I have found my limit

Fired a friend's .454 Super Redhawk once. Hated it. Another friend's .480 Ruger, on the other hand, I enjoyed shooting. If I ever feel the need for something bigger than my .44 mag, that would be the one.
 
I'm remembering the fireball out of the 7" was football sized. The 5.5" was basketball sized. Sometime in that past, I started using 296 for those LSWC loads (I have old notes - I don't trust them). Fireballs still happened. Was just before I sold them. Kept the powder. Used it in my .357's until I sold them.
 
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Factory 44 mags out of this one…

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Hurts the hands and the ears (with hearing protection)
 
A friend of mine had a Thompson Center, single shot in 45-70. I shot
that monster a few times. I think that was past my limit. I dropped
down to a Ruger .44 mag, sold it and dropped to .44 special. The .44
special will kill anything I want or need to shoot.
 
Biggest handgun I have is a Smith & Wesson 500. That one is no problem. For rifles I finally hit my limit with the 4 bore. That one throws 4 ounces of lead with each shot. I got up to 450 grain powder charge and stopped there. That is good enough.
 
I once shot a Desert Eagle .50.

HA! :D

Friend handed me his new .50 Desert Eagle and some IMI 325 grain factory loads at the gun range one day.

Felt like somebody slammed the palm of my hand with a baseball bat and I dang near planted the front sight in my forehead.

Think I ended up with a nice one inch 4 shot group at 25 yards.

Handed that bazooka back to him and I'm done with that insanity.:)
 
More than 80% of my .44 Magnums are loaded to somewhere around 900 FPS, which is comfortable for me to shoot more than a few. And I still shoot a few low-end #2400 .44 Magnums (~1225 FPS), probably about 100 per year. Anything with more recoil than that is no go, and has been for the last twenty years or so. Those who think it wise/worthwhile to expose their hands, wrists, and everything else downstream, to crazy recoil are welcome to my share of the honor. :o
 
The older I get (70), the less I like excessive recoil. .357 is my limit these days. But if others like it, not for me to judge. I have shot much higher calibers and hotter loads, but did not really enjoy it.
 
You pay the price later in life. Like yourself, when I was in my 20’s-30’s bigger was better. I’d often shoot 100-200 44mag a week. A friend had a 454 another 50ae. Trying to get double taps on a pepper popper was a challenge with the 50ae. I’ve tried the bigger 45’s and 50’s. At 53 my limit is the 44mag and that is not 100 per range session any more. The arthritis is more than willing to tell me when to stop. Enjoy them while you can nothing last for ever.
 
By your logic, why have a nice house when a cave will do, why have a nice car or truck when your feet will carry you? Why buy more expensive clothes when yard sales or dollar general will do? Why eat anything else besides peanut butter? Why bother with 22 when 357 can be loaded anemic to astronomical? It’s because we can, it’s fun for some folks and variety is the spice of life.

Just as some tolerate .454s, .460s, .700s (;)) well, others have different limits, needs and wants. Let’s not make fun of anyone because they can’t handle a howitzer…
 
Many moons ago a friend had a .44 mag contender reamed to .444. I shot it once from a sitting position at a 100 yd. target. Dead center! He asked if I wanted to shoot it again. No way! I will never shoot anything more than a .44 mag. again.
 
You pay the price later in life. Like yourself, when I was in my 20’s-30’s bigger was better. I’d often shoot 100-200 44mag a week. A friend had a 454 another 50ae. Trying to get double taps on a pepper popper was a challenge with the 50ae. I’ve tried the bigger 45’s and 50’s. At 53 my limit is the 44mag and that is not 100 per range session any more. The arthritis is more than willing to tell me when to stop. Enjoy them while you can nothing last for ever.


There’s no way I’m shooting any of this stuff a couple hundred rounds a week, I’d be broke or broken, my luck, both at the same time,lol. Maybe 20 in a month every now and then. Even with 22, I lose interest after about 50 or so shots, just how I am.

I’ve met a few guys at the range who just shoot 22 because of arthritis, I don’t blame them one bit either. I don’t have it, but being in agony is no way to live, my stuff doesn’t hurt me, but 2-4 cylinders, I’m done. The 460xvr with my 4227 load, I can go all day, but it’s the 14” version that weighs a ton, it’s more blast than recoil, my wallet can’t go all day though.
 
Standard .44s out of this guy, with those boot grips, are pretty snappy but not terrible.

I've shot a 4" .500 and a 329PD...note that I own neither one. The .500 was a big push, not painful, but I just have no use for it. The 329 was quite painful with wood grips. It wouldn't be too bad with X Frame Tamers, I imagine.

Smooth Bisley or SAA style grips would mean a lot of slipping around. Good thing they're for single actions...

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44 magnum is my limit in a handgun, and 30-06 in a rifle. I just cannot take the pounding. I would not consider some of these hand cannons in 357 either. 357 in an N frame is a nice round for me to shoot for a couple boxes.

A few hundred thousand 12 ga trap rounds really ruined me. I flinch quite a bit now. It is a terrible affliction to pull a BB gun off a target
 
I’ve never found my limit, but I also am not a recoil junkie. I like .357 magnum. Carry a 340pd loaded with magnums I don't find it hard to shoot at all.

30/30 from a Contender is fun.

Frankly I enjoy shooting.22’s almost as much as the bigger stuff. The only reason I say almost, is I do not enjoy handling those teeny rounds. I have big fingers.
 
Having actually handled a Howitzer (that's me on the Right) pistols are kinda boring



In all seriousness the most punishing handgun I ever shot was an LCP.

I don't know if I ever have shot a .44
 
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