alphabrace
Member
Please explain why muzzle moves upward after the shot is taken. I have ideas but want input.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Why does the muzzle rise?
- Thread starter alphabrace
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Physics, don't-cha-know.
It's because people flinch at the anticipated ka-boom! 
BarbC
Member
It's your hand moving upwards.
oldfella
US Veteran
The force/momentum of the bullet leaving the barrel has an effect of kicking the gun back and upwards 
Pete
Pete
LedFowl
Member
Do you mean as opposed to down or to one side?
The force/momentum of the bullet leaving the barrel has an effect of kicking the gun back and upwards
Pete
If the barrel were suspended as a pendulum it would go straight back. The fact that the shooter is there forces the upward rise.
Milton
US Veteran
Angular Momentum
JohnnieB
US Veteran
Actually the upward movement begins before the bullet leaves the barrel. That’s why faster handgun bullets have a lower POI than slower bullets when fire from the same handgun out to about 50 yards or so. Maybe further, maybe closer, I’m not sure since I don’t shoot anything except practice ammo beyond 25 Yards.
Anyway, is your question, why does the barrel rise when a cartridge is fired, or why does it continue to rise after the bullet has left the barrel? I'll answer both.
The same amount of force that is applied to the bullet to propel it through the barrel is applied to the case, which is held in place by the gun. If the axis of the bore is higher than the axis of support, the rearward force causes the gun to pivot at the point of support and continues to do so until all the energy has been transformed into inertia.
After the bullet leaves the barrel, the pressure drops to zero and the opposing forces being applied to the bullet and gun cease. From that point on, it is inertia that causes the bullet to travel downrange and the barrel to continue upward.
May not be the most scientifically correct explanation, but it was a satisfactory answer for my oldest granddaughter when she was ten, about a dozen years ago.
John
JohnnieB
US Veteran
If the barrel was supported as a pendulum, it would travel in an arc whose radius is equal to the length of the pendulum.
If not supported, it would rotate about its center of gravity as well as travelling backwards.
I'm not sure it the line of travel would be straight back since there would be some angular momentum involved.
John
sigp220.45
US Veteran
In a handgun, its because the plane of the barrel is above your wrist. The barrel pushes back, your wrist bends, the barrel goes up.
If the gun were designed so the barrel was in line with your wrist, the barrel would recoil straight back and wouldn't rise.
If the gun were designed so the barrel was in line with your wrist, the barrel would recoil straight back and wouldn't rise.
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Could be a couple different reasons.
Bore axis
Tilting barrel or straight blow back
Wrong grip and/or stance
Depends on what and how your your shooting.
Recoil operation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Recoil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bore axis
Tilting barrel or straight blow back
Wrong grip and/or stance
Depends on what and how your your shooting.
Recoil operation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Recoil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HCD
Member
When you point a gun, where is the weight of the gun. It's not on top of the bbl. The force has to push against something and like it says equal and opposite if the weight were on top it would push down.
(for clarity tomhenery i am in agreement just quoting your post for example.)
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DeathGrip
US Veteran
Check this out,YouTube - Trick shooting with Upside Down
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That's a good question Timmy....
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XXXXXXXXXXx
it's because the force of resistance in "usually" below the line of bore. BUT, what if you turn a pistol over on it's side "gangster style" and shoot it? Does the barrel/muzzle come up or go left or right depending on which side of the gun is facing upwards? Right slab down.....muzzle kicks right, left slab up...muzzle kicks left...........sight straight up...muzzle kicks up. Never shot a pistol upside down.....so I'm not sure.
just my 2 cents and thinking.
SC
Quite a few years ago one of the Russian designers, Margolin, I think, designd a pistol for the Olympic rapid fire course (really rapid; the five round strings are at 8, 6 and 4 seconds on five different targets). He put the action of the pistol in front of the hand, about level with the knuckle of the third finger. Recoil was straight back, the gun didn't rise when fired, and it supposedly gave the shooter a slight advantage. Sights were on a rib that was raised above the hand so they would be visible. They changed the rules after that so the line of the bore had to be above the shooter's hand.
michael thornton
Member
it will kick where ever the least resistance is?
Kelly Green
Member
This is a good physics question. The maximum force (pressure) of a fired round is ideally applied at the moment the bullet leaves the end of the barrel. This force is in line with the barrel. In the case of a handgun the center of gravity isn't inline with the barrel, so the force produces a torque as well as a kickback. Your body must absorb this force. When kinetic energy is transferred to the frame of the gun, the gun pushes back into the hand, and the hand torques back and up—because of the center of gravity. In the case of a large caliber gun like a magnum, when the hand can’t torque enough the force will transfer to the elbow and shoulder causing them to bend.
