Most painful rifle kick you've personally experienced

[P5 Guy]

I had this 16 inch Mauser in .30'06 with a ribbed steel butt plate that was't too bad with M2 ball, but a friend said it was the worst he ever shot.
K98k with 196 ball gives me a headache after a hundred rounds or so. The Polish M44 was the most brutal with the heavy ball and the muzzle flash gets quite a bit of attention from the others on the line.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I shot an old single shot carbine that a (Friend?) had. I think it was a Browning 78?. The friend had some warm 45/70 hadloads in it, also, it came with a curved steel buttplate. And while that one hurt, the worst was an old H&R "Long Tom" 10 gauge single shot with what used to be a red rubber recoil pad that had long since turned into concrete. I still wince when I think about punching the primer on that 3 1/2" BB magnum....OUCH! Way worse than my .375 H&H Magnum.

 

[PatientWolf]

For me, it was the Thomson Center Hawkins my father had when I was about 12. I probably weighed less than 80 lbs dripping wet, and every so often we would load it a little hotter.

 

[taylorce1]

#1 Unbraked M700 BDL in .375 RUM with 300 grain bullets at 3000 FPS from the bench!
#2 .416 Rigby Ruger Safari factory Hornady 400 grain ammunition, it wasn't that bad actually but I wouldn't tolerate shooting a whole box in a day unless hunting where I wouldn't notice if.

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend's light handy .338 Win Mag.
I am pretty sensitive, though. Another guy's .450 BPE is good for about a pair and a half. Fourth shot is probably going to be a flinch.

 

[mavracer]

54 caliber Thompson renegade 120gr of Pyrodex and a round ball and a hang fire there was about 2" between the steel butt plate and my t shirt covered shoulder when it decided to lite.

 

[Model12Win]

Not a rifle but a cut down H&R single shot 12 gauge weighs under 5 lbs with no recoil pad with 3" rifle slugs or 3" buck it HURTS a whole, whole lot.

 

[krimmie]

I was 15 when I shot my dad's .450 nitro express, but a 3 1/2" pump gun with 1 9/16 oz of steel sure kicks too.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Worst Rifle I have ever shot was a Savage Model 110 in 7mm Mag synthetic stock and the rubber recoil pad was wore down alomost to the plastic. It was loaded with some 165ish bullets and way way to much powder. It was not my rifle and not my loads. After the first round and seeing the brass casing I refused to shoot that rifle again. First and only round gave me a big bruise.

I saw a guy at the range shoot a 460 Weatheby he had just bought. He a box of ammo and a brand new scope mounted. The first and only round he fired he fell straight to the ground and screaming in pain. Turns out he broke his collar bone and tore his rotator cuff at the same time.

 

[chuckscap]

My 500 Jeffery before I realized shooting 24 rounds from the bench in one sitting in a T-Shirt was a bad idea. The last six rounds chrono'd at 2510 fps (avg) with a 570g TSX. I've learned to treat it with more respect and now it's my favorite rifle to shoot

 

[dahermit]

A .458 Winchester Magnum in a Mark X sporter. I think the bullet weight was 500 grains but I cannot remember for sure now.

But even worse than that, a Anti-Tank rifle grenade practice round from an M1 Garand (rifle grenade blank cartridge of course). I thought it had broken my shoulder.

 

[bamaranger]

muzzleloader

I insisted on shooting 100 gr of FFF and a 370 grain maxiball in my first muzzloader, a T/C Hawken flinter. That gun and load, and the geometry of the stock and comb, hurt me more than any other to date.

These days, 70-80 grains works just fine.

 

[reynolds357]

Did it have a brass, curved butt plate?

 

[Hawg]

Those curved butt plates go against your upper arm, not your shoulder.

 

[natman]

Tied between a Ruger #1 Tropical in 375 H&H and a lightweight sporter some guy at the range had in 300 Weatherby.

I have a 458 Mauser and a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 I shoot with 400 grain bullets @ 1800 fps. Both have a lot of recoil, but it's a slow push (OK, a BIG slow push) that you can rock back with. The Weatherby had a short quick jab, it was like getting punched in the face.

The Ruger had both; a short, quick BIG jab. I took it out to the range once, fired it from standing for 5 or 6 rounds and put it up for sale the next day.

Funny thing is I've fired other 375s and while they definitely kicked, they were nowhere near as unpleasant as the Ruger. Must be something to do with the stock fit or weight.

I also fire a 7 lb 12 ga with 2 oz turkey loads. It has a very slow kick that you can rock back with. Except for the one time I fired it at a turkey and forgot that my shoulder was leaning against a tree and had nowhere to move. Now THAT hurt!

 

[Hawg]

I also fire a 7 lb 12 ga with 2 oz turkey loads. It has a very slow kick that you can rock back with. Except for the one time I fired it at a turkey and forgot that my shoulder was leaning against a tree and had nowhere to move. Now THAT hurt!

I was about 12 or 13 and squirrel hunting with a 12 gauge with no recoil pad. I had the butt propped on my hip bone and my finger on the trigger when I stumbled across a dead branch and pulled the trigger. Now THAT hurt.

 

[eaglesnester]

It were a very light short barreled single shot break open 12 gauge loaded with magnum rounds. It literately knocked my upper and lower false teeth plates right out of my head. My shooting partners were howling with laughter, rolling on the ground and crying, it was so funny. On a more serious note my 1895 Marlin 45/70 Govt Cowboy in 26 inch barrel is a beast. I attribute this to the 26 inch barrel. I have shot other marlins in 45/70 with 18 and 20 inch barrels and
they have more of a push than a sharp punch. I can only shoot about 9 rounds when wearing a t shirt with no padding. The next day my shoulder is black, blue, yellow, and brown from shoulder to breast. It hurts bad enough that I am knocked out of shooting for 2 weeks or so. I now only shoot it with a limb saver and a heavy jacket during hunting season up here in northern B.C. Canada. As for being recoil shy, I can assure you I am not as I reload and shoot 375H&H (*****cat) 300 Weatherby, 338/378 Weatherby mag, and 338 Lapua, and a 54 caliber cap lock that I load with 120 grains of powder and a 450 grain paper patch bullet, steel but plate and all. Have never tried the 500 nitro express or the 416ens. Have no doubt in my retired military mind that they would rock your world.
Cheers&Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester

Did the Indians put U here? ""Twernt Mormons""

 

[Paul B.]

"Tied between a Ruger #1 Tropical in 375 H&H and a lightweight sporter some guy at the range had in 300 Weatherby.

The Ruger had both; a short, quick BIG jab. I took it out to the range once, fired it from standing for 5 or 6 rounds and put it up for sale the next day.

Funny thing is I've fired other 375s and while they definitely kicked, they were nowhere near as unpleasant as the Ruger. Must be something to do with the stock fit or weight."

Interesting. I shoot the #1 Tropicals in .375 H&H, .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby and while I find the .375 to not be a problem, the .404 and .416 usually are limited to only 5 rounds at the range, partly due to recoil and mostly due to cost.
Frankly, I don't shoot them much anymore as my 78 year old arthritic shoulder starts complaining much earlier than it use to.

The rifle I do find extremely painful to shoot is a Winchester M70 Stainless Classic in a synthetic stock (factory issue) that flat out beats me to death. The recoil is very sharp and sudden and it literally snaps my head back and forth. I can actually hear a "click" that seems to be inside my head when I shoot it and get the feeling it's my brain rattling around inside my head. I end up with one very violent headache within a couple of shots. I've loaded the stock up with two pounds of lead plus a bipod bringing the weight up to 12 pounds and that tamed that beast down quite nicely. Adding a muzzle brake didn't help at all.
Paul B.

 

[JWT]

Model 70 Winchester Featherweight 30-06.

 

[GarandTd]

I was 14 or 15 at deer camp with my older brother when he handed me 10 gauge shotgun. I don't remember the make, or even the configuration. It thumped me good.