Most painful rifle kick you've personally experienced

TXAZ · January 27, 2017, 11:56 AM

Like the title says, what specific make, model and ammo have you shot that was truly painful. I normally shoot a Barrett .50 BMG, which does an amazing job of managing the recoil with it's mass and efficient muzzle brake. Most high power rifles don't seem to do that.

For me it was a Weatherby 7mm Mag using 160 grain factory ammo. 2 shots and I was done.

Did anyone have an experience like this, where you lost control of the rifle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIj-y4frao

So what rifle and ammo was it for you?

FrankenMauser · January 27, 2017, 12:28 PM

.450 Nitro 3-1/4" snaps my neck every time. (Sabatti double rifle that doesn't fit me.)

Other things can be uncomfortable (especially if not my rifle); but that's the only one that causes real pain.

Fla_dogman · January 27, 2017, 12:31 PM

My Remington 3006 7600 carbine. Kicks worse than anything else I've shot including 7mm REM mag and 300 weatherby.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

hammie · January 27, 2017, 01:03 PM

It was a sporter weight, 98 mauser chambered for .375 H&H. I was also shooting a 10.5 pound, .458 Win mag rifle, alternately with the .375 H&H. Believe it or not, the .458 Win Mag was way more comfortable to shoot.

T. O'Heir · January 27, 2017, 01:09 PM

BP load of 70 grains with a cast 405 grain bullet, out of a Trap Door Carbine. Should have been 55 grains, but there was no internet then.
A Barrett M82A1 .50 BMG weighs 32.7 pounds and is semi-auto. Even their bolt action is 23.5. A TrapDoor Carbine weighs 6. snicker.

doofus47 · January 27, 2017, 01:12 PM

I was at the range once (wearing a tshirt) and I fired my 30-06 before I'd settled it into my shoulder. It doesn't have a pad and it whacked me right on the shoulder joint.

That brought tears to my eyes.

Otherwise, no.

aarondhgraham · January 27, 2017, 01:17 PM

.375 H&H Magnum,,,
Dang near took my shoulder off.

Two rounds and I had enough of that bad boy.

I've fired some big cartridges in my life,,,
Nothing before had ever hurt me like that rifle did.

And I'm the kid that grew up on metal butt plated mil-surp rifles.

Aarond

.

Sevens · January 27, 2017, 01:29 PM

Mine was the aftermarket Katahdin .500 S&W Magnum barrel on a single shot T/C Encore rifle, running the Hornady 300gr FTX load. Rifle weighed very, very little and recoil was absolutely horrendous. I sent four shots down range.

Runner up was some whippy barrel synthetic stock, all too light Savage bolt gun in 7mm Rem Mag. That was brutal.

rocket12 · January 27, 2017, 01:41 PM

416 rigby, worst ever

scottycoyote · January 27, 2017, 01:42 PM

smith and wesson 1500 in 7mm mag......shot it a couple of times and immediately began looking to sell it lol

Deaf Smith · January 27, 2017, 01:52 PM

Toss up between a Ruger 77 .338 Winchester Magnum from a bench rest (my gun) and a Marlin 336 Guide Gun in 45/70 (again from a bench rest, my gun to!)

I've shot .458 WM and .416s off hand and they were no where near as bad.

Now OFF HAND shooting.... My Mossburg 12 Gauge 500 Mariner with 3 inch Buckshot. That is the most awful kicking long gun I've ever shot from any position.

Deaf

Ricklin · January 27, 2017, 01:55 PM

My old T/C Hawken .50, a big heavy approx. 500 grain chunk O lead, and 110 grains of holy Black. The Hawken was fairly light.

Actually was very shootable from a standing position. The "slow shove" recoil was then pretty easy to soak up.

Benchrest was worse, but still tolerable. It was from the prone position that the rifle was truly brutal. That ol curved brass buttplate.....oy vay. My right shoulder looked like I had gone a couple rounds with Mike Tyson beating on my shoulder.

I quickly learned that best accuracy was attained with less powder. Had nothing to do with flinch, was more tolerable with less powder.

Boogershooter · January 27, 2017, 01:59 PM

Custom built 308. 5lbs 4 ounces. Second would be 12 gauge 3 1/2 buckshot from the bench remington 870 with 18 inch barrel. I own two 375 h&h's. I've shot alot of big bore rifles that have broke my grip loose but none hurt my shoulder like the two mentioned. In third place would be a winchester featherweight in .270. It had the pretty green laminated stock and I believe was a special run. My remington 700 in 300 rum knocks my hat off almost every shot but it doesn't hurt. I think the big bores hurt more the next day than they do at the Crack of the shot.

Iwanttoshootbettter · January 27, 2017, 02:03 PM

British 303 custom shortened wood stock sold it.

Lumber · January 27, 2017, 02:35 PM

Benelli Nova Tactical was the worst I've ever had. I'm a weirdly shaped dude (long torso and arms.)

It was my buddy's gun and I was thinking about getting one so we went to the range. I shouldered it and thought to myself "If I buy one of these I'm for sure going to have to get a longer stock"

I put one slug through it and the recoil cause me to basically punch myself in the sunglasses.

Blindstitch · January 27, 2017, 02:50 PM

I watched my dad shoot a single shot 12 gauge with a hardened recoil pad when he was trying to get me into goose hunting. He probably hadn't shot the gun in 15-20 years. When he pulled the trigger I remember seeing the coffee can he was shooting at go down. But he also fell to his knees holding his shoulder.

I hunted with the 20 gauge for another year till I bought a Mossberg 500 12 gauge to use.

That was probably in 1996 and I bet the gun hasn't been shot since.

Oliver Sudden · January 27, 2017, 02:52 PM

An eight bore muzzle loading rifle loaded with 265 grs of 1f Swiss and a 1095 grain bullet put my thumb to my nose hard enough to wet my eyes! The second shot I figured I would be ready for it but I got the same lesson. Shoulder hurt some but the center of my chest felt like it had been torn. Now I'm a graduate from Africa game rifle school, no more classes needed.

MikeGoob · January 27, 2017, 02:56 PM

Blindstitch · January 27, 2017, 03:08 PM

For me it is probably the Winchester 94 in 30-30. Doesn't sound bad but that thin little stock and steel plate has bruised my shoulder more than once. I installed a Packmayr Decelerator slip on recoil pad giving more surface area and a more correct length of pull and I haven't had that problem since.

Always thought it was going to be uncomfortable to shoot 30-06, 444 marlin and 50 caliber black powder because of it. Turns out I was wrong because of that little bruiser.

NoSecondBest · January 27, 2017, 03:13 PM

A TC Omega 50cal with 100 grains of BH209, a three hundred grain bullet, and not enough eye relief. I was 63 years old and it was the first, and hopefully the last, time I ever got "scoped". Bled like a stuck hog as the old saying goes. I don't think the recoil was the worst ever, but the result was. I immediately went to 4" of eye relief on another scope the same week.

Targa · January 27, 2017, 03:34 PM

I was a little to relaxed with my Mosin one time while bench shooting and had that steel butt plate slam into my collar bone....ouch!!! Not the hardest recoiling rifle I have ever shot but do to my lack of attention certainly the one that has hurt me the most.

hammie · January 27, 2017, 08:16 PM

I just recalled an incident from my mis-spent youth, and will have to revise my answer in post #4.

I was somewhere between 10 and 12, at my uncle's farm, and for some reason the adults were gone. My cousin and I decided to shoot my uncle's single shot, break open 12 gauge. If I recall correctly it was either a winchester or savage and weighed about 5.5 pounds. My cousin said that he thought the 12 gauge really kicked. (All we had ever fired were .22's and a .410). I was up first and thinking I was wise, I hitched the hard plastic 12 gauge butt plate tightly my shoulder, and then backed my shoulder up, hard against a stout tree.

All I can say is that I was probably lucky not to break my collar bone.

Tony Z · January 27, 2017, 08:21 PM

Ruger #1, firing a hot 45-70 load.

jmr40 · January 27, 2017, 08:37 PM

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.

Tinbucket · January 27, 2017, 08:41 PM

Ma Duce was hell for e to control and the one at Basic with shoulder stirrups left red sores for weeks.
A.45 CColt bear load 360 grain hard lead, in older Ruger Vaaquero. Load similar to Casul loading.
Bruised my hand an thumbs of both hands.
My Weatherby recoil doesn't bother me but I'e had to replace Leupold steel scope mounts because recoil caused the scope to cut the eye of two or three others. Eye Relief is proper for me and I'm pretty good size.
Remington 1100 with load of buck with one hand. Really messed up my wrist for a while.
M14 with duplex loads or2 bullets in same cartridge, on auto. Bruised my shoulder very badly. Steel checkered flat buttplate.
.44magnum Ruger with Hornady 300 grain bullets loaded to max and seated out to second thingamagig. Minds somewhere resting.
Recoil with Pacymer rubber grips leaves rubber on your hand and recoil isa bout like shooting my Rem 600 in 308 with one hand.

January 27, 2017, 12:28 PM	#2
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	.450 Nitro 3-1/4" snaps my neck every time. (Sabatti double rifle that doesn't fit me.) Other things can be uncomfortable (especially if not my rifle); but that's the only one that causes real pain. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

January 27, 2017, 01:09 PM	#5
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	BP load of 70 grains with a cast 405 grain bullet, out of a Trap Door Carbine. Should have been 55 grains, but there was no internet then. A Barrett M82A1 .50 BMG weighs 32.7 pounds and is semi-auto. Even their bolt action is 23.5. A TrapDoor Carbine weighs 6. snicker. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 27, 2017, 01:12 PM	#6
doofus47 Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: live in a in a house when i'm not in a tent Posts: 2,483	I was at the range once (wearing a tshirt) and I fired my 30-06 before I'd settled it into my shoulder. It doesn't have a pad and it whacked me right on the shoulder joint. That brought tears to my eyes. Otherwise, no. __________________ I'm right about the metric system 3/4 of the time.

January 27, 2017, 01:17 PM	#7
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	.375 H&H Magnum .375 H&H Magnum,,, Dang near took my shoulder off. Two rounds and I had enough of that bad boy. I've fired some big cartridges in my life,,, Nothing before had ever hurt me like that rifle did. And I'm the kid that grew up on metal butt plated mil-surp rifles. Aarond . __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

January 27, 2017, 01:29 PM	#8
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Mine was the aftermarket Katahdin .500 S&W Magnum barrel on a single shot T/C Encore rifle, running the Hornady 300gr FTX load. Rifle weighed very, very little and recoil was absolutely horrendous. I sent four shots down range. Runner up was some whippy barrel synthetic stock, all too light Savage bolt gun in 7mm Rem Mag. That was brutal. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

January 27, 2017, 11:56 AM	#1
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	Most painful rifle kick you've personally experienced Like the title says, what specific make, model and ammo have you shot that was truly painful. I normally shoot a Barrett .50 BMG, which does an amazing job of managing the recoil with it's mass and efficient muzzle brake. Most high power rifles don't seem to do that. For me it was a Weatherby 7mm Mag using 160 grain factory ammo. 2 shots and I was done. Did anyone have an experience like this, where you lost control of the rifle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIj-y4frao So what rifle and ammo was it for you? __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

January 27, 2017, 12:31 PM	#3
Fla_dogman Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2015 Posts: 265	My Remington 3006 7600 carbine. Kicks worse than anything else I've shot including 7mm REM mag and 300 weatherby. Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

January 27, 2017, 01:03 PM	#4
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	It was a sporter weight, 98 mauser chambered for .375 H&H. I was also shooting a 10.5 pound, .458 Win mag rifle, alternately with the .375 H&H. Believe it or not, the .458 Win Mag was way more comfortable to shoot.

January 27, 2017, 01:41 PM	#9
rocket12 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2005 Location: ohio Posts: 148	416 rigby, worst ever

January 27, 2017, 01:42 PM	#10
scottycoyote Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2005 Location: southwestern va Posts: 830	smith and wesson 1500 in 7mm mag......shot it a couple of times and immediately began looking to sell it lol __________________ "i got the most powerful gun in the world........an .88 magnum. It shoots thru schools......"

January 27, 2017, 01:52 PM	#11
Deaf Smith Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2000 Location: Texican! Posts: 4,453	Toss up between a Ruger 77 .338 Winchester Magnum from a bench rest (my gun) and a Marlin 336 Guide Gun in 45/70 (again from a bench rest, my gun to!) I've shot .458 WM and .416s off hand and they were no where near as bad. Now OFF HAND shooting.... My Mossburg 12 Gauge 500 Mariner with 3 inch Buckshot. That is the most awful kicking long gun I've ever shot from any position. Deaf __________________ “To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

January 27, 2017, 01:55 PM	#12
Ricklin Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2008 Location: SW Washington state Posts: 2,011	My old Hawken My old T/C Hawken .50, a big heavy approx. 500 grain chunk O lead, and 110 grains of holy Black. The Hawken was fairly light. Actually was very shootable from a standing position. The "slow shove" recoil was then pretty easy to soak up. Benchrest was worse, but still tolerable. It was from the prone position that the rifle was truly brutal. That ol curved brass buttplate.....oy vay. My right shoulder looked like I had gone a couple rounds with Mike Tyson beating on my shoulder. I quickly learned that best accuracy was attained with less powder. Had nothing to do with flinch, was more tolerable with less powder. __________________ ricklin Freedom is not free

January 27, 2017, 01:59 PM	#13
Boogershooter Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2014 Posts: 645	Custom built 308. 5lbs 4 ounces. Second would be 12 gauge 3 1/2 buckshot from the bench remington 870 with 18 inch barrel. I own two 375 h&h's. I've shot alot of big bore rifles that have broke my grip loose but none hurt my shoulder like the two mentioned. In third place would be a winchester featherweight in .270. It had the pretty green laminated stock and I believe was a special run. My remington 700 in 300 rum knocks my hat off almost every shot but it doesn't hurt. I think the big bores hurt more the next day than they do at the Crack of the shot.

January 27, 2017, 02:03 PM	#14
Iwanttoshootbettter Member Join Date: November 16, 2016 Location: Laporte Texas Posts: 79	British 303 custom shortened wood stock sold it.

January 27, 2017, 02:35 PM	#15
Lumber Member Join Date: October 27, 2016 Posts: 20	Benelli Nova Tactical was the worst I've ever had. I'm a weirdly shaped dude (long torso and arms.) It was my buddy's gun and I was thinking about getting one so we went to the range. I shouldered it and thought to myself "If I buy one of these I'm for sure going to have to get a longer stock" I put one slug through it and the recoil cause me to basically punch myself in the sunglasses.

January 27, 2017, 02:50 PM	#16
Blindstitch Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2013 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 2,692	I watched my dad shoot a single shot 12 gauge with a hardened recoil pad when he was trying to get me into goose hunting. He probably hadn't shot the gun in 15-20 years. When he pulled the trigger I remember seeing the coffee can he was shooting at go down. But he also fell to his knees holding his shoulder. I hunted with the 20 gauge for another year till I bought a Mossberg 500 12 gauge to use. That was probably in 1996 and I bet the gun hasn't been shot since.

January 27, 2017, 02:52 PM	#17
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	An eight bore muzzle loading rifle loaded with 265 grs of 1f Swiss and a 1095 grain bullet put my thumb to my nose hard enough to wet my eyes! The second shot I figured I would be ready for it but I got the same lesson. Shoulder hurt some but the center of my chest felt like it had been torn. Now I'm a graduate from Africa game rifle school, no more classes needed.

January 27, 2017, 02:56 PM	#18
MikeGoob Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2006 Posts: 876

January 27, 2017, 03:08 PM	#19
Blindstitch Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2013 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 2,692	For me it is probably the Winchester 94 in 30-30. Doesn't sound bad but that thin little stock and steel plate has bruised my shoulder more than once. I installed a Packmayr Decelerator slip on recoil pad giving more surface area and a more correct length of pull and I haven't had that problem since. Always thought it was going to be uncomfortable to shoot 30-06, 444 marlin and 50 caliber black powder because of it. Turns out I was wrong because of that little bruiser.

January 27, 2017, 03:13 PM	#20
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	A TC Omega 50cal with 100 grains of BH209, a three hundred grain bullet, and not enough eye relief. I was 63 years old and it was the first, and hopefully the last, time I ever got "scoped". Bled like a stuck hog as the old saying goes. I don't think the recoil was the worst ever, but the result was. I immediately went to 4" of eye relief on another scope the same week.

January 27, 2017, 03:34 PM	#21
Targa Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Posts: 2,084	I was a little to relaxed with my Mosin one time while bench shooting and had that steel butt plate slam into my collar bone....ouch!!! Not the hardest recoiling rifle I have ever shot but do to my lack of attention certainly the one that has hurt me the most.

January 27, 2017, 08:16 PM	#22
hammie Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2009 Location: Temple, TX Posts: 959	I just recalled an incident from my mis-spent youth, and will have to revise my answer in post #4. I was somewhere between 10 and 12, at my uncle's farm, and for some reason the adults were gone. My cousin and I decided to shoot my uncle's single shot, break open 12 gauge. If I recall correctly it was either a winchester or savage and weighed about 5.5 pounds. My cousin said that he thought the 12 gauge really kicked. (All we had ever fired were .22's and a .410). I was up first and thinking I was wise, I hitched the hard plastic 12 gauge butt plate tightly my shoulder, and then backed my shoulder up, hard against a stout tree. All I can say is that I was probably lucky not to break my collar bone.

January 27, 2017, 08:21 PM	#23
Tony Z Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2013 Location: North Central Pennsyltucky Posts: 749	Ruger #1, firing a hot 45-70 load.

January 27, 2017, 08:37 PM	#24
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,805	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. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

January 27, 2017, 08:41 PM	#25
Tinbucket Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2015 Posts: 355	most painful kick you have personally experienced Ma Duce was hell for e to control and the one at Basic with shoulder stirrups left red sores for weeks. A.45 CColt bear load 360 grain hard lead, in older Ruger Vaaquero. Load similar to Casul loading. Bruised my hand an thumbs of both hands. My Weatherby recoil doesn't bother me but I'e had to replace Leupold steel scope mounts because recoil caused the scope to cut the eye of two or three others. Eye Relief is proper for me and I'm pretty good size. Remington 1100 with load of buck with one hand. Really messed up my wrist for a while. M14 with duplex loads or2 bullets in same cartridge, on auto. Bruised my shoulder very badly. Steel checkered flat buttplate. .44magnum Ruger with Hornady 300 grain bullets loaded to max and seated out to second thingamagig. Minds somewhere resting. Recoil with Pacymer rubber grips leaves rubber on your hand and recoil isa bout like shooting my Rem 600 in 308 with one hand.