drum 100 yards out on a berm,
asking if I wanted to take a shot of his new bolt action , I said Sure then noticed a small stream of blood trickling down from a cut on the bridge of his nose.
Noticing the huge mizzle break I asked "what caliber is it"? Oh its a .50 BMG firing a 660 grain bullet with 3000 fps muzzle energy of around 10,000 to 15,000 ft/lb of energy at muzzle ( compare that to 30-06 which is about 2000-3000 ft/lb).

One round was enough for me.

 

[jimmyj]

Once a long, long time ago when I was young (yes I was young once) I fired a Marlin Model 1895 in .45/70 (first model with a straight pistol grip) from a brench rest and then a Ithaca road block model 10 gauge.
After I stopped crying and hurting I applied for a Wimp/Sisy card and have been a resister Whip/Sisy guy ever since.

 

[fiasconva]

When you realize that the average guy back in the day was about 50 lbs lighter and several inches shorter it must have been some tough individuals to fire those loads on a regular basis.

 

[Greyman50]

The 375 H&H is a hand loaders dream. An inherently accurate cartridge that can be loaded down to 30-30 performance. Somewhere I have an old shooter's bible article on this round.

Always thought I would own one, but never did. I know I could not take the recoil from a factory loading. 30-06 is it for me in the recoil dept

I bought the number 1 when a good friend was in stationed Alaska, we were planning a hunt. Hip replacement then cataract surgeries and few other issues ruled out the 375. Even sold all my 1903’s….