1960 GUNS Article: Who's Afraid of Kick?

Mary B. Williams Provides a Woman's Perspective
13

"They said women couldn't shoot the big doubles..."

“… But I did — and lived to ask, ‘Who’s afraid of kick?'”

That’s Mary B. Williams writing in the December 1960 issue of GUNS Magazine. She goes on to relate some man’s perspective on her handling of a large caliber gun and her response:

“‘A double rifle for a lady? Why, ma’am, those big bruisers would pound you to a pulp!’ That’s what they told me; but I’m one of those people who have to try it. I had a suspicion (a) that a good deal of the talk about the ‘bone-crushing recoil’ of the big rifles was masculine propaganda, and (b) that recoil-ophobia (in men or women) is largely mental.”

Later, Mary recounts firing a “real elephant rifle.”

“I was now ready for my final examinations. I told my husband that I wanted to fire a real elephant rifle combining great size and caliber. Out came the .465 Holland & Holland. He was not without misgivings, even though he didn’t admit it. He pointed out that his cartridge fires a 480 grain bullet with about 5,000 pounds muzzle-energy, and the rifle itself weighs only 10 1/2 pounds. I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. But I grasped the gun, brought it up to my shoulder, sighted, and squeezed the trigger.”

You can read what happened next and the whole article below. Enjoy!

And then read the rest of the December 1960 issue of GUNS at https://gunsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/G1260.pdf.