Have you got a big gun?

[frankenfab]

Gentlemen,

It has always bothered me to an extent when somone assumes that because another person has the biggest, baddest caliber weapon that they are trying to "compensate for something else".

I just really got into guns, ballistics, etc., and being of the nature that I am, I have always taken the shooting and reloading experience to the highest levels that I can, for the Experience!

I never have thought that I was a "Bad Donkey" because I had a .500 S&W, .357 Maximum derringer, or .50 BMG rifle. Hell, I just wanted to get my hands on them so I could see if I could handle it!

Harness the Beast! Feel the Power!

True story:

I was shooting a .50 BMG at the AG&FC public range in Mayflower one time, and I was wearing electronic muffs. There were 2 men and women 10 benches down that were shooting a .300 Win. Mag. I had touched off a round, and I heard these people discussing what caliber was that, etc. and one of the guys says "little ***k". In a stroke of poetic justice, the same gentleman had to leave the range a few moments later because he needed to go get stitches from his scope laying his eyebrow open. :mrgreen:

You just would have had to have been there! it was really sweet!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I got a .72!

Most people cal it a 12 gauge!

[JJC]

My wife had the biggest gun in camp earlier this year. She shot a rattler with her Kimber 45 acp. Guys in camp assumed cause she was a girl it was something really small HA!

[mtnman31]

.577 - it isn't the baddest out there but it sure is big.
The baddest I personally have is the .338 Remington Ultra Mag. The rifle is pretty light and it kicks like a mule. I guess it'd hurt more on the receiving end of the bullet.
A .50BMG rifle is on my list of rifles to get someday.

[leftiye]

I own a bunch of guns and I am compensating for something. I can't spit hard enough to bring down a bad guy, nor a chipmunk. I had a bow out on archery season, and had to notice that I could have filled a truck with deer with my 32-20, just wasn't close enough for the bow.

[montana_charlie]

when somone assumes that because another person has the biggest, baddest caliber weapon that they are trying to "compensate for something else".
Deleted...

[HeavyMetal]

I have found ignoring fools to be an ever present past time these days and yes I heard the same BS line in 1977 when I aquirred my Model 29!

I calmly informed that person that only one of us was compensating and it was obvious that it was because my wallet was "taller" than his.

His wife found it very amusing and I never heard that "line" again at that range.

These days I find less of this "tude" as most shooters have grown past this "joke". I have also learned that nothing works better than just ignoring the loud mouth in the crowd, after awhile even his wife will tell him to shut up.

[steg]

Durring the depression my Father In Law hunted everything from groundhogs to black bear with a Winchester 32-20, I asked him one time why he used such a small cartridge for black bear, his answer was simply," it was the only gun I had" And he did get a few bear with it......steg

[405]

The meaning of "big" may need consideration. Bore diameter and/or bullet weight is one thing, kinetic energy of the bullet is another. I guess the biggest bore I have is a 12 ga. The biggest cast bullet cartridge shooters would be a 44-90 SBN or 45 2 7/8 SS, both in a Sharps 74. The largest bore diameter rifle would be a .58 musket ML. The "biggest" Jbulletgun is a Win M70 in 416 Rem.

[bruce drake]

8mm-06 with a 200 grain J-bullet (Nosler AccuBond )is big enough for me and my shoulder.

Everything else is smaller and yet every caliber does what I ask of it.
If people like bigger calibers that's their choice and I won't begrudge them.

Shoot what you can handle whether it is a .577 T-Rex or a 223 Rem.

Bruce

[Mal Paso]

Of course I'm Compensating. I have Small Teeth and no Claws Whatsoever.

[nicholst55]

Of course I'm Compensating. I have Small Teeth and no Claws Whatsoever.

+1; good one, Mal Paso! I sold my various .416s because they cost too bloody much to feed, especially the .416 Rigby! Now I see that Remington has abandoned the .416 Remington, and relegated brass for same to 'seasonal' status (just like the .35 Whelen). I did succumb to temptation and am having a .458 Lott built while I'm overseas. I'll probably shoot a lot of reduced power cast loads in it... at paper. Although it might be amusing to harvest a deer with it. However, should I ever be beset by stampeding elephants or cape buffalo, I will be suitably armed. :kidding:

And FWIW, rest assured that I am a BIG prick! :groner:

[white eagle]

I give a **** what people say about my choices
I have however noticed a difference in the effect on game when you shoot a larger cal into them
besides as my age keeps creeping up seeing bigger holes is easier :Fire:

[whitetailsniper]

ME, i like em all from 17 hmr,22 lr,9mm,41 rem mag,45 acp,45 long colt,454 casull,50.ae,45/70,30-006, 300 wsm,50 cal, 54 cal.,835 ultra mag, 45 old army, 50 cal encore 209x50 15 inch encore pro hunter pistol, i love them all! i never worry about what others think,i like what i like,, AND I DO FAVOR THE BIG BORES

[chuckbuster]

I guess I always have blamed it on reading Elmer Keith a lot more than Jack O'connor when I was younger. You know, "a 250 gr. .33cal at 2500FPS bare minimum for deer"... :)

[casterofboolits]

:bigsmyl2:
Of course I'm Compensating. I have Small Teeth and no Claws Whatsoever.

+2

Does a penchant for 45 ACP count? I blame the baldness and other short falls on my father. :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[montana_charlie]

I blame the baldness and other short falls on my father.
If one's father also bequeathed 'short stature' to him, he could be particularly sensitive to the term "little pr*ck".
Being so sensitive, he could consider it "sweet" when a person gets injured while shooting.

CM

[.357]

I'm a huge fan of just enough gun, hense the love of the 257 roberts, the 300 savage and then 223. However I have a secret need for a .416 rigby I need one so bad! just don't tell the wife.

[canyon-ghost]

Sure, I've always been compensating for the fact that Sigmund Frued was some kind of nut, wrote 'Abnormal Psychology, didn't he? Last person that I heard say that followed with, "I don't know much about guns". There's the truth.

I usually collect silhouette shooting classics from the Heyday of Thompson Center so, lately I've been working with 41 Remington Magnum. Love the caliber. And, I agree with Leftiye, 32-20 is as good as it gets (for small game).

Pay no attention to the heathens and socialists, we be not convicts!

Ron

[frankenfab]

If one's father also bequeathed 'short stature' to him, he could be particularly sensitive to the term "little pr*ck".
Being so sensitive, he could consider it "sweet" when a person gets injured while shooting.

CM

Yup, it is always "sweet" when a bully, or bigot, or someone who just likes to run their mouth about something to impress their friends gets taken down a notch.

I make no apologies whatsoever for getting a bit of enjoyment out of that. That was the whole point. Not what they said, I could care less the actual words. Those kinds of people are often the ones with the insecurities, moreso than the target of their idiotic remarks or acts.

[thx997303]

I like my 45-70, but I don't hotrod it much.

[sucngas]

I have always loved big bore guns. Call me crazy. Some of us just like it rough. I have used my 338 win mag for elk for years. Got a lever action 45/70 marlin. Instead of a wedding ring, I got my wife to buy me a 454 casull Ruger Super Redhawk. My latest big bore addition was my cz550 in 416 Rigby. I have always wanted to go cape buffalo hunting, so now I have the rifle if the opportunity presents itself. So far, the only thing with fur I have shot with it was a nice 5 point bull elk. I was surprised, damage wasn't that bad, I'm assuming because of the lower velocity. But the effect was amazing. Let's just say you don't have to be much of a tracker.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I just love it when people discover my .416 Taylor cartridge and how in-expensive it is as compared to the .416 Rigby big brother and is just a few hundred fps less with comparable bullets. Cases are simply made by running a 458 mag. case into a taylor sizer die and you`re set to load.

Do I feel intimidiated by larger bores? Heck no! I`ve shot enough denture loosening, shoulder busters to be happy with what I use now.Robert

[odis]

I guess I always have blamed it on reading Elmer Keith a lot more than Jack O'connor when I was younger. You know, "a 250 gr. .33cal at 2500FPS bare minimum for deer"... :)Oh yea 30-06 is only good for shooting eagles, really got a laugh outof that one. He truly was my favorite writer.

[lylejb]

Shoot what you can handle whether it is a .577 T-Rex or a 223 Rem.


+1

The club I used to be a member of would open the range to the public every year, a few weeks before hunting season. Part of membership was to work for the club 2 days a year.

Most times, I worked the firing line as a range/ safety officer.

The area I lived in has alot of logging, so we would always get a few big- mean- ruff n' tuff loggers in there.

Well, a big tough guy NEEDS a big tough gun, doesn't he?

EVERY TIME it was the same thing. Some tough guy would walk in with his new 338 magnum.

The club offered free bore sighting, so after the bore sight, we would tell him to take it to the 25 yd line, fire a few to dial it in, then take it to the 100 yd and adjust it where he wants it.

EVERY TIME the tough guy would fire a half dozen at 25, then COULDN'T HIT THE PAPER AT 100.

Then the excuses would start. It's the gun, it's the shells, it's the scope. It's everything but him.

No, it's the HUGE flinch, that's it.

The big tough guy couldn't handle the big tough rifle.

I would try to coach them as best I could. Too often it didn't help. Sometimes it would come down to " HERE, you shoot it" as their frustration grew, and their disbelief that they were the problem.

It was golden to see the look when after firing a few shots to zero, then putting them in the 9 or 10 ring. They usually took the rifle home about then.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
My largest caliber would be a New England made Club Butte flintlock caliber .80 and I would really like to lay that on a buff or horse. 42 " barrel and it will shoot 130 grains 2F with a patched .78 ball accuratly at 40 yards.
The meanest kicker I have is my 12 bore round ball double ..8.5 pounds of snappy kick with a .685 round ball at 1550+ fps.
Largest pistol is a caliber .65 flinter from 1810. 80 grains 2F and a thick patched .62 makes me a believer in a 2 handed pistol hold.
In Cartrige.. how I like the 50-70´s---
But I shoot my 41 mag Marlin far more than any closly followed by a 45 Colt.

[no34570]

One of my favourite sayings is "You get more out of a big bore" when people ask me why have a .58cal muzzle-loader or my RugerNo3 in 45/70,my 444 Marlin,I just say my favourite saying and walk away.

[geargnasher]

I don't care what you shoot, why you shoot it, what you're compensating for, or what you consider fun, just be safe and keep enjoying it as long as you possibly can! I love the differences of opinion on this forum, really keeps things in perspective for everyone.

BTW I consider the recoil from my Model 70 Featherweight in .270 Win. to be severe. Five rounds and I can't get past the flinch anymore, and while not black and blue, my shoulder will be sore for three or four days afterward. that's not something I choose to put myself through, which is why I hunt with 6.5x55 and .30-30. Not a wimp, just physically not built to handle recoil. Can't take it with benched pistols, either. Full house .44 Magnum is the practical limit, and a box of 50 has me wanting no more for a while, but offhand no problem.

Know your limits, work within them, and if the big stuff gets you off, GREAT! I like big guns too, just like to watch someone else shooting them!

Gear

[frankenfab]

I don't care what you shoot, why you shoot it, what you're compensating for, or what you consider fun, just be safe and keep enjoying it as long as you possibly can! I love the differences of opinion on this forum, really keeps things in perspective for everyone.Yup, I kinda figured this thread would end up like that.
BTW I consider the recoil from my Model 70 Featherweight in .270 Win. to be severe. My brother's 700 in .270 kicks pretty hard to me.Five rounds and I can't get past the flinch anymore, and while not black and blue, my shoulder will be sore for three or four days afterward. that's not something I choose to put myself through, which is why I hunt with 6.5x55 and .30-30. Not a wimp, just physically not built to handle recoil. Can't take it with benched pistols, either. Full house .44 Magnum is the practical limit, and a box of 50 has me wanting no more for a while, but offhand no problem.

Know your limits, work within them, and if the big stuff gets you off, GREAT! I like big guns too, just like to watch someone else shooting them!

Gear

Honestly, I like 'em big and small, too. I always say I never met a gun I didn't like, but I never shot the .45/70 derringer when it was offered.:holysheep

I have really been looking hard at the .17 Fireball since Remington is selling rifles in that caliber right now. But there ya go again! It's big in the LITTLE and FAST categories. I don't even own a .50 BMG or .500 S&W anymore, but they were "beautiful rides"-----"Walk Hard"

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Gear,

My Rem 700 in 270 was about the same for me too . . . until I put on a 1" Limbsaver recoil pad . . . now I gan get 20+ rounds off no problem . . .

But . . . I'd rather shoot my Marlin 1894 in 44 mag!

[geargnasher]

Those Remingtons have about a pound and a half on this 1983 Featherweight, too. I think the .270 is just a real horse and works best with aftermarket recoil reduction equipment and people with lots of mass in their shoulder area.

Which brings me to another point that I wasn't going to bring up: Who shoots insanely powerful guns without some sort of recoil-managing devices? Years ago, when it was all the rage, I went off the deep end and purchased a Barret .50 BMG bolt gun with my tax return money. I shot it a grand total of about 200 rounds, maybe fifty or so more shot by friends/range gawkers. That gun kicked hard, naturally, but had one heck of a muzzle brake and butt pad. It felt good shooting it, but the concussion would get to me after a while. Sold the gun and bought a good used car. Most Uber Magnum handguns have built-in compensators and rubber grips. I don't see too many folks at the range with a .480 Ruger with wooden stocks or a good, H&H double-gun with a brass butt plate. You show up with one of those and make it shoot well you'll have my utmost respect.

Gear

[scb]

Sure, I've always been compensating for the fact that Sigmund Frued was some kind of nut, wrote 'Abnormal Psychology, didn't he?
Ron

You know Frued also wrote “A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity”

[9.3X62AL]

Recoil is a pretty subjective effect--and someone's tolerance level for same should not impute lack of skill or knowledge--perhaps just the opposite.

The worst offender in that regard is my No. 1 x 45-70, if stoked with full-potential loads for that platform. I loaded some Hornady 350s into the 2100 FPS ZIP Code, and those were about as much fun as I ever want to have again. The rifle only weighs 7-1/4#, and it comes back with vigor at those load rates. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. No mas, por favor.

Another one that rears back a bit is the CZ-550 in 9.3 x 62. Stoke that one with 286 grain Partitions at 2450 FPS or 250 grain BalTips at 2600, and it lets you know that the primers functioned. Not as rough as the No. 1, likely due to its added weight (almost 10# with scope)--but it will push ya around some.

Both of these rifles are MUCH more docile with cast boolit loads that will still make venison very capably. The Lee 405 grainer at 1300 FPS from the No. 1 or the Mountain Molds 270 grain flatpoint at 1700 FPS are both "all-day" loads, but will perform well in the field and on the range.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Consider me over compensated...
I have a Paradox conversion underway on a 10 gauge SxS
and a 600 OK about ready to test fire up in Montana next month.
When you are looking down the barrel at Cape Buffalo or Elephant they don't seem any too big...


Rich

[geargnasher]

I like to watch cape buffalo and elepant on TV, along with their friends Wildebeest and Lion. I don't think you're over-compensated at all.

Gear

[WILCO]

Of course I'm Compensating. I have Small Teeth and no Claws Whatsoever.

Best answer given. :D

[tommygirlMT]

All you have to do is go over to the handloads.com forum and check out my signiture and you will realize that I definently have my reasons for shooting big guns --- call it "no ***k" compensation --- call it an ego --- say It just gives me pleasure to beat the boys at their own game. There is a little bit of truth to all of it and I won't deny any of it.

But even more then any of those is the fact that I am addicticted to raw power --- and yes I can actually hit what I'm aiming at with them. Learned that when I was very young and bit off more then I could chew with my first hunting gun and then learned to chew it anyway when I had just turned 12 so it was the first year I could legally hunt and have my own tags and the whole kabootle. Dad had me shoot almost all of his guns and then decide which caliber I wanted and then we had a youth size version built up by my uncle (local gun smith) to fit me --- I paid 10% of the price out of my own hard earned money and he covered the rest and that took up a sizable portion from the money I had earned over the summer. I was bound and determined to have an 8mm-06 since that was the one I liked best of my dads guns. Problem is that a light weight youth model modern gun don't weigh near as much as an old mauser with a re-cut chamber and thus kicks a hell of a lot more --- enough to make the difference between stout but do-able to "knock you on your @ss" for a 12 year old girl and it ain't no fun getting knocked on your rear as a 12 year old tomboy girl in front of the boys by your own hunting rifle --- Dad taught me how to handle the recoil just like a full grown individual handles the recoil of a heavy african game caliber rifle using the same "slow roll" technique. Well then after all that was taken care of I had a little youth hunting rifle that was mine and mine alone that I could handle and hit what I was shooting at with it but it would knock the boys on their rears if they tried to shoot it including ones that were a little older and bigger then I was --- well lets just say that's how it got started and it has never ended. Yes, there are a few guys out there that can out do me and even a few other women but I'm still at the top of my own little hill and I like the view from the top and I like really big booms and really big holes in targets and game animals that go down like a sack of potatoes right where they are hit and you don't have to blood trail them over hill and dale. Yes, even if I were the only person left on the planet and there wasn't anyone else out there to "show off too" I'd still choose the biggest gun I could handle and then mabey even push myself that extra little bit --- often times you don't know that you can do more then you think is the maximum you can do until you are forced to do more then you think you can do.

[Just Duke]

I didn't think any gun or boat was to big. I was looking at a sail boat that was 70 ft, 20 ft bigger than the one I had and folks said that's to big. Well.............. You get out on the ocean in rough weather and there no boat to big. I don't care if it's an aircraft carrier.
I go with over kill. Works for me.
BIG GUNS = :bigsmyl2:

[Von Gruff]

I guess I have always hankered for the Safari life so when it came to building a couple of 'for life' rifles I built a 404jeffery and a 7x57 but at the same time I also built a 20VarTarg to cover the whole range of needs. Like shooting them all but I dont find the 404 particularly BIG any more although it is as big as I will ever need or want. Always put a few through it when I go for a play at the range.

Von Gruff.

[HORNET]

Rule 37: There is no overkill. There is only "Open Fire" and "Time to Reload". From 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates' in the Schlock Mercenary webcomic.

[Dframe]

The baddest gun I own is just a 45/70.
HOWEVER I also have a rather large revolver......... in 45/70

[clintsfolly]

my 458AccRl is as bad as i need! 500gr at 2300 if needed. Large Boom Big Flop Clint

[nes4ever69]

when people ask me why i bought a 500 mag. or 50 cal or even my 44 mag, i just have to have the fun by saying because i have a small penis.

the look on their face and the silence is priceless. it got old saying because i can, because the second amendmit allows me to, and the worst was the argument over how a 50bmg is useless cause a 30-06 is all you need to take down deer/elk.

:twisted:

[DIRT Farmer]

We had a circus winter quartered just across the road from us when the kids were small. Every thing was fine when the owner was home but when he went out selling shows, some of the help was less than dependable managing the critters, so I felt the need for a rifle for the biggest critter in the neighborhood. I found a Simiase Mauser in 45-70 partily finished cheep. When you fill the case with powder and strike it off, then seat a big bullet, scopes dident last so I put iron sights on it. 5 rounds and I had a recoil headache for 3 days. I don't load like that now but the load is still in the notes just in case.

[AkMike]

I don't have any circus critters handy but we've got some vicious squirrels that need thinning out! ;) I've grown quite fond of big bore side by side double rifles. I've got 450 NE's a 500/450 NE and recently a 600 NE single shot falling block. There's a pic of it in the single shot show and tell thread.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I truly enjoy shooting my CZ 527 .223. Ditto on on 6.5 Sweede I have. The venerable '29 model 94 in 30-30 is really fun to shoot. I also enjoy my M-1 with cast loads and the 8 x 57 MM I also have.

All these guns have one common denominator......lotsa fun and manageable recoil.

Recently I bought a BPCR rifle in 50-90 Sharps. That thing with 695 GR cast boolits and 102 gr of Swiss #1 is downright painful and not fun at all. I fired off 15 rounds and put it away until I bought a decent shoulder pad to tame it down.

It still kicks and bucks very heavily but it is not painful and I can fire off as many rounds as I like without suffering. It is fun and very accurate to boot but expensive to feed as the brass is pricy and it eats a lot of lead.

[Three44s]

We can count ourselves truely blessed having so many calibers and weapons to choose from ........ and for the most part so freely!

Most others do not have such choices.

A Simms recoil pad is truely worth it's weight!

And lastly,

416hardcasttaylor and Frank505 have me yearning a .416 Taylor ...........

Enjoy whatever you chose!

Three 44s

[man.electric]

The biggest rifle in my collection is my .458 Varmint gun. When it comes to the whitetails that grace the north woods, 27 out of the 28 I have taken with a rifle took one round to do the job(most with my fathers .308). This spring I started to ponder that if you are firing one round, that you might as well make it a big one. I would hate to be in heavy brush and be charged by a wild chipmunk. The sound of gnashing chipmunk teeth in thick cover would require at least a .458 to subdue.

I am afraid of no weapon or beast. My only fear these days is of positive pregnancy tests. The economics of a second child scare the hell out of a guy these days!

[home in oz]

A Thomson Center .54 muzzleloader makes easy to see holes thru deer and coyotes.

The wild pigs at the farm have not given me the opportunity to try out the .54 on them, but I suspect it will produce the one inch thru both sides hole.

No one has made comments about the .54.

[bbailey7821]

I really enjoy letting the loudmouth in the crowd touch off a full power load in my 4 5/8" Casull model 83. They either shut up, out of respect after doing so...or head to the emergency room to get the gash in their forehead sewed up!!
:redneck:

[odis]

A Thomson Center .54 muzzleloader makes easy to see holes thru deer and coyotes.

The wild pigs at the farm have not given me the opportunity to try out the .54 on them, but I suspect it will produce the one inch thru both sides hole.

No one has made comments about the .54.54s are for *******:kidding: I put together a John Bivins 1770 Lancaster in 58 and although my skills produced an ugly beast my choice of componenets produced a rifle beyond accurate and a joy too shoot.

[Caster Blaster]

Freud was also a coke addict and believed thoughts about having sex with your own mother was somewhat normal. I wouldn't put a lot of stock into anything he said.
Make mine a .460 S&W, the more gun the better.
Not bragging but the only complaints I get from the wife is when theres too much going on.

[spqrzilla]

I have a "big gun" and its purpose is to compensate for my inadequacies.

Specifically, I'm pretty inadequate at chasing down deer and elk with a sharpened piece of obsidian.

[bob208]

around here they are making up for marksmanship. they miss with a 30-30 next year they have to have a 30-06. miss with that then onto the 300 mag. one guy has got himself worked up to a .375 whereby mag.

same with muzzle loaders years ago a .45 would do just fine. now a .54 is the smallest you should use.

[RP]

I have a 45/70 pistol I tell people at the range its my wifes purse pistol and she loans it to me from time to time, Beside shooting it the second best thing is everyone in the shooting booths popping off their 22s to 45 acps and I drop the hammer about the second shot they all stop shooting and are trying to find out what the heck iam shooting. I guess thats the kid in me, Alot of people in this area dont think a pistol will shoot farther then 50 ft and I get alot of strange looks when I sit down on the 100 yard range and start popping the bowling pins. They are hanging from rope and the rifles just swing them but that 405 gr boolit has tried to spin them and when it got to top of the swing the rope broke sending the bowling pin about 30 yards back up the range Priceless.

[grog18b]

Pfft...

40MM
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o134/grog18b/DSCF2058-1.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o134/grog18b/DSCF2007.jpg
I carry them across my back, to compensate for the weight of the "tripod" leg in front.
:coffee: