{"id":1540,"date":"2020-07-07T22:49:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T22:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoforsale.com\/ammo-club\/?p=1540"},"modified":"2021-03-02T21:40:01","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T21:40:01","slug":"handgun-recoil-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoforsale.com\/ammo-club\/handgun-recoil-chart\/","title":{"rendered":"Handgun Recoil Chart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recoil plays a huge role in just about every aspect of shooting. Whether you’re interested in self-defense or just shooting for enjoyment at the range, your ability to manage recoil impacts how many shots you’re able to put on target. If you’re new to shooting, or just need a quick reference, we put together the handgun recoil chart and the quick guide that follows in hopes it’ll help.<\/p>\n

What is Recoil?<\/h2>\n

Recoil, also known as kick, is the force a handgun exerts back upon its user when it is fired. Because recoil flips the barrel of a handgun upward (a phenomenon called \u201cmuzzle flip\u201d), it effectively undoes some or all of the effort the shooter put into aiming their handgun. That\u2019s why lighter recoil makes it easier to direct rapid fire.<\/p>\n

Very heavy recoil can also become uncomfortable, and even launch the handgun right out of an unprepared shooter\u2019s hands. That\u2019s the primary reason why you\u2019d rather teach a child how to shoot with 32 grain 22 LR<\/a> ammo instead of 44 Magnum ammo loaded with a 240 grain bullet that’s nearly 8-times as large<\/a>. \n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Cartridge<\/th>Bullet
\nWeight (gr)<\/th>		Bullet
\nVelocity (fps)<\/th>		Propellant
\nWeight (gr)<\/th>		Handgun
\nWeight (lbs)<\/th>		Handgun
\nReferenced<\/th>		Recoil
\nEnergy (ft lbs)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
5.7x28<\/td>40<\/td>1850<\/td>6.5<\/td>1.6<\/td>FN Five-seveN<\/td>1.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
22 LR<\/td>40<\/td>1240<\/td>2.5<\/td>1.8<\/td>Ruger Mark IV<\/td>0.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
32 ACP<\/td>71<\/td>703<\/td>3.2<\/td>1.3<\/td>Charter Arms Mag Pug<\/td>0.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
327 Federal Magnum<\/td>100<\/td>1464<\/td>7.9<\/td>1.1<\/td>Ruger LCR<\/td>7.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
380 ACP<\/td>90<\/td>930<\/td>3.7<\/td>0.8<\/td>Glock 42<\/td>3.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9mm<\/td>115<\/td>1127<\/td>7.5<\/td>1.4<\/td>Glock 17<\/td>4.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9mm<\/td>124<\/td>1061<\/td>5.9<\/td>1.4<\/td>Glock 17<\/td>4.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9mm<\/td>147<\/td>996<\/td>6.3<\/td>1.4<\/td>Glock 17<\/td>5.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
357 SIG<\/td>147<\/td>1159<\/td>7.9<\/td>1.6<\/td>SIG Sauer P239<\/td>6.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
38 Special <\/td>125<\/td>990<\/td>5.3<\/td>0.9<\/td>S&W 442<\/td>6.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
38 Special +P<\/td>110<\/td>1165<\/td>8.1<\/td>0.9<\/td>S&W 442<\/td>7.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
38 Super<\/td>124<\/td>1304<\/td>8.1<\/td>2.2<\/td>Kimber Pro Carry HD II<\/td>4.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
357 Magnum<\/td>158<\/td>1360<\/td>10.5<\/td>0.9<\/td>S&W 360<\/td>19.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
40 S&W<\/td>165<\/td>1008<\/td>5.8<\/td>1.5<\/td>Glock 23<\/td>6.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
40 S&W<\/td>180<\/td>920<\/td>5.3<\/td>1.5<\/td>Glock 23<\/td>6.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10mm<\/td>165<\/td>1275<\/td>9.7<\/td>1.9<\/td>Glock 20<\/td>8.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
44 Special<\/td>180<\/td>911<\/td>5.9<\/td>2.4<\/td>S&W Triple Lock<\/td>3.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
44 Magnum<\/td>240<\/td>1322<\/td>15.6<\/td>2.8<\/td>S&W 629<\/td>13.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
45 GAP<\/td>185<\/td>984<\/td>7.7<\/td>1.8<\/td>Glock 37<\/td>6.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
45 ACP<\/td>185<\/td>925<\/td>8<\/td>2.4<\/td>M1911A2<\/td>4.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
45 ACP<\/td>230<\/td>848<\/td>5.5<\/td>2.4<\/td>M1911A2<\/td>5.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
454 Casull<\/td>300<\/td>1609<\/td>27.8<\/td>4.5<\/td>S&W 460XVR<\/td>21.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
500 S&W<\/td>400<\/td>1700<\/td>40<\/td>4.3<\/td>S&W 500<\/td>45.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/p>\n

What Impacts The Amount of Recoil?<\/h3>\n

Exactly how much recoil energy a handgun produces boils down to four factors:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Bullet weight<\/li>\n
  2. Bullet velocity<\/li>\n
  3. Propellant charge weight<\/li>\n
  4. Handgun weight<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let\u2019s take a brief look at each of those factors.<\/p>\n

    Bullet Weight<\/h4>\n

    \"handgun You wouldn\u2019t appreciate recoil if your sole experience with firearms came from movies. This is because movie actors hate getting shot in real life. So, most directors insist they only fire blanks while filming. Blanks demonstrate one of the key factors that determine recoil: bullet weight. Blanks have no bullets, and therefore create virtually zero recoil when fired.\"\"<\/p>\n

    In the movie Snatch, a character named Bullet Tooth Tony fires a powerful 50 Action Express handgun at another charming fellow named Boris the Blade. (This doesn\u2019t work out well for Boris.) When Bullet Tooth Tony fires that massive handgun, his hands hardly move. Apparently recoil hasn’t made its way to Hollywood and that part of the West Coast yet.<\/p>\n

    A real 50 AE cartridge, on the other hand, has a substantial 300 grain bullet. Its recoil is sufficient to flip the muzzle a good 30 degrees when even an experienced shooter fires it. Most experts agree that the 50 AE\u2019s recoil is so pronounced that it has no practical application inside of tactical situations. Handgun recoil works on the principle of Newton\u2019s third law of motion<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \u201cFor every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    When a bullet exits a handgun\u2019s barrel, it\u2019s exerting just as much energy back in the direction of the shooter as the direction it\u2019s flying in. The greater the mass a bullet has, the more recoil it\u2019s capable of producing. Of course, even a 50 AE\u2019s bullet will create zero recoil energy if it\u2019s not moving. That\u2019s where velocity comes into play.<\/p>\n

    Bullet Velocity<\/h4>\n

    \"Shooting<\/p>\n

    You typically see a cartridge\u2019s muzzle velocity expressed in units of feet per second (fps). This is the rate at which the bullet is moving the instant it exits the barrel of a handgun.<\/p>\n

    Case in point, a 45 ACP\u2019s 230 grain bullet has an approximate muzzle velocity of 830 fps. If that bullet maintained its muzzle velocity for one full second, then it would arrive 830 feet from its starting point. (It\u2019s important to note that a bullet\u2019s velocity decreases in direct relation to the distance it has covered, which depends on its ballistic coefficient, humidity, air pressure, and other factors that aren\u2019t relevant to handgun recoil.)<\/p>\n

    In the simplest terms, the higher a bullet\u2019s muzzle velocity, the more recoil energy it will generate. Picture a five ounce baseball. Now, imagine your reaction if a four-year-old threw that baseball at your head. You might not be thrilled about it, but you could still continue your day. Now, imagine your reaction to the same baseball if retired Yankees pitcher David Cone threw it at your head with all his might. Your reaction would be death, or at best a couple months hooked up to a machine. Note that the weight of the baseball never changed \u2013 only its velocity. The same principle applies to a bullet. The greater its velocity, the greater the energy a bullet will direct back at its shooter in the form of recoil.<\/p>\n

    Propellant Charge Weight<\/h4>\n

    The weight of a cartridge\u2019s propellant holds less influence over recoil energy, but it is still part of the equation. Everything that comes out of a handgun\u2019s barrel will translate to recoil energy. This includes the mass of the propellant and the gasses it becomes during ignition. A 9mm round typically stores only four to six grains of propellant. That’s not much in relation to its 115, 124, or 147 grain bullet, but it still has mass. Therefore, we have to account for it.<\/p>\n

    Handgun Weight<\/h4>\n

    The heavier a handgun is, the more recoil energy it will absorb. It\u2019s easy to appreciate how this applies to the way handguns are designed. Go to a gun store and check out the pocket pistols. They\u2019re chambered for 25 ACP, 22 LR, 22 WMR, and 380 ACP, which are all small cartridges with relatively lightweight bullets and propellant charges.<\/p>\n

    Now, have a look at the biggest handguns. They\u2019re chambered for 357 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 500 S&W Magnum, and so on \u2013 all massive cartridges that require not only a sturdy handgun to absorb their energy during ignition, but a heavy one to help absorb some of their recoil.<\/p>\n

    The Handgun Recoil Equation<\/h3>\n

    \"Firing<\/p>\n

    We measure recoil energy in foot-pounds (ft lbs). Foot pounds are units of energy equal to the amount required to raise one pound a distance of one foot. Muzzle energy and impact energy are also measured in ft lbs.<\/p>\n

    Recoil as a Formula<\/h4>\n

    To calculate how many ft lbs of recoil energy a cartridge will generate, you need only use this equation, compliments of the good folks at SAAMI<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \"Formula<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Note how this equation takes into account all four factors we just went over:<\/p>\n