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Thread: Earning your "man card" type of guns!

  1. #41
    Boolit Man nseries's Avatar
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    Years ago... I'll never forget the day I saw my father shoot a 10" open-sighted 357 Herrett with a hot loaded 200gr bullet. I'm positive the load was hotter than published data. He was wearing a deerskin glove with the trigger finger cut out while shooting over his chronograph. He touched off that round and the pistol flew out of his hand and landed on the ground behind him. I laughed my butt off.

    First time I touched off a 375JDJ in a Contender, it almost flew out of my hand while shooting it off sandbags one-handed with a not so firm grip. I didn't think it was going to recoil that much. Way more than factory loaded 45-70...

  2. #42
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    ShooterAZ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimb16 View Post
    Mine was a TC contender with hot 45-70 loads. NOT MINE! 3 rounds was enough. Two hours later, I could feel my hand again and it hurt! And I'm extremely recoil tolerant. I shoot hot .44 mag loads and don't care. Even the .50 AE doesn't make me flinch, But those .45-70s were just too much even for me!
    This was my experience as well. It felt as if I had hit an oak tree with a cracked baseball bat. That was one barrel that went away...and I won't miss it!

  3. #43
    Boolit Master rondog's Avatar
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    My .44 mag Virginian Dragoon is enough of a punisher to suit me. That thing will handle loads that leave an imprint of the firing pin bushing in the spent primers.

    Fired three rounds from an AR-50 once, but the howitzer-sized muzzle brake actually made it pleasant to fire. Hit the 18" plate at 600 yards all 3 times. That was a sweet rifle.

  4. #44
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    ive shot hand cannons, no big deal. anyone who thinks shooting a big pistol makes you a man or earns you the card, probably dont have the card.

  5. #45
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    I have owned guns that hurt to shoot. Owned, past tense. As in, sold them. Let some other fool hurt himself. The worst was a really nice Mosin Nagant M44 Carbine shooting 'Heavy Ball' ammo. It gave me 'gun headache,' as the Brits call it. It rather reminded me of being smacked in the face by a very large fellow every time I jerked the trigger. I didn't load for the 7.62X54R at the time, or I might have downloaded it. That skinny, too short stock was the primary culprit, I do believe.
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  6. #46
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    I have a magnum research BFR 30-30 revolver. its a bit stout to fire.

  7. #47
    Boolit Buddy
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    I bought a single barrel nef 12ga chambered for 3.5 inch shells with synthetic stock an for arm at Walmart for turkey season about 15 or so years back. I shot 1 3.5 inch in an my brother shot 1. I sold it 2 weeks later

  8. #48
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    I am more tolerant than my shooting buddies. I recall being pretty much tolerant from way back.

    I quit loading / shooting "hand smackers" as a source of entertainment long ago.

    Before I wised up, I acquired a 8.5" contender barrel in 45 colt (back in the early 80s).

    There was no way I was not going to try out max Contender / Ruger only WW 296 load data. Of course this had to be one of those cases where the gun just shot better the hotter the loads. Back then, I never let a little pain stand in the way of loading what a gun wanted.

    That original wood handle and light gun was not exactly an optimum platform for these loads.

    I would normally go through a box of 100 bullets in no time. That first box of 250 gr hollow points lasted for a few years. Of the few buddies I talked into trying these out, I do not remember anyone setting 2 of them off.

  9. #49
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mytmousemalibu View Post
    So I can seriously check a box after this weekend in regards to shooting a gun that is so fierce, you have effectively earned man card points! A gun so nasty to shoot you can honestly question your sanity or judgment. I did take on the said opportunity this weekend and I can say I feel like I accomplished victory over a worthy adversary and I feel slightly tenderized at the same time. That adversary was my buddy's carry piece, a S&W 340PD. This is of course a J-Frame chambered in .357 Magnum which if it was a steel model 60 it wouldn't be that notable but it is a scandium airweight frame and with a titanium cylinder to make it ultra light. The minimal weight is a trade off for unprecedented violence with .357's in the cylinder. Both he and I carry our J-Frames with warm .38 special loads so this was just a range challenge! Most will fire 1 round and with a jittery movement, set it back down on the table! I fired a full cylinder of Remington factory loads, one strong hand, one weak and a cylinder full of my .357 handload, a 158gr Berry's plated RN over 18.2gr of Power Pro MP-300 which is plenty stout, top-end charge and good for incredible muzzle flash and fire rings in my 686. Shooting that little hellion is about like putting your hand on a table and smacking it with a hammer! Pure evil in that little gun! I'm curious how nasty a 329PD is in comparison.

    What kind of demonic cannons have you all gone toe to toe with?
    I've got a 357PD, the 41 Mag Scandium/Titanium counterpart to the one you mentioned. I actually like it so much, I'll likely pick up the 329PD soon. The recoil is all subjective as it fits just right and while I know it's light with big boy power, it's not abusive until you are trying to wring every last bit of performance out of it.

  10. #50
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    No man cards in my future, I'm not taking any chances on my mild essential tremor and carpal tunnel getting any worse. My "big" side-iron, er, side-plastic, is a Glock 22 that squirts Lee 401-175-TC at 900 fps. If I didn't reload I would not own this gun. Rifle wise, the strongest thing I can shoot effectively are rifles in the range of .308, .30'06, and trapdoor level .45-70. Now, I actually like big bores and and could totally see the .44 Special and .45 Colt in full size wheelguns joining my collection someday. I think a .375 H&H with reasonable cast loads would be fun too.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  11. #51
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    Bench shooting a full power 375H-H in a Ruger #1 was pretty harsh.

    I have only shot my 416 Rigby standing and will only shoot the 458 Win-Mag standing.

    My 30-378 doesn't have a lot of recoil but that muzzle brake is pretty unpleasant.

  12. #52
    Boolit Master OldBearHair's Avatar
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    Circa 1954...Hunting doves with a Montgomery Ward single shot 16 guage shotgun. You could see the tooling marks in the choke area. Never shot it more than sixteen times before cleaning the lead out with Hoppes #9 solvent but once and that was when a dove came in fast from the left and at the shot I was sort of crouched down and the recoil laid me on my back. let it set overnight with Hoppes in the barrel and ran a jag in and pushed out a circle of lead with stringy fingers on both ends. I don't remember how I got rid of the gun. Another time shooting Model 70 pre 64 30-06 rifle prone loaded with 190 grain boattail near max load.

  13. #53
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    I got my man-card with a .22LR, a .38SPL, and a 1911. let me explain......
    An old girlfriend was afraid of guns, because, some prior manly type guy showed her to shoot with one the above mentioned guns, I believe a .44mag. She must've peed her pants err sumptin'.

    I prodded her along, and got her out on a private range with a .22 revolver, showed her basic safety, single shot revolver, then a full cylinder, then she began dinging steel. ding, ding, ding, ding,,,,,,
    The next session was with a 6" .38 revolver. same story, single shot, then full cylinder, then Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding,,,,,,,,
    The next session was with a 1911. I explained to her felt recoil, how to hold it, and this was in fact a Colt .45. Showed her to load a auto handgun single shot, DING, DING, DING.
    Then got her to load a full mag of hardball. DING, DING, DING, for a whole box of ammo.
    She enjoyed herself so much she turned around, pulled my drawers down, and hers, and stepped into my britches, right there on the shooting bench, I had 1 hand on a .38 the other hand on a .45 and she rode the pony.
    I'm proud to say I got my man-card with a .22.

  14. #54
    Boolit Master oldhenry's Avatar
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    I had a #3 in 45-70 (you know..........smooth slick metal butt plate & straight grip stock).

    I was younger then & thought I had to load it hot because.................because it was a Ruger & was strong enough.

    Off hand (if you held it tight) it was bearable with 300 gr. Hornadys & 50.0 grs. of 3031, but from the bench it was a different story.

    The theory is that the rifling imparts a twist to the bullet..............from the bench the bullet imparted a twist to the #3.

    We tried 1 500 gr. (exact load I don't remember) and 1 was enough.

    I restocked it in a #1 stock with a 1" recoil pad & the 300 gr. Hornadys were almost civilized.

    My youngest son has the gun now.

    Henry

  15. #55
    Boolit Buddy

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    I confess to having owned a Ruger Alaskan in .480 - the only pistol that literally stripped the skin from my hand when I fired it - but, when the rubber hits the road, control always trumps power. I own a S&W Model 10 in .38 Special now, and consider myself well armed.

  16. #56
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    I imagine "barely used" Mossberg Shockwaves will be appearing at gun stores soon- oh wait I've seen one already.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  17. #57
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    Bfr 45/70 with hot handloads. Buddy said 1 cylinder was plenty. I did 2 . Laughed the whole time.

  18. #58
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    I enjoyed my SRH .480 Ruger with 400 gr. cast and stout loads. I had a 2x Leupold and it was heavy. My Encore pistol started as a 30-06. It was stout also, but I kept it for a few years. The .454 casull barrel I next mounted on it was my limit. I kept it about a year or two and sold the whole kit and caboodle. I wish I had kept my scope. I have no need to fire anything so vicious as that .454..

    I was dumb enough to shoot a 3.5 inch turkey load from a very light single shot H&R. I did that just once.

    A friend had a Glock 27, I believe. A little bitty .40 S&W. I put maybe five rounds in the general vicinity of my target and put the pistol down on the table with no intention of touching it ever again.

    Now I mostly shoot 9mm, .357/.38 special, .22 lr or .44 mag.
    Tom
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  19. #59
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    smokeywolf's Avatar
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    I think I actually earned my "man card" when my father had me shooting a barely legal 12 gauge side by side when I was 9 years old and put a Marble Game-Getter (no shoulder stock) with a 3" 410 shell in my hand when I was 10.
    A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms *shall not be infringed*.

    "The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution."
    - Thomas Jefferson

    "While the people have property, arms in their hands, and only a spark of noble spirit, the most corrupt Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny."
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  20. #60
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    I earned that card back when I was about 8 or 9 when my father's friend owned a 458 elephant rifle. I was teased into shooting it. I did and the result was that most of my right side was totally black and blue and it felt as if my shoulder had been broken. To this day I do not shoot a rifle larger than a 308. Watched a very large man with arms like tree trunks shoot a 500 S&W. The recoil dispite his size had the S&W pointing straight up in the air. I watched in amazement as he shot two cylinders full in that massive gun. I watched him put it down and mention that was enough.

    There is such a thing as common sense and stupidity.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check