"Kicked" Like It Wasn't Supposed To??

My Taurus PT140 Millennium Pro gave me a bit of a shock when I got it out to the range for the first time. I had fired a full frame .40 before (a friend's XD, which was acquired for my collection not long after) so I was expecting a bit of a kick, but the recoil from my Taurus caught me completely off guard. I still own it, love it, and after nearly a year of owning it I can actually hang on to it. It still beats my hand to hell when firing WWB - Lawman practice ammo and the 180gr Federal HST rounds seem far more manageable.

I did have a rather unpleasant experience with my XD, shortly after purchasing it. I fired a few custom loaded rounds that were sent my way along with the pistol. Very hot for a .40, but still within limits. The muzzle flash from my 4 inch and the bang scared a few years off my life. I'm just thankful that I didn't fire any of those through my Taurus - I might be missing a hand if I did. I've avoided reloads in either of my guns since then.
 
Surprised recoil ? When I bought the S&W 329PD I was prepared for recoil from this light weight .44 magnum revolver. I started with Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Specials in 185 grain. This was not much different than a moderate .357 magnum from a S&W 686.

Next I tried athe Speer CCI Blazer 200 grain .44 magnum load. This seemed to me a rather light recoil load. It felt more light a .38 +P in a 686 than a .44 magnum.

I then moved up to the Speer Short Barrel 200 grain .44 magnum load and again it was much like a moderate .357 magnum load in my 686.

So far, no severe recoil I had expected, feared and anticipated with each shot. So I moved up to Federal 180 grain JHP rounds, a moderate recoil loading in my S&W 629 Classic. I expected moderate recoil since this was a light 180 grain load .. light weight bullets have less recoil ... right ?

Well 'Katie Bar the Door' my eyes must have got as big as dinner plates and I put the revolver down. I was done testing the S&W 329PD for the day. I have never gone and tried the 180 grain Federal JHPs in the 329PD again and pretty much stick with the Speer 200 grain Short Barrel loads, or the Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Special loads.

I have tried Remington 275 grain Core Lokt and 270 grain Speer GDSP rounds in the 329PD since then. Although these and even the 300 grain Hornady proved quite stout in the light weight 329PD, none startled me as much as the Federal 180 grain JHP did.
 
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