Jeff olson
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Worst one ever by far was my dads Mark v weatherby in 460 magnum. I got kicked by a cow once when I was a kid and it didn't come close to the pain of shooting that thing. One and done.
Rifles that kick like a mule, what you got and what's your work arounds
- Thread starter Paul R Zartman
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Ironicaintit
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People have mentioned the m95 chambered in 8x56R. I don’t think it kicks as hard as say, a 300WM, but the sharp quality of its kick makes it far less pleasing to fire. So, I just don’t fire it much.
also, I have a Winchester 88... beautiful rifle, but it makes a 308 feel like something much bigger
also, I have a Winchester 88... beautiful rifle, but it makes a 308 feel like something much bigger
Got a Ruger #1 tropical in.375 H&H that's bad. Also have one in .458 Win mag that's much milder. I use a kick eze leather slip on pad with a 1/4" spacer inside.The extra length plus extra area created by the wrap around leather makes a big difference. Marlin 1895 cowboy, 45-70 is a bear but it is factory stock.
Double_J
Member
M44 with a +200 grain load. I felt my teeth rattle in my head as I was pulling the trigger. Next was the .300 magnum a friend bought cheap. it left a nasty bruise on my shoulder for the better part of a week. He laughed the entire time as he had loaded a "hot load" special for me.
WVGunman
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Shoot, I just bought one of those Marlins, though I got the full rifle, not the carbine. I hate recoil; hope getting the full length barrel helps!
WVGunman
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Ya'll are going to laugh at me, but my worst recoil experience was with one of these:
... a Rossi 20 gauge youth shotgun. It weighs 5 pounds, and I was foolish enough to fire a 3-inch turkey shell (they do make them in 20 gauge!) out of it. Those shells develop more than 1,200 ft-lbs. of evergy, and the recoil of that was focused through the tiiiiiiny plastic buttplate. It remains the only time I ever literally felt pain after shooting a gun ONCE.
... a Rossi 20 gauge youth shotgun. It weighs 5 pounds, and I was foolish enough to fire a 3-inch turkey shell (they do make them in 20 gauge!) out of it. Those shells develop more than 1,200 ft-lbs. of evergy, and the recoil of that was focused through the tiiiiiiny plastic buttplate. It remains the only time I ever literally felt pain after shooting a gun ONCE.
illinoisburt
Member
These danged things along with the H&Rs were a terrible concept, especially in 12 gauge. I know a lot of people who bought them for kids to use in deer season because they were so cheap. The only plus was most kids are bundled up with lots of layers of clothes for the cold weather and only got to shoot when deer were around. Doubt many of these guns saw more than a few 5-round boxes of slugs.
1KPerDay
Member
Dang that's a sexy rifle. When was it made? Late 50s/early 60s?I've shot .375 H&H, .458 Win. Mag. 500 grain, etc. But the one that really beats me up is the little Remington 660 .350 Mag. carbine. And yes, I do have one of those PAST recoil shields
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Hokkmike
Member
I am surprised that the OP said Winny 94. I was going to thinking, -nah, can't mention my 94 in .32 WS because it is really not a gun that kicks THAT much. But you do have to snug them up to your shoulder. After 1/2 hour you could get bruised. The meanest gun I ever shot was a .303 British but my dad told me it was like a .22. (that was the only rifle I had shot up until that time) I have shied away from the really big calibers......
desidog
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I'd say toss up between an Enfield No.5 with a petrified rubber butt vs. an M44 with the heavy ammo. However, those are standard. Honorable mention goes to both my 1903A3... I got it and shot it with standard ammo... wow. turns out the bore is actually .307"; and my Ithaca M37 Deerslayer Police Special... the bore mikes .709".
Archie
Member
I bought a Ruger #1 in (deep breath) "450/400 Nitro Express 3 1/4 inch". It is a dangerous game rifle that shoots a .410" bullet of 4100 grains. I use a Past recoil pad and a standing rest. (Not off a bench.) I can actually make it hit what I want out to fifty yards or so, but they are not long range arms.
I also have a 1903 Springfield action, rebarreled to .458 Winchester Magnum. Same as the Nitro Express, standing rest and recoil shield. A 500 grain solid at 2200 fps is about all the fun I can stand.
Also have a 1903 Springfield action redone to .45-70. I haven't shot it yet, but that's the one I will load down for North American game. Will use the same standing rest and shield when getting it shooting.
Then I have a couple .30-06 rifles using heavy bullets that are not designed for a casual afternoon of groundhog shooting. They are quite snappy, but not painful for the first shot.
I also have a 1903 Springfield action, rebarreled to .458 Winchester Magnum. Same as the Nitro Express, standing rest and recoil shield. A 500 grain solid at 2200 fps is about all the fun I can stand.
Also have a 1903 Springfield action redone to .45-70. I haven't shot it yet, but that's the one I will load down for North American game. Will use the same standing rest and shield when getting it shooting.
Then I have a couple .30-06 rifles using heavy bullets that are not designed for a casual afternoon of groundhog shooting. They are quite snappy, but not painful for the first shot.
gralewaj
Member
I love my 600 .350 Rem Mag, but it does kick like a mule!I've shot .375 H&H, .458 Win. Mag. 500 grain, etc. But the one that really beats me up is the little Remington 660 .350 Mag. carbine. And yes, I do have one of those PAST recoil shields
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My freaking Remington 721 30-06. Good lord I hate shooting that thing, but I'll never part with it. To me it feels like it kicks harder than my 12 gauge and my 300 win mag, though the win mag is port relieved. I don't think I've ever made it past 10 rounds in one sitting.
Alaskan Ironworker
Member
My boss has a 1917 sporterized into a .378 weatherby, that was the roughest thing ive ever shot. Was pretty cool watching a cinderblock vaporize though.
Ruger #1 Tropical in 405 Winchester. It had the usually skinny red hard Ruger pad on it when I got it. Loaded up some fairly hot ammo and went down and fired 25 or 30 rounds off the bench. When I got home and took off my shirt, I was bruised. I had a Limbsaver pad put on shortly after that and now it's good. It still recoils, but it doesn't hurt me when it does.
I fired my buddy's Savage 99 308 Win. Hard plastic butt plate. It was pretty brutal. Hardest kicking 308 I have ever fired. It had been repaired and had a different, and not correct, butt stock on it, so I blamed it on that stock. Later, I ended up with a 99 in 300 Savage, also with a plastic butt plate. It kicked like crazy too. I got rid of the gun. Obviously, I was wrong about my buddy's stock.
I also have a CVA Hawken 50 cal with a good old curved brass, be a man among men, butt plate on it. It's fairly narrow, so it doesn't have a lot of area. That thing killed my shoulder. I took it out of service and hung it on the wall in my living room where it looks great and doesn't hurt anyone.
I fired my buddy's Savage 99 308 Win. Hard plastic butt plate. It was pretty brutal. Hardest kicking 308 I have ever fired. It had been repaired and had a different, and not correct, butt stock on it, so I blamed it on that stock. Later, I ended up with a 99 in 300 Savage, also with a plastic butt plate. It kicked like crazy too. I got rid of the gun. Obviously, I was wrong about my buddy's stock.
I also have a CVA Hawken 50 cal with a good old curved brass, be a man among men, butt plate on it. It's fairly narrow, so it doesn't have a lot of area. That thing killed my shoulder. I took it out of service and hung it on the wall in my living room where it looks great and doesn't hurt anyone.
DocRock
member
Mossberg Patriot synthetic in 375 Ruger. It was under 6lbs as pictured. I added about a pound in lead shot and Accriglass bedding it and put a stonking big Bushnell scope on it. Weighs about 8lbs 9 oz now as I recall. Good enough.
Did the TC Hawken thing. Not only did it hurt my shoulder, but the comb was slightly too high for me and it belted me in the chops. Thank god I had borrowed it. I returned it to it's owner and never looked back.
Oh, another.
Though, if you haven't shot one and shot it in a tee shirt, I don't wanna hear about how you've been shooting Enfields all your life and they don't hurt.
Shoot a No 5 Mk I while wearing only a tee shirt and have that already significant recoil concentrated down by that linear hockey-puck, *butt-pad* and then imparted to a shoulder with a camel's hair width of cotton 'twixt you and the hurt.
Sure and I faked that it didn't hurt for a full magazine but dog-my-cats! THAT hurt!
My "work-around"?
Wear a damn jacket. Even in an Arizona summer!
Todd.
But they are such cute little guns, lol. That linear hockey puck is the reason I never bought one.
troy fairweather
Member
Curved butts like on your hawken are meant the be shot resting on your bicep, reason why it hurt and the stock didint fit you.
Not sure it's brave to go for round 2. Maybe just stubborn?
First I've heard of that one. You got a source for that?
troy fairweather
Member
Back in the day as bores got smaller and barrels for longer, shouldering the guns were not very comfortable when using a shotgun or wide butt. Moving the butt down your are moves the center of gravity back this makes the gun balance better, makes you stand almost airways to the target keeping the gun closer to your body.
Depends on the gun but anywhere from the arm pit to just above the elbow is were the crescent plate sit.
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=29173.0
JCooperfan1911
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Sawed off H&R single shot 12 bore with a 3” magnum load of Double Zero buckshot and the factory hard plastic buttplate. Quite stiff.
I took a look around and came up with plenty of mentions on forums. Unfortunately, being of historian bent, forums don't usually qualify as sources unless they state a source. They are generally opinions, which certainly can provide knowledge if sifted carefully. Is there anything to back up that opinion other than another forum? Something from the period (18th-19th centuries) that actually talks about, or illustrates the intent? A quick search didn't turn up anything. I did locate a nice video of a muzzle loading gentleman demonstrating how a deeply curved pointed buttplate on a southern flintlock works better on the upper arm. Since that type of buttplate would most definitely put the points into your shoulder if you tried to hold it that way, his demonstration made perfect sense. My Hawken, on the other hand, doesn't have that type of buttplate, not does any Hawken I have been around. Mine is much more gentle in curve. That may still be effective from the bicep, but wouldn't be nearly as secure as the deep curved type would. My Hawken plate is actually very comfortable on my shoulder right up until the point of the shot. As far as recoil goes, the youtube gentleman never states that the deep curved design on the bicep was to handle recoil. He demonstrated that it was to promote maneuverability of the rifle. Southern flintlocks were not large caliber guns at any rate. If you are interested, the link to that video is: HOW TO SHOOT SOUTHERN FLINTLOCKS THAT HAVE A DEEP CRESCENT BUTTPLATE - YouTube
I do appreciate the heads up as I was actually thinking of buying a small caliber flintlock. I will do some more research into the historical background of curved buttplates if I can find anything. I suspect that our American curved buttplates just evolved from Scheutzen plates and as times changed, the curves gradually reduced to the point that everybody was using flat, or nearly flat, shotgun types. I have a copy of SHARPS FIREARMS by Frank Sellers in my library. That book shows many more examples of the Model 1874 with shotgun buttplates than they do curved, which leads me to believe that curved plates were well on their way to dying out as early as the 1870s.
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