What's The Largest, Most Powerful Gun You've Ever Fired - Smallarm-wise?
- Thread starter mac2
- Start date
amazingflapjack
US Veteran
45-70 +P+ 350gr JHP about 2200 fps-ouch!
BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
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!
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.
While I like the above, I continue to hold out for a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.
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.
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.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
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.
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.
NJM15
Member
.44 Mag
That was enough for me!
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...
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...
rusty37874
US Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2008
- Messages
- 411
- Reaction score
- 255
Bastogne71, A Thumper ( M79 ) becomes a gun when you put a round of buckshot in her, -- Great close quarter point gun.
Bkreutz
US Veteran
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).
. 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).
Kronos
Member
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
Handgun:500 S&W mag.
I decided I liked handgun hunting more so I sold the H&H and kept the S&W
Sailfish 40
Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2010
- Messages
- 487
- Reaction score
- 310
.375 h&h for me too. I was quite surprised by the recoil. it seemed less than my 30 06.
Bajadoc
US Veteran
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.
Last edited:
1970, Boys anti-tank rifle- we nailed it to the dock.
Regards,
turnerriver
Regards,
turnerriver
RJJ 1971
Member
50 desert eagle handgun 1 handed - ahh to be 23 and naive again.
Shotgun - 10 gauge double barrel.
That's enough for me.
Shotgun - 10 gauge double barrel.
That's enough for me.
Frank237
Absent Comrade
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.
I've shot a couple of Barrett fifities...no big deal. The muzzle brake really works well.
Fat Frank
US Veteran
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.
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.
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Locked
