Why did the recoil stories start, 44 magnum

[Ithaca Gunner]

My model 24 with the same grips and similar load will tear a flap of skin off the web of my thumb within 20 rounds. On my stainless revolvers, I put a piece of lizard skin (bat tape) at the top of the grip backstrap.

In my experience, single actions are much better at handling heavy recoil than DAs.

I noticed mine don't fit perfectly at the top, but it's not a problem. I wonder if yours is bad enough to cause a problem.

I just remembered, the worst gun for me was a S&W 3'' M-13-3 round but. Factory grips were so sharp and rough it drew blood with Remington 125gr. JHP .357 rounds.

[magnumuser]

I think y’all have left out the third leg of the stool.

The three legs are ammunition, gun and the person receiving the recoil.

We’re not all blessed with big meaty well-toned recoil absorbing muscles covering big heavy bones.
Some of us don’t have much more than skin covering our achy old bones.
If the sponge is big, it can soak up a lot!

Just as the shape of the gun can either focus or disperse recoil, the shape of the receiving body matters too.

A shoe that’s comfortable to one guy is a pain to another. It’s not fair to say the size 10 shoes hurt….because they don’t to some people.

Its why so many 357 magnums seem to live on an exlusive diete of 38 special +p when owners realise scandium frames arent fun..
And why skeltons unique loads have always been felt to be comfy in 44 special and magnum. Thats what im trying to achieve on my own. that classic 240 swc with 7-10 grains of unique. And if i want something more energetic, 250-260 on same powder.

[Thumbcocker]

Recoil stories didn't start with the .44 magnum. I recall great uncles, ww2 vets, describing the 1911 .45 acp.as "kicking like a mule" and "if it hit a man on the thumb it would knock him down ". When you consider that they were farm boys who had probably never shot a handgun before military service (maybe a .22) and hearing protection was non-existent you get the picture. They also described the 1911 as inaccurate beyond a dozen feet. They all loved the M1 Garand.

[HWooldridge]

Worst recoil on a long gun for me was a 6-3/4 lb 12 gauge Italian double I used to own. I’d go dove hunting or to a sporting clays event and come home looking like I’d gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson. My Sharps business rifle in 45-70 also wasn’t much fun after an afternoon of 40-50 shots. Never fired a pistol anywhere close to either of those.

[Ithaca Gunner]

The first recoil ''stories'' I've heard of came with the S&W .357 Magnum when introduced in 1935. I've owned a 4'' S&W M-28 and I consider it a pleasant shooting revolver as far as recoil goes, it's the report of the .357 magnum that bothers me most.

[Abert Rim]

Ithaca, I bought a 4-inch Model 28 new the day I turned 21. Rushed to the range with a box of 1970s Super Vel, and had a stinging hand soon enough!

[charlie b]

The 'recoil' stories I remember as a kid started with light .30-06 hunting rifles and 12ga shotguns with slugs or buckshot, especially the single shots.

I do remember an older cousin who bought a Ruger BH .44mag back in the 60's and he talked about how much it hurt to shoot it.

[billmc2]

My recoil story involves a 12 ga pump shotgun. I don't know what brand or how big it was. I was 17 and had a summer job working at the State airport, with Operations. Nearby the airport was a landfill that attracted a lot of Seagulls. The Seagulls would land on the airport in large flocks. These birds posed a great danger to landing and departing aircraft. One of Operations jobs was to disperse the seagulls.

At first flashing lights would chase the birds away, but they got used to those. Then lights and sirens worked for a while. Finally they had to use the shotgun. The shotgun would fire a round, which was aimed up into the air above the flock where it would then detonate another charge making a large noise which chased the birds away.

I had never even held a shotgun, let alone fire one. I asked if I could try. They gave me the shotgun. Thinking I was John Wayne, I held the shotgun about even with my waist. The stock wasn't against anything. I pulled the trigger and the shotgun fired. The stock was aligned just right to recoil back into my bicep. My arm was black and blue for several days. I've never fired a shotgun that way since. In about 3 weeks I'll be 65.

[junkbug]

I believe that the original Ruger Flat Top Blackhawk, with its small grips may be part of the story.
I only own a Hawes (JP Sauer) Western Marshall in .44 mag. Some older “warm” .44 special loads were not fun for me. I intend to only load that revolver to black powder velocities.

[Electrod47]

Recoil was not always viewed as bad...in fact in 66' that's what we all lusted for.



PS my lust for recoil died in the late 1980's while working at a coal fired power plant in Nevada I was assigned the task of "shooting" clinkers off the walls of the boilers with 8 gauge buckshot loads from a single shot break top shotgun. "shoulder" fired. After myself and another fired an entire pallet's worth over a few days we were able to convince management they needed something better.
The next outage they brought in a wagon mounted Punt Gun.....Thank God.

This is what a circa 2023 8 gauge industrial shotgun looks like today. Made by Winchester

[15meter]

Recoil stories didn't start with the .44 magnum. I recall great uncles, ww2 vets, describing the 1911 .45 acp.as "kicking like a mule" and "if it hit a man on the thumb it would knock him down ". When you consider that they were farm boys who had probably never shot a handgun before military service (maybe a .22) and hearing protection was non-existent you get the picture. They also described the 1911 as inaccurate beyond a dozen feet. They all loved the M1 Garand.

I think the 1911's got their bad accuracy rap from worn out training pistols. My father-in-law was an Marine armorer, he talked about 1911's that rattled like tin cans tied behind newlyweds car. Could not have helped with accuracy or perceived recoil.

[bcraig]

Well I have a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk and I can certainly feel the difference.

I had a Ruger Blackhawk Stainless Steel 4-5/8 barrel that I smoothed up and firelapped the barrel ,and reamed the cylinder holes for shooting .432 bullets,also Roundbutted the grip frame.
The round butt seemed to lessen the felt recoil.

I wish I could find it again as I would buy it back.

[Abert Rim]

Bcraig, that sounds like a nice revolver!

[charlie b]

I think the 1911's got their bad accuracy rap from worn out training pistols. My father-in-law was an Marine armorer, he talked about 1911's that rattled like tin cans tied behind newlyweds car. Could not have helped with accuracy or perceived recoil.

Reminds me....one of my drill sgts was considered one of the better pistol shots in the brigade so he challenged me when we were at the range one day. I went down the line and shook the pistols until I got one that didn't rattle. He looked at me funny and then we shot. After I beat him he asked me about it. Then we both shot the same pistol and I only scored a few points higher. His excuse was he always shot the 'special' pistols they had for matches so didn't even think about the regular pistols being that different.

[bcraig]

Bcraig, that sounds like a nice revolver!

Yes it was,I sold it to get something else ,cant even remember what else I needed the money for.
Wish I had it back .

[Jtarm]

I noticed mine don't fit perfectly at the top, but it's not a problem. I wonder if yours is bad enough to cause a problem.

I just remembered, the worst gun for me was a S&W 3'' M-13-3 round but. Factory grips were so sharp and rough it drew blood with Remington 125gr. JHP .357 rounds.

Yes, it’s pretty bad.

The grip frame is altered to K-frame RB dimensions, which is likely part of the problem. I’ll go through my grip collection & see if I have something that fits better. Failing that, I might have to take a stab at making my own again. Inletting is a royal PITA.

Load testing at the range, I put a set of Uncle Mikes K-frame RB grips on. They don’t quite fit, but are way less painful to shoot.

These grips were designed by Craig Spegel and were factory-issue at one time. They are the most comfortable DA revolver grips I’ve ever used. I have them in all of my K-frame RB guns (which are quite a few).

[Jtarm]

I think the 1911's got their bad accuracy rap from worn out training pistols. My father-in-law was an Marine armorer, he talked about 1911's that rattled like tin cans tied behind newlyweds car. Could not have helped with accuracy or perceived recoil.

Well that & the slide/frame fit on the GI guns were left loose for reliability. Reading the gun rags in my youth, it appears accurizing a surplus GI pistol while keeping it reliable was a tricky proposition back in the day.

I’m sure the demands of WW II production didn’t help.

[35 Rem]

I always used to wonder how those tough guy soldiers could tell stories about the horrible recoil of a full size 1911. The 1st time I shot one I was amazed at how little recoil there was. A lot of it is perception or lack of experience I think. My 1st big handgun was a full size 44 Magnum so the 1911 45ACP felt very mild in comparison once I got to shoot one. With long guns there used to be a lot of single shot shotguns on farms and probably most were 12 gauge. Those guns were light and had no recoil pad and that had a lot to do with the stories of hard kicking guns years ago. I've always loved Ithaca 37's, which are very light weight for a repeater, but much more pleasant to shoot compared to a typical single shot farm gun. Another point about recoil stories is the tendency to "one up" the last guy's story. I've let a number of people shoot my 460 Weatherby and there have been a few who have to tell about some 300 Magnum or old shotgun that recoiled a lot worse. They just can't stand to not one up you. To say a shotgun or deer rifle hurts more than a 460 Weatherby is a load of obama poop to say the least. It punches you hard enough to slap your teeth together and if your left hand is close to the sling stud on the forearm it will whack your finger hard. Some will say it's a slow push compared to their super dooper deer magnum. I've shot a lot of guns and there is nothing slow about 460 Weatherby recoil. It's fast and hard but it's not going to kill you and you can easily hold on to the rifle and make fast follow up shots once you will yourself to do so.

[Maven]

Has anyone considered that ca. 1950's -1960's .44mag. factory ammo was loaded to higher velocity and pressure standards than that available today? It was loud and recoil was, shall we say, stout?

[delftshooter]

Recoil is subjection, but powder used has a bigger impact.

Also, i did what one old timer writer said for handgunning as you get older.. get a pair of gloves. Those tommy copper compression gloves have really neat grooved ridges on them that really attach to the grips. very smart investment.