Inexperienced shooters and big guns

RBHarter

West Central AR
At a forum shoot I had the opportunity to shoot a 445 super mag , 4" Dan Wesson I think , not a Red or BlackHawk for sure ..... 5 shot DA /SA .
The first shot wasn't bad , the second was ....... assertive , the third reaffirmed that weight is your friend in a magnum revolver . The 3 oz difference between the first and 3rd was well noted and enough for me .
I had forgotten about the M12 with the I'll fitted stock for me that rode up into my cheek bone , one of those with the perfect mismatch of angles .
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
Before 1989, A Sporting Goods Chain in So Calif. Would put on a Shooting Fest every Spring (?).
The Manufacturers Rep's would bring guns for People to shoot from a .22LR, $1.00 for 10 shots to a .458Win Mag at $5.00 a shot.
I watched a 14yr old girl shoot a .458Win Mag and her Dad had to pay another $5 for her to shoot it again. Big Smiles

Watched a big strong man shoot a .357 BH and actually lose the revolver. It came back and hit him in the head. His ball cap saved him from being cut. Afterwards he just watched, never shot another gun.

The Young Lady went on to shoot everything her Dad could afford. She really loved the S&W M19 4".
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
One of the funniest things I ever saw was while I was in the NYSP Academy. We used Ithaca 37 riot guns with slugs and buck, back in the days before "reduced recoil" loads existed. We had a little 5 foot nuthin' girl on the line and she manned up and qualified. Then up comes Mr Macho, "I was in a gang since I was 8", BS artist from NYC. He takes his first shot, literally THROWS the shotgun about 10 feet down range into the mud and starts dancing around holding his shoulder while his nose is gushing blood! The Range Officer was an old style, economy sized Trooper about 6'4" that looked like he could lift the back end of a car up with one hand. He grabbed Mr Macho (Henceforth known as "that f'in Sissy Boy') and pretty much lifted him off his feet and tip toed him down to the shotgun where there was a very one sided conversation about his actions. The idiot did eventually graduate, but I heard he was fired and arrested within a few months.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
At our academy we had a gal going through with a University Police Department. She was actually pretty decent, and handled a double action revolver pretty well, but she was deathly afraid of the shotgun. I'm not sure if she had a bad experience as a youngster or it was just the reputation but she was afraid. When it came time to shoot them (Remington 870's 18" cylinder bores) she closed her eyes and shot in the general direction of the target.

In those days our targets were a picture of an angry looking white guy crouched over facing you with a very large revolver pointing in your direction. The scoring rings were lightly printed over the fella's torso and not visible from 15 yds. This gal closed her eyes and fired two shots, both blowing the entire crotch area out of the target.

Not even the instructors said a word to her about her shotgun prowess.
 

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
IIRC it was about 1983 or 84 my Father was in the habit of come up to Alaska in his motorhome and staying from early May till the beginning of September. CR and Mom started that practice in 1979 and it became a yearly event. Mom started staying for short times and flying home earlier in the season. Frankly CR and I had become the best of friends after a rocky existence in Southern California.
Well CR wanted to go bear hunting down on the coast for the big bears, it had been a dream of his every since I can remember. So I said I had a friend who was a fur buyer and guide and I would to Joe as he was a customer at my store. Well we started planning for the following year which would include my older brother. Well CR started shopping for the cannon of his dreams. Keep in mind we had already purchased 338 Sako Fin Bear rifles a few years before. CR never warmed up to his and I had purchased it from him, giving me 2 Sako's. I had also built a 458 mag on a Interarms Mark X action before leaving So Cal. So off gun shopping for CR went. At those times you could advertise firearms in the paper or on a daily radio show called "Tradio". Anyway CR came in one day with a Weatherby 460 mag and a box of ammo. Fancy rifle like all the Weatherby's were. I did point out that the T Rex was extinct and that it had happened years ago without the benefit of Weatherby. So we went out front to give it a test firing. I put out some 8 X 8 chunks about 30 yards out to shoot at. I had my 458 with Hornady 350 grain loads loafing along about 2100 and a 45-70 High Wall that was fun with 405's at about 1500.
Well CR was thrilled with what he figured was the "bear medicine gun". So he steps up to the line (off hand shooting) and lines up. I was about 10' to his right and watching him as I thought he might not realize what he was planning on touching off. Keep in mind they were Weatherby factory loads, 510 grains, not solids but probably .050 jackets at about 2500 - 2600 fps. Well I was waiting for, how does the saying go, for every action there's a equal reaction, or something to that nature.
Well he let it rip and got seriously rocked back a step, shook his head, looked at me and literally throw the gun to me and said sell it.
Well we all had a good laugh as he was ok, retinas still attached and not so much in the way of bruises. Next I had to shoot that beast, not a fan of the fancy Weatherby's anyway, but got to try right?
CR had missed is 8 x8 so I gave it a go. I fired it twice to be doing the manly thing. What a horrible rifle cartridge combination. Did I mention I'm not a fan of Weatherby's. Well I hit my block, drilled 2 neat holes in it with out much damage. Well I got my 458 out and busted the next 8 X 8 which split into 2 or 3 pieces. Next I got out the High Wall and shot the next chunk in line, which exploded into pieces. Ended up being a good comparison of velocity, bullet construction and energy transfer.
Both CR and I had bruised faces.
We went hunting the next fall, but that's another story.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
This one always made me smile...

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I have had opportunity to shoot most every caliber Handguns and rifles. What I found offensive was a 378 Weatherby in a Ruger #1 and a T/C Contender shooting 400g bullets about 1800 fps off the bench.

But recoil is surely VERY SUBJECTIVE!

I enjoy shooting a 480 Ruger SA.

CW
 

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Yeah CW recoil is subjective. I like the 480 with full house loads, but not a fan of the 454. And I find the 460 and 500 S&W to be in the category of the Weatherby 460, totally unnecessary. YMMV.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
A friend of mine purchased a Weatherby 378 Magnum for a song. Seems a guy ordered it and a Bausch and Lomb scope (the old Balvar with fixed scope and adjustable mounting system). In a Weatherby Mk 5 rifle.
Seem the guy put down a healthy deposit and never came back for the rifle. My buddy purchased it along with 100 rds. of 300 gr. SP Weatherby ammo.
He settled down to fire it from the bench, touched one off and handed me the rifle with blood streaming down his face.....the scope gave him a new eyebrow. While he went inside to put a butterfly stitch on his forehead he said you sight this in in for me.
I am left handed, saw what the rifle did to him, so I carefully fired the damn thing right handed. It was the most evil fitting nasty recoiling thing I ever shot and that includes 40mm M79 grenade thumpers. I hate the design of the old Weatherby stocks.
 
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popper

Well-Known Member
High Standard 22 pistol, get badly slide bit. Yup, draws blood! Younger GS wanted to shoot the XD 40. I just loaded one rnd. His hand was too small at that time. but he sure had a grin on his face after the shot. His older bro shot the 308MX Marlin ONCE. SIL's dad (ex leo) tried the MX and got the scope dent. Garand didn't bother me in boot camp (hadn't shot much but a friends nylon 66) But the 12gr from 1920 (with my recoil pad) with plastic shell was all I could take - off to her BIL for a wall hanger! Funny, in HS friend took me mourning dove hunting, I get his dad's 2x12 short barrel side hammer, didn't bother me much and no, never hit the doves. IIRC box of shells was a $, no age limit at the gas station. Of course all the doves were on power lines going and coming. Oh, don't shoot both barrels at an old steel fridge from 5 ft.
 
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Tom

Well-Known Member
Funny how recoil can be. When I was a teenager, I had a stevens double barrel 12 guage with two triggers. I tried both barrels at the same time and it wasn't what I expected. After the initial try, I used to impress my friends by shooting it that way.
On the other hand, I had a model 70 featherweight in 30-06 that I hated. For some reason, it was a miserable thing for me to shoot. After 30 or 40 rounds from the bench my vision got blurry. It was ok as a hunting rifle, but not much fun at the bench.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I've found that the older I get the the less violent even heavy recoil seems . There's nearly twice as much of me to soak it up as there was 35 yr ago when I left HS and probably closer to 3x of 12 yr old me . I'm sure that helps .
 

Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
It is always a disservice to the inexperienced shooter to put an ill fitting or heavy recoil firearm in his hands. Best to start them with a 22 LR, either rifle or pistol and when they have mastered the basics, work up to larger calibers.
 

obssd1958

Well-Known Member
I used to take my Mom hunting every fall, and one year she confided in me that my step-dad wouldn't let her shoot any of his handguns at the range. I was packing my Security Six .357 Magnum at the time, so I volunteered to let her shoot it during the midday lull. I didn't reload back then, so they were standard factory 158gr. Magnum loads.
At midday, true to my word, we found a spot off a side road back in the mountains we were hunting, and I pulled over and set up a soda can at about 20 paces. I handed her the revolver, and was telling her about all the safety concerns, when we heard a vehicle passing on the road we had just left. I turned to make sure it didn't come down the two-track we were on - and heard "BANG" behind me.
She had gone ahead and fired the gun, thinking my distraction meant the end of the lecture... I hadn't gotten to the part about not putting your hand in front of the cylinder, so she had figured that the best way to control it was to wrap her offhand around it when it was shot.
She has a very interesting tattoo on the palm and fingers of her left hand, and to say I felt lower that a snake's belly would be an understatement.

I'm not really recoil shy. I shoot everything, including 12ga. 3 1/2 inchers, my favorite .358 NM w/250gr. Grand Slams at 2800+, .375 H&H, .458 Win Mag, .500 S&W in a Handi-Rifle...
But my recoil nemesis was an older Ruger "boat paddle stocked" .338 Win Mag. It didn't matter if I shot 210gr. or 250gr. factory fodder, that thing would smack me in the cheek so hard, it would bring tears to my eyes. I really tried to like it, and even got the Hogue rubber stock for it, but I was truly pleased when it moved on to terrorize someone else!!
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
:headscratch: What's with excessive recoil with the Model 70 featherweight in 30-06? I own featherweights in 243W and 308W, and sited in a friend's chambered 30-06 with factory fodder. Couldn't tell much difference from my 308W, recoil wise. Now a Model 70 in 338W will get your attention. Especially, with 250 grain bullets. Main reason I shoot cast out of mine.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
Just like cast it's all about fit .

I had a BPS that chipped the stock and worked loose , 3,000 rounds who'd think it , to tighten up I had to face the stock about 1/8" and while I was there I took about half of the cast off out of it . It went from hot days and why'd I get out of bed days to 95% in the field . It's hard to believe that such a tiny tweek would make such a huge difference in shooting . I never did fix the chip , 11,000 rounds when the kid borrowed it .
 

Tom

Well-Known Member
:headscratch: What's with excessive recoil with the Model 70 featherweight in 30-06? I own featherweights in 243W and 308W, and sited in a friend's chambered 30-06 with factory fodder. Couldn't tell much difference from my 308W, recoil wise. Now a Model 70 in 338W will get your attention. Especially, with 250 grain bullets. Main reason I shoot cast out of mine.
I think Brad hit the nail on the head. It wasn't heavy recoil, but a sharp jab that I found miserable. The same weight rifle in a different stock might've suited me better.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I have seen some heavy stocks that were attached to heavy actions/barrels that defeated most of that weight because of the stock design. I used to think it was all about getting the lines as straight as could be but I think there's plenty more to it than that now.