[Smokin' Joe]

The kid should have provided even a little muscle resistance, though, this should not have been a free travelling weight.

I am not saying that it wouldn't do a bit of damage. Fatal, though?

Either someone had a thin skull, or there is more to the story than recoil.

[Smokin' Joe]

... when he was struck on the top of the head by the recoil of a Ruger .454 gun he was firing.

snip

“Mr. Ramsey assisted the victim [when taking aim] by holding his hand above the victim’s [hands] for the recoil,” explained Deputy Meyer. When the gun was fired, the gun recoiled upward, hitting Marcus in the head causing head trauma. The gun’s owner, Ramsey, received injury to his fingers but was not transported for medical attention.

snip

Upon arrival at the scene, Deputy York radioed to dispatch to cancel the call for an ambulance and to send out a Justice of the Peace.

The geometry of the described events simply does not work. The kid was dead by the arrival of the deputy.

If my kid was hurt I'd have burned up some road en route to the nearest ER.

[spunkets]

"though, this should not have been a free travelling weight."

The 3.5 lb gun is going 34ft/sec as soon as the gas exits behind the back of the bullet(conservation of momentum). That's 60 ft-lbs of E involved in the recoil that the shooter has to dissipate . Catching the 15 lb weight moving at 11.3ft/sec is a good comparison. I'm sure the kid, or the guy who gave him the thing to shoot had no idea. Holding the gun tighter with stiff arms may just take out a kid's thumb instead of ripping other sinew.