Cheap big calibers?

[Sine_Timore]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here and I wanted to ask a question. What are some big calibers that can be shot on the cheaper side. I love big calibers with big big kick. Call me a glutton for punishment I guess. I just really like hard kicking firearms. Now I'm not talking 1000 rounds for $100 cheap but I really don't want to pay $3 - $5 a round either. Currently shooing 7mm rem mag, 12 gauge and 45-70 govt. So what else is there for a reasonable price. Will be getting into reloading my own soon also. On a side note I got to fire a 458 socom and lived it but at $3 a round it's a bit on the high side. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Danoobie]

30.06 is a more common caliber. Check Ammoman for good deals on bulk ammo.
Shipping is free.

 

[Bwana John]

12 gauge slugs have the best mass/cost ratio.

 

[Speedo66]

Welcome to the site.

Unless you reload, nothing is cheap. Cheapest centerfires seem to be 7.62x39 Russian, and .223, but neither really have big kicks.

Even reloading, big kick equals more expense for larger loads of lead and powder.

 

[Sunray]

"...Unless you reload..." Doesn't always mean cheap, but it usually means cheaper or at least possible.
A lot depends on what you call 'big' and how you define 'cheap'. Your .458 Socom, for example, is not cheap even to reload. BNIB brass runs $82.99 per 100 at Midway. Bullets start at about $20 per 50. Vs $50ish per 20 for loaded ammo.
.45-70 can be reasonable though. Starts at about $30 per 20 for loaded ammo. $51.99 per 50 for brass. Same cost for bullets as the Socom unless you shoot cast.
"...really like hard kicking firearms..." Got a buddy who owns TrapDoor Carbine? Shoot BP loads with a cast 405 grain bullet and 70 grains of BP. It's all about heavy bullets out of a light weight rifle.

 

[jmr40]

If you just like getting the snot kicked out of you 45-70 is as good as it gets for the dollar. Mild black powder equivalent loads are in the 30-06 range, but if you load up some of the hotter loads they will exceed 458 WM in recoil primarily because most 45-70's are considerably lighter in weight than most 458's.

A 12 ga shooting 3 1/2" magnum turkey loads is in the same recoil range. Steel shot from the 3.5's is a little more reasonable, but still stout.

 

[J-Bar]

Several years ago, I fired one high-base waterfowl load in my light SKB 12 gauge side by side. The recoil drove the lever backwards into the tip of my thumb, splitting flesh and thumbnail both. Yeah, that was fun.

To each his own.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

300 wm will run usually about $2 a round plus or minus. Kicks harder than a 7mm mag, I guess. I dont really have an issue with recoil. .308 win...not a BIG round but on the higher side then say a .223 and is fairly cheap. 270, 243. lighter kicking but half decent for 800y work plus or minus...not so much recoil..
You can look to see if you can find a 10 gauge shotty, I know of one that browning makes, and im sure a bunch of others make 10 gauges too.
AR's theres the .50 beowolf...

 

[Liquidring]

50 Beowluf without the muzzle brake, even with it it's fun. Have got a video of my daughter shooting mine, knocked off her ear muffs and cap, but she did have a cast on her left arm, so she may not have had a good hold on it, but still funny as H@@@.

 

[Mn Fats]

I'm not sure what type of shotgun your using but if your really just after kick, pick up an old single barrel shotgun with no recoil pad and shoot high brass loads. That'd be about the best bang for your buck. Better yet, a double barrel and pull both triggers. I used to with high brass loads. That'll cure your craving after about 2 or 3 times.

 

[redneck2]

10 gauge 3 1/2" single barrel goose gun. That will rock your world

Worst recoil was a Ruger sporter weight #1 .45-70 with Ruger only loads that were basically equivalent to a .458 Win Mag, but the gun is about 1/2 the normal weight. Shot right at dusk. Fire belched out the end maybe two or three feet. Gun recoiled nearly straight up.

Next day my shoulder was black and blue from my collar bone to the center of my ribs.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Cast your own bullets for 45-70 and load for bunnies, elephants or anything in between.
Not counting the brass it will cost as little as 10 cents a round.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

Also, maybe not a huge recoil but not super pleasant to have a metal butt plate hit your shoulder, mosin nagant and its 762x54r is about as cheap as they come.

 

[orpington]

If you want good kick, get an old Winchester 1886 or 1894 with a crescent metal buttplate and shoot it prone with the point of the metal buttplate pointing into your shoulder.

 

[JN01]

If you can find a used American Derringer M4 in .45-70, it might be snappy enough for you.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

If you can find a used American Derringer M4 in .45-70, it might be snappy enough for you.

haha

 

[Curator]

Russian or Chinese Mosin Nagant carbines in 7.62X54R will give you plenty of recoil for your inexpensive round. Less than $.40 per shot if you buy surplus Ruskie ammo. Reasonably accurate but corrosive so wash out the bore with real water after shooting to get rid of corrosive slats, then clean normally. Anything in 8X57 mauser will satisfy your need for punishment as well.

 

[pert near]

If you are really serious about this, I recommend the .458 winchester. Factory ammo is $5 a round but it is just as cheap to reload & shoot as the .45-70 (after you get some brass). For normal powder puff loads use a cast bullet & unique powder. Then take it up to max .45-70 405gr jacketed loads. Once the thrill of maximum .45-70 loads become mundane, you can take it UP from there.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Mosin Nagant 7.62x54mmR is very inexpensive and there is a ton of surplus to be had. Great round, far cheaper than .308 and every bit if not more powerful. Only problem is not many modern guns chambered in it, at least ones easily available in the US. You'll pretty much have to get a Mosin or a Vepr, or Romanian PSL (getting quite expensive) to shoot this round. I'd get one of the surplus Finn M39 Mosins. They took the basic crude Mosin Nagant and turned it into a masterpiece. Phenomenal accuracy for a service rifle and just leaps and bounds better than the Russian ones.

 

[MedWheeler]

Yet another vote for the venerable MN 91/30 in 7.62x54mmR. If you can find a MN M44, that might even rock a little more, being a shorter carbine in the same caliber.

As others have mentioned, a single-shot 12 gauge (no action or buffer to absorb kick) can be a bit of a bruiser. I have one in 20 gauge, and old FIE import. With anything other than birdshot, it gets not-fun pretty quickly.

 

[pezo]

Bench shoot a mosin nagamnt with the standard steel buttplate while wearing a tee shirt. I found it interesting.

 

[Demi-human]

Many have suggested, from your already owned calibers, to change platforms. And I agree. Try a revolver in four sixty Smith and Wesson. Using fourty five caliber pistol bullets ,it is some what more inexpensive to reload than the other rifle rounds. But the main cost would be the powder.
Anything that starts with five is starting to be fun.

 

[Jimster]

Love 45-70. First cartridge I ever reloaded. Black powder all the way.

 

[mnrivrat]

Take the 45-70 you have and remove the butt plate. If that don't hurt enough, drill some hole in the butt plate and insert some nails backwards so they stick out a bit to the rear.

Seriously the best option is heavy loads shot threw either that 10 gauge single shot, or cheaper, a 12 gauge single should be able to give you something that will last a life time when the arthritis sets in.

 

[fpgt72]

You really need to get into reloading.