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I'm not a reloader.
- Thread starter BrotherJamey
- Start date
I’m going out on a limb and guessing you’ve not done a lot of this type of shooting.
There’s a couple of different approaches you can take.
1. Ask around at the matches and see if anyone is willing to give you some pointers. Little things like a proper grip, hand strength, and to a certain degree, stance can affect recoil management.
2. Take a class. There are a lot of good quality instructors in the Atlanta area.
Thank you, didn't realize all the factors.
.Adding weight to a gun is the cheapest and easiest way to reduce recoil, all other things being equal. Pretty easy with a long gun, not so easy with a handgun. But, if you have a choice shoot a high cap gun with the magazine fully loaded. even an extended mag. If the gun comes in a larger model, shoot that. If there is an all steel version, shoot that, it there is a longer barrel and it's allowed by the rules shoot that. If you can add a compensator, do that.
Recoil is a function of the SQUARE of the velocity of the ejecta from the gun. So fast light bullets produce more recoil than heavy slow bullets for the same energy level.
Recoil is a function of the SQUARE of the velocity of the ejecta from the gun. So fast light bullets produce more recoil than heavy slow bullets for the same energy level.
Technically correct, but kinda irrelevant-- what one should be comparing is heavy vs. light bullets at the same PF, not the same energy (unless you're trying to knock something over).
Recoil is momentum, and that's linear with mass and velocity. And that article, while correct, neglects to mention the magnitude of the effect of reducing the powder charge by .3 gr. (among others things ignored)... 1.5 PF-- call it 1.25%. You'll never feel that difference.
The real difference is the time over which the impulse is delivered to your hand. Most people find that the heavy bullets have less muzzle jump and feel like they have less recoil, even when the PF (and the momentum transferred to your body) is the same.
Personally, I can't tell a difference. And the difference due to lower powder charges is what? 1.5 gr. typically? That will have a ballpark PF of 7.5... which at minor, 7.5/125 = 6%. You might be able to feel that. Now I can construct situations that are radically different from that, but they're not going to be typical loadings that people run.
If you have a chrono and loading gear... you can drop the PF down to 128-130, which is a good bit lower than commercial 9mm. This you can definitely feel. (You want a little margin for dirty barrel/cold weather/inaccurate chrono.)
This (6%), and in the decades I've been shooting being unable to tell much of a difference suggests that it's perceptual recoil that's different. And that's a whole different ball of wax from the straightforward ejecta physics. Grip size and shape, spring weight in gun, for example, can radically alter perceived recoil. And you may be seeing guys with incredibly strong arms tightly gripping a heavy gun.
That said... I do like 2.9 gr. of 700X under a 145 gr. 9mm bullet. It makes minor-- barely-- and is extremely accurate in my competition gun. Accuracy to me is more important than a minor change in recoil, but I'm an A-zone guy, not a 3-gun double-tapper. : )
IDPA is quite specific about weight requirements for the various divisions, modifications to reduce recoil, and so forth.
when i started reloading the man teaching me said/ heavy bullets vs light bullets is like kicking a screen door as hard as you can. that is a light bullet. now kick a two in. steel door as hard as you can. heavy bullet. less powder. hope this makes since. it always helped me
Thanks everyone for the input, much appreciated.
Work on your grip and grip pressure. The gun is going to move, it can't be stopped. But if you find the right grip and pressure it will return to the target or pretty close.
gripping the gun properly will be way more beneficial than lower recoiling rounds.
