The heavier the firearm, the less recoil, right?

Question

I know I'm right, from experience with shooting different firearms. But this dude at a pawn shop told me that the lighter the gun, the less recoil it gives. I give him a steady look, hand him back his crappy pistol and leave. I need to check out some real gun shops, but there's only 2 in my town.

Does anybody agree that this guy was lieing?
Have you ever purchased a firearm online?

Answer 1

You are right; he is wrong. All things being equal-the type of gun, shape, ammunition being fired, a lighter gun will have more recoil. Newton's first law of motion is often stated as "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

A heavier gun will have more of a tendency to remain at rest.

I have bought guns online before. I have bought new guns from dealers at gunsamerica.com and gunbroker.com, and have been happy with the deals I got.

Answer 2

The fellow at the pawn shop is wrong.



Recoil is a function of the energy being released. Perceived recoil...what people notice, is a function of the energy released, the mass of the projectile, and the mass of the firearm.



Example: A .243 Winchester firing a 60 grain projectile can generate as much engergy as many modestly loaded 12 ga shotguns. However, a 3/4 oz. load (= approx. 300+ grains wt.) will deliver a greater 'recoil impulse', even thought the guns might weigh the same; the shotgun's firing a heavier projectile.



As a rule of thumb, the heavier the firearm, and the lighter the projectile, the less the perceived recoil will be...and the opposites true as well.

Answer 3

You can purchase a firearm online but it requires arranging transfer to an FFL license holder. You will pay a transfer fee.



As far as the recoil thing, I depends on what type of firearms it is.



A Ruger Blackhawk in a 44 Mag will have more "recoil" then a 9mm Glock, the Ruger is a heavier weapon but shoots a more powerful cartridge.



Generally speaking recoil is based on the ammo, not the weight of the firearm. The firearm's weight can to some degree suppress a certain amount of recoil but weight itself will not eliminate it.



I don't deal with Pawn brokers for anything.

Answer 4

While in the Marines, I worked as a Forward Air Controller for a tank battalion. At the time, they still were using the M60A1. It had a 105mm cannon and weighed about 60 tons. Pretty heavy. When they fired a HEAT round, the front of the tank lifted about 9" off the ground. Some recoil.



Actually, the heavier the firearm for a given caliber means less recoil. A feather lite .38 will pop in your hand a bit. The same .38 cartridge in a .357mag with a 6" bbl, will hardly move. The trick is to find the balance. You don't want to carry around a brick but you don't want to take off your hand every time you fire either.

Answer 5

You pretty much got your answer to the first part of your question. All else being equal, a heavier firearm will have less perceived recoil than a lighter one.



As far as purchasing a firearm online....



I have purchased several. The two sites I have bought from are http://www.gunsamerica.com and http://www.gunbroker.com.



There is another one that I have seen people mention, but I have never looked at myself. I believe it is http://www.auctionarms.com



There are a bunch of LGS with websites that I have seen great prices and seem to have good reviews from others. (I mainly buy old military rifles online)



Another online option is the CMP. The purpose of the CMP is to distribute old US military rifles to the American public. The prices are great and there is no FFL required (though there are other hoops to jump through). However, if you aren't looking for an M1 Garand or an M1 Carbine, you are pretty much out of luck. Their website is http://www.odcmp.com and click on Sales.



If you buy a firearm through an auction site like GA and Gun Broker, just remember, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. I'd never send someone more money than I can afford to be stolen in any online transaction.

Answer 6

He was lying. On top of that, longer barrels may also reduce recoil. don't know how that works, but its true. severely shortened 12 ga shotguns can have enough recoil to make your hand bleed.

Heavier guns also reduce recoil, and thats a proven fact. the AK has less recoil than a SKS because its 2 pounds heavier.



And shopping online is simple. first find a FFL dealer physically located in your state near you. The gun will shipped to him then he'll give it to you. The FFL dealer will send a paper to the website where you found nthe gun you want, you buy it pay for it, it'll ship to the FFL holder first then you can go pick it up later.

Answer 7

The "dude at the pawn shop" probably mis-spoke and was trying to say that the "smaller / lighter" caliber of guns have less recoil ... as in, a .454 casull will kick like a mule compared to a .22 ... (that's the only thing I can think of which even REMOTELY makes sense)



When it comes to guns of the same caliber - typically... the lighter the gun, the more energy transfers to your hand (thus the feeling of a stronger recoil) ... I've got a Glock 9mm which jumps and kicks quite a bit more compared to a comparable "steel frame" 9mm ... but the Glock weighs less than half as much.



Was the guy LYING ?? ... maybe or simply mis-spoke

As far as far as online gun purchases ... I've never done it.

Answer 8

You would not believe some of the stupid misinformation I've heard spouted from behind gun counters ain gun shops and pawn shops.



You just got a sample of it.



Go back and ask the idiot this question:

"If light guns recoil less than heavy guns, regardless of caliber, why don't we have a 7-pound rifle chambered for .50 BMG?"



Yes, I've purchased a couple of guns on-line, not from an auction site, or store site, but from people I had known for a while. I've also sold some guns the same way.



Doc

Answer 9

Obviously, the guy at the pawn shop knows little about shooting. Generally, the heavier the gun, the less the felt recoil.

Answer 10

I don't know if he was LYING or just ignorant of the relationship between the weight of a gun and the felt recoil. It is simple physics, the greater weight the gun has, the more recoil it will absorb leaving less to be absorbed by the shooter.



Yes, I just recently ordered a gun online from a dealer in Texas. I sent him a copy of my local dealer's FFL before he would ship the gun. It could be shipped only to a FFL holder. Once he received the copy of my local dealer's FFL, he shipped the gun to my local dealer. A few days later, my dealer called me and told me that my gun had arrived. I went to the store and did the required paperwork, paid my dealer his $25 transfer fee and left with my gun. It was just that simple. Caveat emptor...let the buyer beware. Know who you are buying from before you send any money. I knew who I was buyng from and knew that he was a reputable dealer. I also used my credit card to pay for it so that if anyting went wrong, I could have the help of the credit card company to help me resolve the problem. Fortunately, since I knew the dealer and knew him to be reputable, I had no problem.

Answer 11

You are correct. He may have been trying to say: "The lighter the load, the lighter the recoil."



Now sometimes a polymer frame gun will be lightweight and recoil less than a similar handgun with a steel frame simply because the polymer frame absorbs a lot of the recoil. One year I was shooting at a friend's shooting range. He was shooing a full-size 1911 Government Model steel frame with target 230 grain ball ammo. I was shooting my service Glock Model 20 10mm with 175 grain Silvertip ammo. He observed that my handgun was recoiling less than his with target ammo and mine with service ammo. But it was probably a function of my own bullets being lighter (but hotter) and my Glock's polymer frame absorbing a lot of the recoil.



H

Answer 12

He may not have been lieing - maybe just missinfirmed. YES you are right. Heavier guns generaly have less recoil. Sometimes a semi-auto of the same weight as a revolver will have less perceived recoil.

Answer 13

I have bought firearms online and it nice cause if you cant find the gun at a local store you can usually find it for sale on line the one thing i can say is always check references and i also use the reverse look up of there phone number it tell you a lot

Answer 14

Ignorance is bliss... You should have corrected him in front of his boss so he wouldn't do it again. I couldn't imagine a shop owner making that kind of mistake.



In addition, if they are that stupid, you may find some very good deals due to their ignorance. I love finding Springfield Armory weapons that go unknown. Same thing for Mosin Nagants. Use their nascence to your advantage.



Especially if they are giving bad advice.

Answer 15

NO he was mistaken about recoil.* NO I never bought a Firearm on line.*

Answer 16

YOU are right. I wouldnt buy a firearm online, I prefer to see it and hold it in person so I can inspect it regardless if it is new or used

Answer 17

You are right.



Go shoot my ithaca featherweights compared to a mossberg and you would notice.



I would never buy a firearm online.

Answer 18

heavier is better

Answer 19

Yes it is just simple physics, and that's why rifles are more accurate too.