Why do people hate recoil?

[whodat2710]

I didn't want to hijack this other thread, so I thought I would get some opinions on this-hopefully from some people that can't stand recoil. I personally love it.

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/general-firearm-discussion/45935-budget-gun-recoil-shy.html

We have all seen countless comments about a particular gun having too much recoil. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I can see if you are a competitive shooter and the score matters, or if you have an injury, and I can understand that a S&W .500 Magnum might not something you want to run a few hundred rounds through (like I could afford to anyway).
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But are we scaring new shooters into being scared of recoil? Probably the worst commonly carried SD gun for recoil (IMHO) is a .380, partly because you have less to grab on to. I guess my question is, for self defense are we limiting what some new shooters might consider an option because they are scared of the recoil? You know what I mean - people are saying "well, it's a reliable little gun, inexpensive, easy to conceal, etc. but it has scary recoil!" then they go on to recommend a .22 which to me doesn't seem like sound advice but that's a whole different argument.
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I had thought about this before while teaching my daughter to shoot, but the thread above brought it back to mind. She was 13 when I started her on pistols, skinny but athletic and probably weighed about 90lbs soaking wet. I told her we would start with a .22 just to get the basics of how to shoot a pistol, but then I would let her shoot the "real" guns. That first day we followed the .22 with a full size 9mm, a compact 9mm then a .380. I told her that she would GET to fire just one magazine through each, and explained that as the guns got smaller, she would feel barrel go "up" after each shot blah-blah-blah..
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The moral is that she expected it but was never afraid of it because "that's just how guns are". She was excited about it and enjoyed it. She turned out to be a good marksman from the get-go, she fired the guns as quickly as she could get them back on target, and hit center mass each time with each gun. I asked her afterwards what she thought, and she said the smaller guns took her longer to get back on target. She mentioned nothing about recoil, not liking it, it hurting etc.
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I have other thoughts, but this is running on.

 

[indyyy]

I have a friend who is more experienced with shooting than I am who likes the larger calibers. He keeps tellling me I should get a 45, so I suppose after 6 months or so of going to the range regularly I may try a 45 and even begin to enjoy the recoil. When he suggested it after my first time shooting the 357 I told him the 357 kicked enough - and I was scared a 45 might fling me 10 feet across the room lol.

I suppose age and health might have something to do with it as well - A little old 65 year old lady with arthritis, fibro, etc. might feel pain from the recoil while a 13 year old might think it's kinda fun.

 

[dogshawred]

RECOIL, is why newbies that come to the forum are advised to shoot as many different weapons they can to fine THE ONE for them, that they feel comfortable shooting, that they can control the best...as a relatively new subscriber to this forum although not new to guns or carry. I haven't found an abundance of derogator information being disseminated about recoil and it being a problem for new shooters. Except from new shooters who has had someone drop a large bore handgun on them right off the bat. They then want nothing to do with large guns, so yeah some idiots can really screw up a new shooters idea about recoil.
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I prefer a gun with some recoil, it just seems natural to me. Physics tells us that for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction, pull the trigger and presto you have recoil. The more action (bullet size, cartridge load, weight of gun[heavy frame guns can absorb recoil]) the more reaction (recoil).
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What bothered me the most when I first started was the report of the round being fired. Back in the day ear protection was aah lacking.

 

[whodat2710]

I have a friend who is more experienced with shooting than I am who likes the larger calibers. He keeps tellling me I should get a 45, so I suppose after 6 months or so of going to the range regularly I may try a 45 and even begin to enjoy the recoil. When he suggested it after my first time shooting the 357 I told him the 357 kicked enough - and I was scared a 45 might fling me 10 feet across the room lol.

See, I think that is a common misconception - Bigger Round = More recoil. It is actually determined by the gun you are using just as much as the bullet. Granted a .45 WILL ALWAYS kick more than a .22, but that same .45 round will feel different from each different gun it is fired from, and some "kick" more than others. Like dogshwred said, people should try different guns before deciding what to purchase, but I don't think I have seen enough info for newbies that specifically says "different guns of the same caliber". Whether it is because of how the grip feels in your hand, how the trigger feels, the weight of the gun, the length of the barrel etc. 10 different .45's will each feel a little different.
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To me, recoil on a gun is like big waves on the ocean. On some of the bigger Cutters I was on, some people liked the roll of the ship in big waves, others hated it and wanted it to be flat calm. I personally didn't want to go through all the hassle of getting underway just to have it feel like we were driving around in a big office building - I wanted it to FEEL like a ship. Similarly, I can't imagine going to the range and at the end of the day I have only plinked with a .22. And there is a reason they call it plinking, it just doesn't have the satisfaction of shooting larger ammo!

 

[NavyLCDR]

I have a friend who is more experienced with shooting than I am who likes the larger calibers. He keeps tellling me I should get a 45, so I suppose after 6 months or so of going to the range regularly I may try a 45

My opinion is that a .380 pocket pistol and .40 S&W have more unpleasant recoil that the .45. The .45 is more of a hard push while the .380 and .40 S&W is more of a sharp kick.

My all time absolute favorite caliber is .460 S&W with hot handloads especially at an indoor range. Not so much recoil as the nuclear like muzzle blast :->

 

[aacx22]

I didn't want to hijack this other thread, so I thought I would get some opinions on this-hopefully from some people that can't stand recoil. I personally love it.

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/general-firearm-discussion/45935-budget-gun-recoil-shy.html

We have all seen countless comments about a particular gun having too much recoil. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I can see if you are a competitive shooter and the score matters, or if you have an injury, and I can understand that a S&W .500 Magnum might not something you want to run a few hundred rounds through (like I could afford to anyway).
-
But are we scaring new shooters into being scared of recoil? Probably the worst commonly carried SD gun for recoil (IMHO) is a .380, partly because you have less to grab on to. I guess my question is, for self defense are we limiting what some new shooters might consider an option because they are scared of the recoil? You know what I mean - people are saying "well, it's a reliable little gun, inexpensive, easy to conceal, etc. but it has scary recoil!" then they go on to recommend a .22 which to me doesn't seem like sound advice but that's a whole different argument.
-
I had thought about this before while teaching my daughter to shoot, but the thread above brought it back to mind. She was 13 when I started her on pistols, skinny but athletic and probably weighed about 90lbs soaking wet. I told her we would start with a .22 just to get the basics of how to shoot a pistol, but then I would let her shoot the "real" guns. That first day we followed the .22 with a full size 9mm, a compact 9mm then a .380. I told her that she would GET to fire just one magazine through each, and explained that as the guns got smaller, she would feel barrel go "up" after each shot blah-blah-blah..
-
The moral is that she expected it but was never afraid of it because "that's just how guns are". She was excited about it and enjoyed it. She turned out to be a good marksman from the get-go, she fired the guns as quickly as she could get them back on target, and hit center mass each time with each gun. I asked her afterwards what she thought, and she said the smaller guns took her longer to get back on target. She mentioned nothing about recoil, not liking it, it hurting etc.
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I have other thoughts, but this is running on.

Thanks for approaching your comment this way.

In my case, I am not sure if my sister has a bad shoulder. I think from the psychological standpoint, a person is more easily intimidated by something that they are unfamiliar with. This is one of the real blessings of a .22, not that its an ideal self defense weapon, but that its approachable for a new person, easy to train on, and that then, that familiarity, ought to make it possible for the person to "graduate" to more appropriate caliber firearms for self defense. In the mean time, that .22 is also better than an empty hand.

 

[indyyy]

See, I think that is a common misconception - Bigger Round = More recoil. It is actually determined by the gun you are using just as much as the bullet.

Agree with this - is one of the reasons i chose a 4 inch barrel revolver over 2 inch, thinking the smaller gun in same caliber will likely have more recoil, and weight of ammo, etc. would also make a difference.

The .45 is more of a hard push while the .380 and .40 S&W is more of a sharp kick

The friend I mentioned says the exact same thing - using almost the exact same words - you don't wear a fanny pack holster do you? lol

 

[gfrlaser]

I taught my daughters to shoot starting at age 16 or so. They both started with 9mm cause thats what I own and carry. That's all they really have shot with except for a few times we rented a 45 to play around with. Pretty much, they don't know any better. :dance3:

But, I agree that unless handicapped by any physical reasons, the bigger, the better.

 

[Bikenut]

Actually I think the worst thing that ever happens to a new shooter is an experienced shooter who thinks he knows what gun/caliber is best for the new shooter.

Just recently a friend mentioned he would like to try shooting just to see what it is all about. This friend WAS anti gun, and I mean "No one needs a gun." anti gun but is open minded enough to at least give it a try. I said he WAS anti gun because all that changed when I took him to the range and started him out with my .22 Beretta Neos. He was grinning before the first 10 round mag was empty.

I challenged him to use that .22 to cut a playing card that I had stuck edge on into the target. He gave me that "Have you lost your mind?" look.... and it took him less than 5 rounds to slice that card. Then I got that "Wooooo Hoooo! I did it!" look.

He tried my 9mm G26 and he tried my snub .38. He didn't mind the Glock but preferred to shoot the .22 until, in his words... "I get more used to shooting".... but the .38 Smith was NOT his favorite.

That trip to the range led to taking him to shoot trap.... and I started him out with a .410. He loved it. I asked him if he would like to try my 12ga.. He fired it once then glared at me and uttered something that sounded like "Pluck that!" and handed it back asking for the .410.

Since then he and I have been out comparing .410's and looking at pistols. Today he said he saw a sign by the road and wanted to know what the difference was between a CCW and a CPL. After I explained that CCW was the old way of saying a concealed permit and CPL is the new way due to the law changing the name he mentioned that the sign said the class was only $85....

This prompted me to ask if he was thinking about getting a carry permit and he said he would like to and would I help him?

All of that because he wasn't startled or scared by recoil since I started him out with a super low recoil .22.............

Edited to add:

There was some talking and presenting facts over a period of time on my part to get my friend to open his mind in the first place but a high recoil gun for his first try would have closed his mind again.

 

[NCIC105]

Recoil is relative to each person. I have no issue with it, but my brother who has arthritis in the hands has a real problem with it.

 

[Ringo]

I started my daughter out when she was 10 years old shooting my Colt 1911 .45. I never mentioned recoil to her before the shoot and she never mentioned anything about it after. After 20 years of her shooting, the only time I can remember her saying anything about recoil, ever, is when she fired my Vaquero .44 magnum, and all she said then was, "that's got a good kick to it dad".

 

[Stengun]

Howdy,

I grow up shooting a 1911A1 and a S&W Model 19 .357 Mag and started hunting with a single shot H&R 12ga when I was 9yo so I've never been concerned with recoil.

My EDC is a Glock 23 and the recoil isn't an issue.

Paul

 

[Bigslade]

For my wife, I think the sound was more of an issue than recoil was. We were at an indoor range and the sound was just a little to much for her. Next time out she'll shoot a . 22 and will continue to do so until she's ready to step up to a .38 SPL or a .9mm. I think had she started out with a .22 that first time she would have had a better experience. This coming from someone who had shot a gun twice in her life and prior to me had no real interest in shooting.

Sent from my SM-G900V using USA Carry mobile app

 

[S&W645]

For my wife, I think the sound was more of an issue than recoil was. We were at an indoor range and the sound was just a little to much for her. Next time out she'll shoot a . 22 and will continue to do so until she's ready to step up to a .38 SPL or a .9mm. I think had she started out with a .22 that first time she would have had a better experience. This coming from someone who had shot a gun twice in her life and prior to me had no real interest in shooting.

Sent from my SM-G900V using USA Carry mobile app

Never take her to the indoor range and use a Kimber 1911ARF then. While it has no kick to it, the sound and flash from one can turn people's heads. :biggrin:

That said, I've shot all types from .22lr up to .44Magnums. It isn't so much the rounds in many cases but the guns firing the rounds that make it either a pleasant or unpleasant experience. As I've said before, I have various guns in .40S&W. A S&W 4006 is a pleasant gun to shoot. It and the .40S&W round were designed as a pair. I also have a S&W Chief Special 40. Same maker and same rounds, totally unpleasant gun to run more than one mag load thru. Differences are the weight and the size. The 4006 absorbs the recoil and has a large grip area. The CS40 is light and lacking in grip area. The recoil from it goes straight to the wrist. Which in my case, have carpal tunnel. S&W dropped the CS40 from their line after just two years. They kept on making the CS9 and the CS45s though. Guess what gun is in my headboard though. The CS40 because it is a compact gun that can hide well.

Teaching someone from the start it is better to start them out with a low recoil gun and work up than to start them out with a high recoil gun and go down. Because once you go down in recoil, you may never get them to go back up in recoil. They will remember the unpleasantness they experienced the first time.

 

[telpinaro]

I don't mind recoil, but if I try to shoot a pocket gun all day my wrist sure will! Granted, I'm likely to just tape it up for some extra support, but whatever. Keeping in mind that my wrist is about 5.5" around... I really don't understand why people are afraid of recoil, if there aren't any medical issues to deal with. Possibly they're either afraid it'll hurt (so it does), or they're afraid of it flying out of their hand.

 

[whodat2710]

I don't mind recoil, but if I try to shoot a pocket gun all day my wrist sure will! Granted, I'm likely to just tape it up for some extra support, but whatever. Keeping in mind that my wrist is about 5.5" around... I really don't understand why people are afraid of recoil, if there aren't any medical issues to deal with. Possibly they're either afraid it'll hurt (so it does), or they're afraid of it flying out of their hand.

Then I guess the question is, why would you NEED to shoot a pocket gun all day? About a box of ammo a week or a few a month should be more than enough to maintain proficiency. If you are shooting for fun or sport, then a pocket gun is definitely not a good choice. I wish a box of ammo would last me all day...

 

[telpinaro]

Then I guess the question is, why would you NEED to shoot a pocket gun all day? About a box of ammo a week or a few a month should be more than enough to maintain proficiency. If you are shooting for fun or sport, then a pocket gun is definitely not a good choice. I wish a box of ammo would last me all day...

I most certainly do NOT shoot a pocket gun all day! But if I had to for whatever reason... I'd tape up and fire away!

Would be nice if a box lasted all day... at my son's riding lesson yesterday, there was a guy shooting the whole time next door. (60+ acre properties, so "next door" is quite a ways off.) She said he'd been shooting like that for three days! I wish I could do that.

 

[S&W645]

Maybe he bought some ammo like I did and is checking to see if it shoots. 520 rd spam cans of .30-06 for the win.

 

[whodat2710]

I most certainly do NOT shoot a pocket gun all day! But if I had to for whatever reason... I'd tape up and fire away!

Would be nice if a box lasted all day... at my son's riding lesson yesterday, there was a guy shooting the whole time next door. (60+ acre properties, so "next door" is quite a ways off.) She said he'd been shooting like that for three days! I wish I could do that.

I got a 1000 box of .22LR for $60. I had been so used to being thrifty while it was scarce that I blew through 500 rds in one day, then went back to being thrifty.
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EDITED to add - I have no idea what .22LR has to do with recoil, or why I am hijacking my own thread... I blame the Modern Whig!

 

[Capt. Frank]

Recoil is only an issue when the gun is not correctly held, I have taught several women to shoot and correctly hold a pistol. All of them preferred shooting a 1911 .45, over a .22, or a 9mm. I once watched two "expert" pistol shooters on TV shoot several large pistols, .44 mag., a 450, a casal, and a large black powder gun (by large I mean powder charge). One shooter was very steady during recoil, while the other had the gun nearly ripped from his hand after each shot, by recoil. One held the pistols correctly the other did not. If one learns the correct grip, and to hold tightly, recoil is no longer a problem.