Most painful rifle kick you've personally experienced

[stagpanther]

I am about to build a 460 WBY on a relative light weight Ruger #1. Got a feeling it will take the cake. No brake.

Hmmmm...no offense--but what the heck for? Can't imagine 8000 lbs of uncompensated muzzle energy in a lightweight gun.

[HiBC]

I met a gentleman at the range who created an up scaled Rem 700 type action for a 50 BMG rifle.It was not particularly heavy and it had no brake.
He built it,he had just undergone open heart surgery,and could not shoot it.He invited me to shoot it for him,I was happy to.
It was a big,slow push.Not painful.

The other hard kicking rifle I have fired is a 416 Rem. Pretty serious recoil,but,with the butt placed on my shoulder,it did not hurt...

HOWEVER!!.With even cartridges like the 30-06,if I shoot enough of them,particularly from the bench,the recoil begins to penetrate.

Round one of the 416 did not hurt. But by the time I get to round...12,or 22,or at some point,I'm "tenderized" It starts to hurt.

I've been scope cut by a 7mm rem mag,but that is just my own fault.

For the most part,IMO,if a reasonably well fitted rifle is shouldered correctly,and if I can get a firm hold while relaxing,so I can be like a willow tree rather than an oak, I don't get pain out of a reasonable number of rounds.

I WILL give an "honorable mention" to Crescent buttplates and original sporting Remington Rolling Blockbutt plates!.They amplify things a bit.

I'm not suggesting I'm anything special,I just have not shot "stopping rifles" and I have found if I do my part,its just a ride,for a few shots.

I did bury.
the break-open lever on a 10 ga single barrel in the web of my hand.
Pulling it back out kind of tingled.

[reynolds357]

Stagpanther, if I ever figure out "why" you will be the first I let know.

[stagpanther]

Stagpanther, if I ever figure out "why" you will be the first I let know.

LOL--I think we all would be satisfied just seeing a video of the first time you shoot it.

[reynolds357]

I probably won't shoot it. I will probably con some 20 something year old at the gun club into shooting it. Even if it does hurt, he will never admit it.

The real reason I am building it is I have a #1 416 Rigby that was damaged by tungston solids that had too much tungsten and not enough jacket.(One of my friends brought them back from Africa. It messed up his rifle and my rifle in the same range session) It amazes me that something did not blow up, the pressure had to be off the scale. The rifling looks absolutely awful. I decided when I re-barrel, I will go big. I sold my 460 wby years ago. Though I believe I only shot it 4 or 5 times, I sure miss it. (I know, it sounds stupid)

[chuckscap]

Ruger No 1s as beautiful as they are have a reputation for being hard kickers. Be careful and have fun

[Kanevex]

Marlin 5510 SuperGoose bolt action 10ga.
3.5" Magnum.

4 rounds spread out across a 1 hour shooting session.
Shoulder hurt preeeetty good for a few days after that.

[Reloadron]

When I was younger (through my 40s and early 50s) I was open to shooting about any rifle I could get into my shoulder. Not as much meat in my shoulders today and my comfort limit is likely my .308 Winchester bolt gun. Rifles like my 7mm Remington Magnum seldom leave the safe unless I am rearranging things. I will shoot my brothers 300 Winchester Magnum but not like I once did thinking nothing of sending 20 to 50 rounds down range. I am still comfortable running 100 rounds of .308 Winchester at the range but that is about it. Even my 03A3 30-06 Springfield does not see much shooting these days but I am quite happy and content on the range all day with my AR10, M1A or .308 Winchester bolt gun. The larger calibers just seem more uncomfortable to shoot and considering I shoot for enjoyment I avoid them.

This has resulted in a reduction in what I reload which is a good thing. Still have dies for all the magnum and large calibers I once shot but they see little to no use unless my son uses them or my younger brother.

Ron

[Crankylove]

.300 and .340 Weatherby.

I grew up shooting, and continue to shoot, .300 Win Mag, .375 H&H, .458 Win Mag, .416 Rigby, .450 Nitro, etc. Those rifles/cartridges have some pretty decent recoil, but aren't too bad to shoot. But, those Weatherby's are just plain painful to fire.

I'd rather shoot the .375 or .416 any day than the .300 Weatherby, and the .340 I avoid like the plague.

[Mike38]

.375 H&H. I don't recall the rifle, a single shot of some sort maybe a Ruger No.1, but touched off one shot and regretted it for hours.

[jaysouth]

M-14 firing a rifle grenade. We were warned to only fire them from offhand standing. Kneeling with the butt on the ground would split the stock at the grip.

[turkeestalker]

I can't honestly say what the worst ever was, though I know that I really don't care for shooting my hand loads in my 7mm Rem Mag, or my Father's old .300 Weatherby.

This past weekend I went to the range with my shooting buddy carrying three lever actions, .356 Win, .375 Win, and .444 Marlin. I don't believe that any of the rifles weigh quite six pounds.

After ten rounds through each, I wouldn't say that I felt any pain, but I certainly knew that I'd been shooting.

When we got in the truck my buddy reached for a bottle of aspirin, he said they were to make his eyes stop rattling around.

He's a bit older, so I guess that could be me in a couple more years.

[dahermit]

M-14 firing a rifle grenade. We were warned to only fire them from offhand standing. Kneeling with the butt on the ground would split the stock at the grip

In Basic Training, we were instructed to fire the anti personnel fragmentation grenades with the the butt of M1 Garand grounded. However, as I posted previously, the anti-tank rifle grenades were fired from an extreme forward-leaning standing position using the modified, on-the-side sight of the specialized M1's. Left knee bent at about 45 degrees, right leg straight, pushing forward. Despite the extreme forward position of the body, the person (me) was pushed backward to the upright position at firing. As I stated previously, it felt like I had broken my collarbone and I vowed to myself that if I was ever in combat and they gave me an anti-tank rifle grenade, I would "loose" it in the brush on the first opportunity.

[olddav]

A Savage 110 chambered on 338-06 with a old and very hard recoil pad (more like vulcanized rubber aka used tire). While shooting 225 grain bullets my hand would tingle after every shot. Didn't take long to get enough of that.

[rmelchiori]

10 gauge single shot goose gun with no recoil pad. 1 shot and it was an instant headache.


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[disseminator]

My buddy has a 20g Rossi single shot that we call the "Ole Shoulder Buster"

It's ridiculous.

[Kreyzhorse]

Honestly, I've not shot a rilfe that I regret yet. I don't find a .308, 30.06 or a 7mm too much.

I also own a 45-70 Ruger No. 1 and I find it to have more of a push than a slap and I enjoy shooting it.

I'd guess the worse I've ever shot is a Ruger No. 1 in 375 H&H. It isn't terrible but it does let you know that you are shooting it.

[Rob62]

A .338 Win Magnum chambered bolt action gun. Shot from the prone position at a gun range. I used poor technique and thought I might have cracked my clavical that day. After exactly 1 round I called it quits and ended up getting rid of that gun not to long thereafter.

Rob

[random guy]

Most recoil is between the ears. Lots of people convince themselves that certain guns kick a lot more or less than they really do. I've shot 300, 338, 8mm, 375, and 416 magnums and didn't find any of them objectionable. The worst rifle recoil came from one of the 1970's era Marlin 1895's in 45-70 with near 458 mag level re-loads. Those only weigh about 7 lbs and came with a curved butt plate with no pad.

Some stock designs make recoil feel a lot worse. While I wouldn't call it unpleasant any lever action in 30-30 or 44 mag hurts a lot more than the numbers say it should. When you start shooting hot 45-70's in that stock design it is no longer fun.

The absolute worst recoil was from 12 ga 3.5" turkey loads from a Remington 870 Supermag.

That largely describes my experience. I had an 1895, which I miss, that when loaded with higher level handloads was downright uncomfortable. Stock design is the biggest factor.

Also had a M1917 .30-06 which was inordinately painful. Same ammo on the same day from a lighter modern sporter was very comfortable. Stock design again.

One lightweight .458 Mauser (not mine) that I tried would rattle your fillings. Other heavier .458 Lott and .416 Rigby rifles (Ruger No. 1 and Ruger Express) rifles while not pleasant, weren't half as bad.

Heavy loads in a light shotgun are certainly the worst.
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[alaskabushman]

I'm avoid heavy recoil, cuz I'm a wimp. When I fired my Grandpa's Remington M-600 in .350 rem mag, I only got 5 shots out of it before I went back to the mini-14.

[Shimpy]

.458 Win.mag. The recoil wasn't sharp but a steady quick push back and I had to take 2 steps back to keep from falling over.

[Jolr]

I had an Ithaca Mag 10 that I would shoot just for fun . Stout recoilbut not overwhelming. I had a CZ bolt in .416 Rigby. There was no comparison! I sold the CZ because I was afraid that it would separate my shoulder! I never did fire it from a bench

[YankeeIronSights]

Polish M-44. Beautiful rifle but painful to shoot. I ended up trading it for a better gun. 7.62 x 54r is a powerful round.


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[DoctorDeath]

My friends .30-06 with 180gr soft points. I've never had the chance to fire anything bigger, and I wouldn't want to after trying his a few times.

[Art Eatman]

Back when I was 16, I was skinny. Skinny enough that I had to spin around three times, just to cast a shadow. I could turn sideways, stick out my tongue and be camouflaged as a zipper.

So: My uncle gave me a 1917 Enfield and an unlimited supply of ammo. Like any 16-year-old, I wanted to shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

Call it my summer of masochism: That steel butt plate danged near beat me to death.