Ever been scared to shoot a particular rifle?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Biggest I've fired yet is my 8.5lb 458WM with full house 510gr loads. No fear, just a building excitement before touching that first round off.
 
Rifle? No. Regreted shooting one or two after the fact, but wasn't put off by them beforehand.

Now handguns? A guy offered to buy me case of beer if I shot his .45-70 derringer. I told him to keep his beer. I have a rifle chambered for the .45-70 and can't imagine what a small handgun would feel like on the wrists.
 
Not really. I load my 45-70 with handloads that push a 405gr bullet near 2000fps and do not find it to be uncomfortable. Unless you are hunting or spending time in Brown Bear country there is no real reason to buy uber exspensive Garret or Buffalo Bore ammo. Unless you just really want to pay $80 to get beat on. If that is the case give me a call... ;)

I was a bit nervous before I shot H&Hhunter's 470NE but that thing cost 10x what I paid for my tuck. It was really rather pleasant though. Big boom, big shove and lots of fun.
 
First time I shot a .458 Win Mag that I borrowed from a friend, didn't know what to expect. Nothing (well, definitely less than a 12 gauge with slugs). By the 13th shot I was very relaxed--and so let myself get a scope-cut.

Did I mention that my friend was much shorter than I am? :eek:
 
mortablunt said:
I was rather afraid of using one of those stockless tactical shotguns with a higher power 3 in 12 ga slug round. I was justified, at the darn thing made a very good bid for freedom and almost succeeded.
Click to expand...
I had exactly the same experiance with the Mossy 500 Persuader pistol grip 12 ga. Only did it once. Up until that day I had only fired managed recoil through it. Even after that day with regular .00 shells I didn't like it. Owned it less than a month before trading it.
 
Since 90% of my big bore shooting is while hunting recoil doesn't factor too much. When shooting hard kickers from the bench for sighting in purposes I always put some sort of pad - a folded towel works okay - on my shoulder. When I shoot at game I don't notice the recoil anyway except for having to lower the gun to see if I hit the target.
I had an original Winchester High Wall in 40-82 once and it would slap me silly with the original black powder loads, but I didn't shoot it much before I traded it away for .375 H&H built on a Brevex Mauser action. I was a little nervous the first time I shot it (I was about 23-24 then) but I was surprised how bad it really wasn't. Not something I'd like to do all day long from a bench or prone position, but doable. I shot a .458 once and once was enough. I never hunt anything that can't be easily killed with a .300 mag or even an '06 so recoil doesn't really bother me.
 
Not a macho thing, just a fun thing for me, but I'm a real sucker for big rounds. So far, shoulder fired my biggest round has been from my 10 guage. I hunt with a .444 Marlin. Now I can't shoot all day with those, but I just love shooting a big round.
 
A good friend of mine bought at Jap 7.7 back in the mid 70's. He picked up some war surplus ammunition for it and it fell upon me to check it out... The rear sight was a tab of metal that had been welded on the receiver and ruffly drilled out to become a peep sight. The barrel would have made a fair wood rasp but it was too soft (in places) and wouldn't have lasted very long, the stock had been whittled down with very visible cuts by some one long ago.
I knew that the 7.7 Jap was considered by many as being one of the strongest bolt actions of the time, but I didn't have any trust in that one.
We went to the SO's range and I shot it. I still have all of my fingers and both eyes, so it must have been OK. To my knowledge Mike still has 22 of those original 25 rounds he bought for that ugly old chunk of history. Yes, he did shoot it once to my twice.

Yes, I was scared to fire it. But being young and dumb and full of.... I did anyway.

OSOK
 
I was apprehensive shooting my friends Sako the first time.
It was a 6ppc in a presentation grade stock.
One of the most accurate guns I have ever fired and one
of the most beautiful. That's what worried me.
He never let's anyone touch it letalone shoot it. :eek:
 
The first center fire I shot was a Armalite AR-50. Hardly noticed the recoil, so I really haven't been afraid to shoot any other rifle I've come across.

Now a 2 bore... I may pass! haha
 
Never been scared to shoot a particular caliber though there have been a few I never wish to fire again, .378 Weatherby, .50 Browning machine gun out of a converted Boys antitank rifle, 3" Magnum 12 guage 1 3/8 ounce shot loads out of a single barrel shotgun,,,
 
I had a Marlin .45-70. Before I ever fired it, I had a really good recoil pad installed. First rounds I fired were pretty stout hand loads, but within "Marlin worthy" specs. Thought it would kick the snot out of me, but it was actually pretty tame compared to 3" slugs from my 870.

I've never done a recoil calculation, but I suspect a 385 grain slug at 2,000 fps from an 870 would have about the same recoil as an elephant rifle.
 
Many years ago I fired a handfull of 8ga shotgun shells. Didn't hurt a bit. It was turret mounted and intended to shoot goobers off the walls of a rotary kiln used as a dryer at a pulp mill. It fired Winchester industrial 8ga shot.

I fired 50 BMG, tri-pod mounted in the Army, but 300 Win Mag is the next hottest rifle I've ever shot.
 
I have been blessed to have shot most of the boomers, up to and including the .600 NE.

IME a Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump with a 18 inch barrel and plastic furniture loaded with 3 inch Magnum Brennekes kicks worse than all the African cartridges.

I typically don't fear the heavy kickers, but the Mossy with the 3 inch slugs hurt.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
the only one I'm apprehensive about is the .577 Tyranosaur T-Rex
Click to expand...
the rifle in most of the videos is saeed's sucker rifle with a 1-10 twist barrel instead of the normal 1-18 twist. the 1-10 twist makes the rifle twist out of your hands, a 1-18 twist is much easier to hold on to.

the only rifle i was ever a little nervous about shooting was the ken owens 4 bore mastadon double rifle simply because it was valued at just under $120,000.
a 2000 grain bullet at 1600fps & $50 per shot.

the worst thing i ever shot was a lightweight 505 gibbs that the trigger guard smacked my finger so hard in was numb for about 30 minutes
 
I recently qualified on the Department's big game rifle. We keep them on hand in case something big and nasty escapes the zoo and starts going all Godzilla on Midtown. It's a Rem 700 in 416 Rem Mag. I was a bit nervous before the first shot due to the instructors playing it up like it was the Wrath of God Almighty when you touched one off. Recoil was brisk, unpleasant, and completely manageable. I qualified the first go around and was quite happy to be done shooting it for the day, but don't dread next years requal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top