# what affects recoil?



## Kaptain (Mar 8, 2021)

My friend just bought a Glock 19 5th gen. He used my Glock 2nd gen, and says that his gun has less recoil. Do the newer guns have less recoil? The ammo was different brands but same 115gr. or was it his imagination.? Do guns have more recoil over a period of time and usage?
Thx


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

There's a variety of things that can alter felt recoil, the recoil spring being one of them. I believe I've also read that the Gen 5 slides are a bit heavier and the locking block has been changed as well.


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

I can feel when I put a new RSA in. I don't notice much but when it is changed I can tell a difference.
Slide weight make for some difference too. Not so much the weight of the slide, but the speed it cycles. Probably why the above statement is true.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Kaptain said:


> My friend just bought a Glock 19 5th gen. He used my Glock 2nd gen, and says that his gun has less recoil. Do the newer guns have less recoil? The ammo was different brands but same 115gr. or was it his imagination.? Do guns have more recoil over a period of time and usage?
> Thx


Your friend may be right that the felt recoil is less or at least different on a Gen 5 than a Gen two. I go from my G19 to my .45 Shield and notice the difference, but they are both soft shooters and I shoot both of them better than any of my buddies at the range do with their various pistols. 
The point is it is not the bike that wins the race, it is the guy pushing the pedals.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

I think gen 4 or higher has the dual spring . Could make a little differece.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

rustygun said:


> I think gen 4 or higher has the dual spring . Could make a little difference.


I think that if you worry about recoil, then either move to a smaller caliber or a heavier gun. If you are uncomfortable with recoil, don't change the gun you have, change to a gun that will chamber a round that you are comfortable shooting.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Kaptain said:


> The ammo was different brands but same 115gr. or was it his imagination.?


Well, there's another factor to to the equation. Before you can make a comparison you need to be shooting the same ammo.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

To simplify the answer in regards to recoil,,,,,

Felt recoil is partly a matter of momentum, partly a matter of force.

When a bullet with mass m leaves a gun with a velocity v, the gun must have an equal-but-opposed momentum MV, where M is the mass of the gun and V is the recoil velocity, or

mv+MV=0mv+MV=0
. If there are two possible gun sizes, M1M1 and M2M2, each will have a recoil velocity V1V1 and V2V2. If, for instance, M2=2M1M2=2M1,
M1V1=M2V2M1V1=M2V2
and
V1=2V2V1=2V2
Why does this matter? Consider kinetic energy. Let K1K1 be the kinetic energy of M1M1, and K2K2 is that of M2M2. Then
K1K2=M1V122M2V222=M1M2(V1V2)2=1222=2K1K2=M1V122M2V222=M1M2(V1V2)2=1222=2


So the lighter gun has twice the kinetic energy of the heavier gun and this shows up in two ways. First, since both guns need to stop in about the same distance, the force applied to the lighter gun must be greater than that applied to the heavier. By Newton's First Law, this means that the lighter gun pushes harder on the hand or shoulder of the shooter. Second, the duration of acceleration must be smaller for the lighter gun, since

S1=a1t122=V1t12=S2=a2t222=V2t22S1=a1t122=V1t12=S2=a2t222=V2t22
and
V1t1=V2t2V1t1=V2t2
or
t1t2=V2V1=12t1t2=V2V1=12
So not only is the recoil force greater for the lighter gun, it lasts a shorter time and is therefore "sharper".


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

pic said:


> To simplify the answer in regards to recoil,,,,,
> 
> Felt recoil is partly a matter of momentum, partly a matter of force.
> 
> ...


Just exactly what I said!


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## Usafammo3 (Jun 8, 2020)

Goldwing said:


> I think that if you worry about recoil, then either move to a smaller caliber or a heavier gun. If you are uncomfortable with recoil, don't change the gun you have, change to a gun that will chamber a round that you are comfortable shooting.


I agree...Or just put a couple thousand rounds through it and get comfortable with it. Hard to do that nowadays though....


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Kaptain said:


> My friend just bought a Glock 19 5th gen. He used my Glock 2nd gen, and says that his gun has less recoil. Do the newer guns have less recoil? The ammo was different brands but same 115gr. or was it his imagination.? Do guns have more recoil over a period of time and usage?
> Thx


The newest Gen2 Glocks are well over two decades old, and the oldest have logged more than 30 years of use, so if you've never changed the recoil spring assembly in your Gen2, now might be a good time to do it. If the spring in ANY autoloader gets weak, the slide will strike the frame harder, which can make the recoil impulse seem sharper, even if it's the same gun/ammo combo as always.

.


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## JohnCEa (Jan 20, 2020)

The heavier the projectile the more the recoil.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

JohnCEa said:


> The heavier the projectile the more the recoil.


Of course you are disregarding muzzle velocity, weight of the gun, the action type that it is fired from.
Physics have variables.


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## SGWGunsmith (Jan 8, 2015)

It took me a while, but I finally acquired a Glock 23 when those were first introduced and chambered for the .40 S&W rounds. With the grip frame as it was, after a couple of magazines full, the web of my shooting hand had had enough. I installed this "sleeve" on the grip frame and it made a world of difference as far as shooting comfort and lengthened my shooting sessions:










My next endeavor was to try and eliminate at least some, of the muzzle flip from the snappy .40 S&W rounds. So, the slide and barrel were sent off to Mag-Na-Port to get some slots burned into place. I feel it does eliminate some of the muzzle flip, not all of it, but enough that I'm satisfied:


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

I had forgotten to mention if someone hasn't already, is the fact Gen 4's and 5's incorpote the dual recoil spring assembly which is claimed to reduce felt recoil over the single flatwire springs of earlier gens.


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