TC Contender in 30-30 with a tapered 10 inch barrel and factory loads. Very snappy!
TC Contender in 30-30 with a tapered 10 inch barrel and factory loads. Very snappy!
Thompson Center Contender in 30-30 and a 10" barrel.
+1. Full house 158gr 357 in that snub nose let off a nifty fireball and was flat unpleasant to shoot. I'm not shrinking violet but I ended up selling it.
Close second was a Kel Tec 32. Not because of the recoil but because Man Mountain Dean couldn't pull that ridiculous trigger and get a group. Must have been a 20lb trigger when it went off which it was kinda random about. I still have it in the safe because I won't sell a defective firearm.
1. Derringer in .44mag. Hurt so bad I didn't take a second shot.
2. Not recoil but hurt every time. Walther .25auto. Grip was such I could not hold it without getting two 'grooves' in the web of my hand from the slide. Very bloody. Only shot it twice. I thought I had changed my grip enough the second time...NOT :)
I have the aforementioned Kel-Tec P-40 and a 14” Contender in 44 mag and both have significant bite. I agree that the .30-30 Contender is pretty nasty. Not as bad as a 4” S&W 500, though. I shot a friend’s and planned on shooting two rounds; one each single and double action. Fired the first round double action because I didn’t think I would be able to shoot the second one d.a. and I was probably right. My right hand still tingled the next day.
It's encouraging to see how many folks don't care for 357 in a little gun. I put a few full power loads through my Model 60 and promptly discarded that idea. I think 158gr at 1000fps is about as high as I would want to go for most things.
My wood grip 500 magnum 500 grain bullet, full load lil gun. Not good.
350 grain bullets are nice though.
Without a doubt , a big bore Contender with those awful wood grips .
Jack
So far mine has been a TC Encore with a 10” barrel 454 Casull pushing a 350gr Boolit at 1500 fps.
The Polish P64 in 9x18 Makarov. Pounds your hand like a hammer.
leadhead
I had a Ruger .44 Magnum which had grips that did not fit me well and made shooting uncomfortable.
For what it's worth. I bought some "PMC" brand, full house 357 magnum ammo, and shot some of it in my Ruger SP101 snubby. OUCH!!!
That same ammo, fired in a Ruger Vaquero with 5 1/2" barrel was a totally different story. Downright pleasant if I do say so.
My Ruger SP101 is now pretty much a gun safe queen.
Dan Wesson .357 2.5" bbl.
Shiloh
My most unpleasant gun to shoot is a old Colt police positive in 32 S&W long. It snaps back and whacks my knuckle every time! Elegant looking revolver but that small grip is nasty! Tim
I’d have to say the worst was a Windicator in .357 with Hornady personal defense ammo. It really bites the web of my hand. Second worst is my wife’s S&W Bodyguard in .38spl +p—-with standard .38spl loads it’s pretty snappy. With +p loads I sent one down range and unloaded the other 4. My wife is petite and cannot tolerate even very light 38spl loads (like 140gr pill on top of 2.2gr bullseye). So I bought 500 38 Short Colt cases from Starline and now load her some 140gr pills on top of 1.2gr Trail Boss, it’s not a .22lr but it’s tolerable enough that she will be able to shoot enough to get accommodated to the trigger pull.
That's about it. Except it was a Contender shot from Creednoor position with the pistol braced against my right leg. I had been shooting Contenders in .357 MAX and .44 mag. but this was something new. The pistol recoied up well past vertical alsmost hitting my face. And, surprising me, it twisted my shooting hand because of the effect of the heavy boolit and the rifling. never had that happen before.
Jim
The little-bitty Hungarian PA-63 in 9mm Makarov with tiny grips. Painful recoil. Sharp edges. It was brand new and trying to work the stiff controls could wear a lot of hide off your hands.
Not an uncomfortable one to shoot, but a story for being prepared for the shot.......I have a. 54 caliber TC scout pistol.....quite a handful, but fairly easy to shoot. Well, I had loaded it with the maximum charge, 430 grain bullet and 120 grains of powder, and as I was settling down to aim, there was a distraction a split second before firing, (This is an endorsement for securing your surroundings at whatever impromptu range you may set up) and I touched off the gun without being ready. Yes, stupid and careless, but instructional. When I got the gun under control, it was beside my head. If it's path had been 3 or 4 inches to the left, it would have cold cocked me. Never before Never after!!