What's The Largest, Most Powerful Gun You've Ever Fired - Smallarm-wise?

[Ed Fowler]

Not the biggest outfit I ever shot, but the one that hurt me the most.
I was just a kid, about 4th grade. My friend and I snuck my fathers Win. mod 12 3" mag out and I shot it, it knocked me down, my friend laughed at me so I brilliantly leaned up against a tree and shot it again!!

It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time!

 

[Smoke]

I can't hear out of my left ear because of one of those. (and I wasn't even an Arty guy, just happened to be walking by when they had a fire mission)

One of the biggest mistakes of my military career was not wearing hearing protection.

 

[walkin jack]

I didn't have these pics in my new laptop....

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.

....When I posted this but I finally got 'em in so I wanted to demonstrate with pic the truth of my words. The first pic is a side-by-side show-up comparing a regular .45 acp and a .45-70. I can almost feel the hit when I look at those last two.

 

[Cpo1944]

I have shot some pretty big stuff , .44 mag, 454 Casull etc. all much larger than the one I`m going to complain about, but the most uncomfortable objectionable recoil was from a Ruger LCR with a very hot .357 magnum.
It was too much power in too small/light gun=almost uncontrollable!
So its not really the size of the gun as much as the combination of gun & ammo.
I love shooting .44 mag ,.45LC,.45ACP,.41 mag,.357 mag and enjoy the recoil in a N, or K, or L frame Smith or Colt SAA,or Python, just not in those tiny pocket guns.

 

[prplbkrr]

A .577 Nitro, with twin triggers and hammers, at an "African Safari" match a local club was having. Owner let me shoot the 25 yd. lion and water buffalo stage, 5 sec. for 2 shots, one on each animal. I spined the lion, and hit the buffalo in the hip.

And a .50 bmg. Yeah, muzzle breaks (brakes?) do work.

 

[RudyN]

In a rifle 30-06 and before yesterday it was a.357 Magnum. Yesterday took my Model 29 to the range and what a difference!

 

[mbliss57]

MY S&W 500 with 700 grain FMJ. What a lad in a handgun!! The other handgun that really hurt was a S&W 340PD. Sc-Ti at 11 oz. This J frame, in 357 magnum is a monster. I could't finish the 5 round cylinder. It practically broke my fingers as it twisted.

 

[Cal44]

I have a Winchester 375 H&H Safari Express rifle. It's the heaviest gun I've shot.

I keep it around in case we have an elephant problem here in Northern California.

 

[Richard Simmons]

.300 Winchester mag in long gun and .44mag in handgun. If we can count HE rounds then I'd add in the M79.

 

[DocB]

Contrary to popular opinion, the old Winchester M70's are very poorly made when it comes to recoil management. I had one in 375 H&H Magnum back in the 1980's. It would pick a big man's front foot up off the ground when fired. Many of my bigger friends tried it and the front foot always left the ground. Dumped it and bought two Ruger Number 1 Rifles. One in 375 H&H and one in 458 Winchester Magnum. The 375 is like shooting a 243. I used to hunt deer with it. The 458 is a different story. . .it will put a 6 inch long bruise on your shoulder and it only takes one or two shots. The day I bought it I took 3 of the biggest football players from my wife's school out to shoot it. Free ammo for everybody and nobody would shoot it. I shot it 5 times. Took a week for the bruise to go away. Back then you could find the Number 1's for $350-$450. Still have them both.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

.416 Rigby in a CZ. IMO, that cartridge requires 10.5 pounds of rifle or scope behind it to be reasonable.

Also fired one of those H&R single-shot shotguns in 12 gauge. Worse than the Rigby. I wouldn't fire the H&R in 10 gauge on a bet or a dare.

 

[cptrick3]

OK you asked for it. M1A1 120mm smoothbore.

 

[ky wonder]

4 bore 1 time, never again

 

[CptCurl]

8b Alexander Henry double rifle

Here's a slow motion video of me firing an 8 bore Alexander Henry double rifle. The rifle itself weighs 16-1/2 pounds.

https://youtu.be/TYuNQk7fiX0

Curl

 

[Targets Guy]

M60 machine gun. Standing, 100 rounds, full auto. Wow!

 

[sandmansans]

MY S&W 500 with 700 grain FMJ. What a lad in a handgun!! The other handgun that really hurt was a S&W 340PD. Sc-Ti at 11 oz. This J frame, in 357 magnum is a monster. I could't finish the 5 round cylinder. It practically broke my fingers as it twisted.

I never knew there were 700 grain fmjs. Do you handload those? The only ones I've ever seen are the 700 grain lead wide flat nose.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I feel like a lightweight in this thread.

The hardest kicking gun I've fired was a Remington 870 12ga firing 00 buckshot. It wasn't too bad from the shoulder but I also fired it under the arm ("wing shooting," I think it was called). That was not a pleasant experience.

The hardest kicking handgun I ever fired was rapid-firing a Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Magnum. I don't know what the ammo was, but it came in a 50-round box. I want to say it was American Eagle, but it was a long time ago and I can't be sure. I know it was standard factory ammo. I remember my hand being red after getting through a cylinder-full of ammo. I also remember liking it better than shooting the little .380 I tried during that same session.

 

[Rick_A]

A couple 50BMG's

I miss 'em a bit.

 

[Homie]

.50 BMG custom bolt gun, and my XP-100 full-length .308 Unlimited Silhouette pistol. After shooting 40rds. thru the XP my arm would "vibrate" 'til the next day!

Does an old "Marshwood" 12 ga. SxS that "doubled" once in a while count?

 

[JH1951]

.50 cal. Barrett
105mm Howitzer (but that doesn't rate as a small arm)