# How much gun is too much for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402 "2009-01-28T17:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/1 "2009-01-28T17:36:59Z")
There’s no one right answer for everyone; a 90-lb woman with thin wrists isn’t going to be comfortable with what a 6’6 bodybuilder could handle. What’s your personal limit? I’ve shot a .44 Magnum and it wasn’t too powerful but I would have to shoot it regularly to be really comfortable with it. I don’t know what a Desert Eagle or a heavy game pistol like the .454 Casull would be like. I’ve shot a 12-gauge and I’ve noticed the perceived recoil definitely goes up as you use heavier shot. I’ve shot 4 buckshot and will have to see what 00 feel like. I do wonder how the heck anyone shoots a 12-gauge with a pistol grip. (Or just how macho you have to be to shoot [a 10-gauge loaded with 0000 buckshot!](http://www.angelfire.com/mech/0000_super_buckshot/)) ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/2 "2009-01-28T17:46:49Z")
A 12 oz. S&W 340 with .357 ammo. It feels like a firecracker going off in my fist. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/3 "2009-01-28T18:37:21Z")
I’m a weenie. I don’t like to shoot anything over .22 caliber. 😛 But, I will if I have to. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Flyhalf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea5d25/32.png) [@Flyhalf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyhalf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/4 "2009-01-28T18:49:44Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I do wonder how the heck anyone shoots a 12-gauge with a pistol grip. I’ve strong-armed my 12-gauge. It’s not bad at all. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/5 "2009-01-28T19:00:30Z")
.44 mag is too much handgun for me, .45LC is in my comfort zone. .300 Win Mag is no problem for a rifle, but much more than that starts getting uncomfortable. Of course if you’re not sitting around plinking, you can handle a much bigger one with ease. At least I can. Hunting I hardly notice the .300 or a friends 6 pound 7mm mag. Competitions and training, the .45acp feels like a .22 (until the end of the day when I realize my hands are bleeding) Not a scattergun fan, but shooting skeet (or trap, I don’t know the diff) with a 12 is comfortable, a 20 doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/6 "2009-01-28T19:09:31Z")
My usual strap is a [shoulder-mounted RPG-7 anti-tank](http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/081023-F-1234S-006.jpg) but if I’m feeling saucy I whip out [this](http://www.dillonaero.com/uimages/homepage/m134d_steel.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/7 "2009-01-28T19:51:39Z")
I’m not big - just 5’ 6" - and I’m comfortable shooting big guns. I’ve shot a 44 magnum, 12 gauge shotgun, even a .50 BMG in the offhand position. None of it bothers me, and I don’t experience shoulder pain afterwards. The only thing I hate is a handgun that stings my hand. My wife has a .357 snub nose revolver that I hate to shoot. Damn thing _stings_ my palm. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/8 "2009-01-28T20:50:25Z")
Here and there I don’t mind large caliber revolvers or magnum hunting rifles, but for extended sessions .45acp is my limit and even that can beat you up pretty good. My soon to be discarded HK USP has the worst trigger bite of any .45 I’ve ever shot. I can shoot 9mm or .38 or .223 all day long without the slightest concern. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/9 "2009-01-28T20:53:37Z")
.44 Magnum is not really comfortable for me. I can shoot one, but I prefer my .357. No problems whatsoever with shotguns up to 12 gauge. I’ve never fired anything bigger than that. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/10 "2009-01-28T21:09:48Z")
I don’t like the recoil from my .357, although I’ll shoot it in .38 all day long. I sure can handle it with the adrenaline flowing though. I’m fine with a .45 auto, but it’s not my preferred caliber. I won’t even pick up my husband’s .50 caliber revolver, no way, no how. I have no problems with 12 gauge shotguns per se, but my long duck gun (handed down from my dad) gets unwieldy to me in a short amount of time. The trap guns are fine. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/11 "2009-01-28T22:08:33Z")
The most uncomfortable gun I’ve ever put a box of ammo through was a .357. Different grips or a different gun altogeher might have made a difference. I used to do regular weekends with a .45 with no ill effects. I’ve never fired a .50 in a handgun but I imagine that would be out of my comfort zone for an extended range practice. My every-day piece is a .40. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/12 "2009-01-28T22:23:16Z")
I’m comfortable shooting .44 Mag, although there is a limit; I once shot four boxes in about 2 hours and my hand was throbbing for a day afterwards. But for more reasonable shooting quantities, that’s probably my upper limit. I have big hands, so the large frame pistols are no problem for me. I have shot the .500 S&W… and that’s too much for me. I secretly want to keep one, though, so if I’m ever disresepected by a Cape buffalo, I will have a ready alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Winkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Winkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winkie)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/13 "2009-01-28T22:24:44Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I don’t know what a Desert Eagle or a heavy game pistol like the .454 Casull would be like. Painful - but awesome! I shot 5 rounds through a big .454 Casull revolver. I ended up with the gun pointing straight up after each shot, and a bruised hand for a week, but the bragging rights were well worth it (I’m a 5’4" woman and the only person in our group other than the owner who would fire more than one round). I wouldn’t shoot it regularly, though. I like 9mm pistols a lot, and .223 is nice on the rifle side. I can handle the 12 gauge shotgun OK, but it isn’t my favorite. I have a .357 magnum revolver that I like shooting a lot, but still can’t shoot it all day. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/14 "2009-01-28T22:57:23Z")
I grew up with Dad and Grandad who had massive gun collections, and have had the pleasure of shooting a bunch of different things. I have small hands and wrists and most guns are too much for me. The only ones I’ve shot that I can genuinely say I like are: Likes: Luger P8 (German WW2 gun) Walther PPK (Bond, James Bond) Savage .32 (my favorite, ever. Fits perfectly) Remington 20 gauge (skeet, only truly comfortable rifle I’ve ever shot) ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/15 "2009-01-28T23:11:32Z")
It depends a lot upon the action, single/double shot guns are going to invariably kick the hardest, as all of the recoil energy is going into the grip/buttstock/etc, there’s no action to absorb some of the recoil and chamber the next round, bolt/lever actions kick a little less hard because there are places for the recoil gasses to escape, semiautos have a reasonably pleasant recoil, because they use some of the recoil energy to work the action and chamber the next round revolvers have more percieved recoil than semiautos, for the same reasons as above personally, the hardest recoiling long gun is a tie between my Mossberg 500 12-gauge firing a full 3" Magnum shotshell, or my 7.62x54R Mosin-Nagant M-44 Carbine, the Mossy has a small recoil pad as factory stock, the M-44 has a solid steel buttplate, and no recoil pad, so the percieved recoil is higher in the Mosin of the handguns I’ve shot, the most powerful, nastiest recoil was that of a S&W .44 Magnum revolver with a 6" barrel, that puppy wanted to smash me in the face, and I was ready (or so I thought) for it of the handguns I’ve owned (and sold) my Taurus .357 with a 4" barrel was pretty nasty with full-powered .357’s, it was a combination of an extremely snappy, whippy recoil, and a palpable shockwave/muzzle-blast, that gun was a real hoot and a half 😃 of my _current_ handguns, my CZ-75B 9mm has a little snappier recoil and a sharp-ish muzzle blast, it’s not too bad though, very controllable, my Kimber Custom II 1911-A1, however, is an absolute pussycat, it has a loud, low _BOOMING_ report, but no supersonic _CRACK_ (.45 ACP rounds are just slightly subsonic) and a nice, pleasant straight push back recoil, no snap or wrist torque, double and triple-taps are very easy and it’s exceptionally quick to get back on target, I absolutely _LOVE_ the .45 ACP round ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/16 "2009-01-28T23:21:09Z")
I don’t like shooting my husband’s Glock when it’s fitted for .357Sig. I have trouble keeping the gun in both hands. That’s the most powerful I’ve fired in handguns. I haven’t fired a longarm that bothered me yet, but I’ve fired very few ever. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/17 "2009-01-29T00:06:09Z")
Never cared for 357 or 44 magnums. You know, this op is kind of confusing, really. I don’t own guns because I get off shooting them, they are just tools. And I think we all know what they are made for. I’ll use any gun I own to reach that goal, if it comes right down to it. I think phillips screwdrivers blow big camel pole, but if it’s between me and doing what I need to, I’ll gladly use whichever one I need, to get the job done. Food included. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/18 "2009-01-29T00:13:47Z")
.357 makes me flinch something horrible. A typical group with a .357 at the range starts with one shot exactly where I wanted to put it, then everything else scattered all over the silhouette. I’ve never fired .44 Mag, but I’m not inclined to think it’d be much different for me. Strangely, 9mm Makarov tends not to work too well for me either–they’re hot little rounds, and the recoil is quite sharp. They beat my hand up pretty quickly. My choice would likely be .45ACP. Comfortable to shoot, makes a nice boom, puts big holes in things. 😃 9mm is fine too–I could shoot it all day without too much complaint, but I tend to prefer big and slow to skinny and fast. On that rationale, I’ve always been curious about .44 Special, but I’m not really much of a revolver guy… ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/19 "2009-01-29T01:01:16Z")
**LawMonkey** , might I suggest Pachmayr grips for your Mak? The standard ones are terrible and I think they’d be painful with just about any caliber. But you (and some others) bring up good points. 1. While the amount of recoil is much less, the feel of 9mm Luger (or Parabellum or whatever) is unpleasant to me. It’s _sharper_ or something than the .45. B) In a scandium frame 2" snubby the .357 feels quite a bit different than a steel 5". Grip design and gun weight make an incredible difference. Another example - my Ruger Blackhawk weighs about the same as my Vaquero, but the Vaquero is a Bisley grip and is more pleasant shooting .45LC. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402/20 "2009-01-29T01:06:34Z")
> [@Bobotheoptimist](#): > > Not a scattergun fan, but shooting skeet (or trap, I don’t know the diff) with a 12 is comfortable, a 20 doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything. [Slightly OT.] Trap - Single house, targets shot from 5 stations, all birds are going away. Skeet - Hi-house, lo-house, 8 stations, most birds are crossing, and you shoot pairs. [/OT] I can shoot my trap gun all day using heavy target loads (300-400 rounds easy), but shooting my field gun for pheasant, it starts to get unpleasant after 20-30 shots. .454 Casull with hunting loads and 44 mag with hot loads gets uncomfortable after half a box, so I really try to focus on those few rounds and not get in the flinch mode. 9mm in both Glock and Ruger, I can plink all day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gun-is-too-much-for-you/483402.md?page=2)