[Mark F]

Originally Posted by russ

I was out shooting earlier tonight and met some nice people at the range. One of them had a Ruger LCP .380. It was like that scene in Austin Powers 2 where Fat Bastard meets Mini-me, "Christ he's tiny!" Anyway, shot 6 through it and gave it back, pretty uncomfortable (not to mention the mile-long trigger pull).

You need to understand that;
The Ruger LCP and Kel Tec P3AT are not intended for frequent plinking. There is no safety, both are DAO. Every shot requires that long trigger pull. These are very light-weight, compact pocket .380's and they are going to recoil.

I've owned my P3AT for about 2 year now, and probably haven't put a box of ammo through it yet. I carry it often and shoot it rarely.

[General_lee]

So far, the only pistol i've shot that was uncomfortable was a buddy of mines Taurus .40 cal. I don't remember the model, but the grip angle was all wrong and it would tear up the webbing between the thumb and index finger.

Oh, and another friend of mine has a Springer 1911, don't remember the exact model on this one either, but it's far from regular mil spec. anyway the grip safety has a big square hump on it that feels as though you're trying to hammer in a railroad spike with your bare hands when shooting it.

I'm in no way bad mouthing either gun, they just didn't feel right

[michigan0626]

Originally Posted by Gojubrian

Large bore derringers....ouch!

American Derringer in .45/70. Use it possibly as a last chance clip-on pocket pistol.

[mrm14]

When I was 9 Y.O. my dad let me shoot his .38 snubnose pistol. It wasn't painful but uncomfortable or awkward for me hold and shoot. Then a few years later my younger brother bought a Colt 1911 .45 ACP. Again not painful but awkward and uncomfortable. At this time in my life I couldnt hit the broad side of a barn door with a pistol at 5 feet away if my life depended on it. In these yeas I was good with a rifle and shotgun but not a pistol and probably due to the fact that I didnt spend much time with pistols. I finally bought my first pistol back in 1994 which was a S&W 629 in .44 mag. Before I began to shoot it I looked up a friend of mine who was proficient with large bore pistols and had him instruct me on proper techniques in shooting pistols. For me this was and is a very comfortable pistol to shoot. I've shot 1911's and other auto's since and no problems. I do tend to find though that my most comfort level is with wheel guns due mostly to the feel and fit in my hand (s). That's why I only own revolvers.

[jeffware]

years ago at a range i shot a friends s&w .44mag with orig wood grips. it was simply too much recoil for me. a possible problem was that the grips were too large for my hands. i'm 5'9" tall, and maybe this revolver is for the guy with bigger hands who is at least 6 foot tall. a colt 1911 .45acp fits my hands nicely though. maybe i'm just not a big revolver fan. however there was one revolver that i shot that i was very comfortable with. this was over 20 years ago. a friend's charter arms bulldog pug in .44 special. i seem to remember it was a 5 round revolver. i think he had aftermarket grips. recently i noticed that charter arms was still (or maybe after a pause) making revolvers. thinking of how nicely that .44 sp shot i looked into the availibility of this ammo. unfortunately it is not readily available. i am a fan of readily available ammo. i like .45acp, 9mm, 5.56 rifle (.223 rem), 22lr, and 12 guage shot. jeff.

[splashtx556ftw]

Ruger Red Hawk 44 mag. the old style grip is small and thing catches you in the web between the thumb and first finger. hot 300 gr. loads are awful, but i shootit any way. let it hurt.

[splashtx556ftw]

by the way folks, my 10 year old shoots it too.

[CeltKnight]

I, too, experienced the "ouch factor" with my Kahr PM40. It "kills on one end and wounds on t'other," that's for sure. I throw enough rounds out of it to qualify with it for BU/OD carry once each year, then toss a mag through it only occationally to maintain proficiency (much like I do with my P3AT Kel-Tec). It's quite the thumper. I usually recommend people get the PM9 ... but I'm keeping my .40!

Nearly tied with the PM40 is my Polish P64 in 9x18. I know, not nearly as powerful as the .40 Kahr, but I speak the truth. I put a Wolff spring kit in it and even put some fatter (though wooden) grips on it ... they didn't help. It's a hand bruiser (but very accurate and the ammo's cheap). I'm sure the recoil force is probably less than the Kahr, but those little, skinny grips really put a whallop in my hand. Not that it keeps me from pulling the trigger again ... and again, ... and again ...

That's my $.02

[gorknoids]

Originally Posted by michigan0626

American Derringer in .45/70. Use it possibly as a last chance clip-on pocket pistol.

Yeah, that's going to leave a mark.

[splashtx556ftw]

c mon people. its all about what you get used to. i guess. when i got my redhawk it made my hand hurt to shoot it, now i can run 300 rounds of really hot reloads with only a few minutes break in between just let it cool off. my nine year old even shoots it. if anything smaller than a 41 or 44 mag is makin you give up, maybe you should stick with a 22. cause you dont want to know anything about my glock 29 i just got in 10mm. and i wont even comment on the 44 rifle. give a springfield 1903 30-06 w/steel buttplate a try.