What is the most absolute unconfortable handgun you have ever shot? Recoil wise

[rmark]

My brothers Super Blackhawk, 44 mag, don't plan on shooting it again - hopefully I've gotten smarter as I've gotten older

not recoil, but the trigger on a CZ52 would painfully slap my finger each shot.

[Willie T]

Two come to mind:

Contender in 270win. I hunted with it some one year. It is violent.

Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 cassul. A friend was going salmon fishing in Alaska and bought it to carry while he fished. I thought it would be fun to work up an accuracy load with 300 grain partitions for him. It was not unbearable to start out. The cumulative effect was a beating.

Willie

[GLL]

I picked up this S&W 29-4 years ago at a bargain price. After firing just two rounds I realized why the previous owner sold it. After just two .44 magnum rounds it became a .44 Special revolver ! Brutal !



Jerry

[15meter]

Back when I was young and dumb, I shot a Stevens 12 gauge pump one handed like a pistol with full hunting loads.

Multiple times, because I'm a slow learner

Made the 500 S&W I shot last year seem tame.

I'm older now.

[megasupermagnum]

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!!

I have the same gun. I even had one guy on this forum tell me it is a pussycat compared to some of his own thumpers. I'm here to say the TC scout pistol can be the most vicious gun to shoot that I own. It was really bad with the slick plowhandle grip it comes with that makes it 100% impossible to ever hold onto. I now have a rubber superblackhawk hogue grip on mine which is way better. I only shoot mine with a patched ball and 60 grains of powder, which is its accuracy load. It is stinking accurate too, possibly more accurate than my rifle. But that 435 grain maxiball, 1 full ounce of hate, and 120 grains blackpowder. Boy howdy, that is the real deal. It's basically a 475 Linebaugh (435gr at 1200-1300 fps) with a grip you can't even hold onto. Even with concentration, if that muzzle is in line with your face you will wear that front sight.

The 44 magnum Redhawk with 355 gr H110 load is stout, not even close though. A Competitor Corp. pistol in 458 win mag is about the same, likely due to the muzzle brake, else it might be worse. The TC Contender in 309 JDJ isn't even in the same league, that gun is tame. A 30-30 contender is childs play.

[Land Owner]

Sp101 in 357 magnum. Friend had it. We shot some of my full power 357 magnum out of it.

I don't load the hottest 357 Magnum rounds, but I have not tried them all as yet. With hands that can palm a basketball and plenty of personal beef behind that, I find the Ruger SP101 to be quite tame to shoot with routine range sessions of a hundred rounds or more. I prefer to carry the 101 everywhere.

Then there was that "one day" my younger brother convinced me to fire his Mossberg pistol grip pump shotgun with slugs and 3" shells - twice. It hurt my elbow so badly the first time that all I could do was shake it off, rub some dirt on it, grit my teeth, and get back in there...two was all it took. Never again.

[Jeff Michel]

Recoil isn't much of an issue for me, thankfully. I was a bit apprehensive the first time I shot my buddy's BFR single action in 45-70, turned out to be one of the most pleasant shooting big bores I've ever handled.

[fixit]

I have to say that I am one who prefers the plow handle grip profile. I have arthritis and no cartilage in the base knuckle of the thumb on my right hand, so the double action grip style hurts with any kind of heavy recoil. I have a 16" 30-30 barrel for my contender, and the only reason I have to fight a flinch with is fact that it recoils back into that knuckle. I have two .44 mag revolvers, a super blackhawk and a Virginian dragoon, and I have yet to fire a round in either of them that's less than comfortable! Issues of aging are annoying, at best!

[charlie b]

How big the gun is and the shape/size of the grip has a huge effect. Fired a lot of contenders and several large revolvers, including Casull and Taurus Judge. While stout, they didn't 'hurt'. Same with the SP101.

The really light and small grip guns are the hardest. Friend had an LCR in .357mag. The only loads I had with me that day were 158gn JHP. Even after firing my SP101 that little one 'stung'. I can understand why many don't shoot their scandium or other super light snubbies very much with full loads.

The little .380's and subcompact single stack 9mm's bother me more than a .44mag SBH. But, give that small 9mm a double stack mag with a slightly wider grip and it becomes a lot more tame.

PS Keep in mind that long term firing of heavy recoiling pistols can be permanently damaging to your wrist. For that reason I quit firing the big pistols.

[megasupermagnum]

So I ran the numbers, and the TC Scout pistol is actually way more wicked than I even thought. I forgot to take into account the 120 grains of powder it uses. Even being about 1 pound heavier than your typical 475 linebaugh, it is about double the recoil energy!

3lb 475 linebaugh, 425gr 23 gr powder at 1325 fps - 48.6 ft lbs
3lb 500 S&W, 440gr 33gr powder at 1602 fps - 80 ft lbs
4lb 54cal Scout pistol 435 gr 120gr powder at 1250 fps - 104 ft lbs

That's about how it feels too. Thankfully you don't have to do that to yourself.

4lb 54cal Scout pistol 212gr round ball 60gr powder at 1100 fps - 22.5 ft lbs

[dondiego]

Back when I was young and dumb, I shot a Stevens 12 gauge pump one handed like a pistol with full hunting loads.

Multiple times, because I'm a slow learner

Made the 500 S&W I shot last year seem tame.

I'm older now.

And so much smarter!

[Golfswithwolves]

The Freedom Arms .454 Casull was too much for me, even though it is a fine revolver. I put this down to mine having a huge Pachmyr rubber grip which I could not hold onto very securely. No regular-sized aftermarket wooden grips that I could find, so I traded it off for a FA 97 in .44 Special. I'm quite happy with the change (a near-perfect gun and cartridge) and my upper recoil limit is reached these days with .44 Magnum revolvers.

[imashooter2]

My S&W 360 Airlite weighs 11.4 ounces dry. You don’t want to shoot a lot of factory .357 self defense loads out of it. The Hogue Bantam stocks are better than the old wood splinters… but they aren’t THAT much better.

On the up side, it disappears in a pocket.

[Walks]

TC Encore 45/70 fifteen inch tapered barrel no brake TC barrel with 550 grain cast at 1500 chronoed.
I have more powerful handguns but it is the most obnoxious, rude and overbearing handgun I've shot. But it is a great training tool.

Yep,
Bought one for My T/C, broke a another shooter's wrist. But he was a little scrawny guy.

[indian joe]

remington 1858 cap and ball - not much recoil but the trigger guard cracks my knuckle every time
have not shot big stuff
had a 44/40 asm single action that I liked - would get your attention a little with 40 grains of black - couple other guys shot it reckoned it kicked - I was havin too much fun to notice
Son has a 58 percussion horsepistol (single shot) its fine with a round ball - we shot it a few times with a 550grain minie - gets a bit untidy with a bigger charge in it

visiting a mate in Nebraska he had a short barrel 500 S&W for alaska trips, left it on the counter for me to try, I was anticipating some pain but pleasantly surprised - 350 grain factory loads - that is a well designed gun, way easier to shoot than I thought it would be - I took it serious - two hands and single action, made a nice group with it too.

Then I see on utube - fools double tapping and creasing their skull with the barrel under recoil ???????????????

[414gates]

Marlin 45-70. 400 grains at 1450 fps was as far as I could take the hand loads. Butt-stock was a knife blade. Sold it soon after.

[jsizemore]

Fella had a Contender in 375 Win. and couldn't find brass. He did find a box of factory loaded 220's. He and 2 others got 4 rounds downrange before he asked for any more takers. I finished the 20 round box on the ram swinger at 200 meters. Found the gun was surprisingly accurate at 200. Also found a new meaning to trigger control for the next 6 months from the carpal tunnel in my shooting hand.

Wasn't long after that when I helped regulate express sights on a double rifle in 458 Lott.

It was a tough few months when I couldn't raise my arm to comb my hair or feel what was going on in there when I picked my nose.

[Pb Burner]

For me it was a friends new 45-70 Contender. A few guys took a few shots of light to medium loads. When it was my turn to shoot it, friend slip in the heavy loads he had. We were shooting off of sand bag on a carpet covered concrete bench. My elbows were resting on the bench. On my third shot the top turret of the scope came apart. Was kinda funny, the cap over there, adjust screw and spring on the floor... I had carpet burns on my elbows.
He has an impressive video of a deer shot out of a stand at very short range, it pile drived that doe into the ground.

[murf205]

Super BlackHawk Ruger 44. The square back on the trigger guard beat the daylights out of my middle finger. #2 is my friends T/C Encore in 460 S&W with a 290 ge NOE at 2250 fps. He is kind (smart) enough to let me do the load development. It’s a toss up between muzzle blast or recoil. Darned thing is very accurate and the 290 gr p/c’d doesnt lead a bit at that
Speed

[oldbear1950]

when I was in ALASKA the last time 1983 - 1986, a friend let me fire a 454 and brother that was uncomfortable in the extreme!!!