[svtruth]

Many posters seem to have problems with recoil, often due to preexisting injuries.

Would it work to reduce felt recoil to load, say, .38 spl with a relatively slow burning powder and shoot it from a long barreled, heavy .357?
An 8" barrel gives you twice the distance of a 4" to get to the same muzzle velocity. A big old, heavy frame should soak up more recoil.
Any comments?

[HSMITH]

Just switching powders in the same gun makes a BIG difference in felt recoil.

Lots of things help, but the best bang for the buck at lowering recoil for me is heavy bullets with a very fast powder.

[Majic]

While it will soak up more recoil, that big frame, long barreled revolver is heavier thus you will tire quicker shooting it. What you gain on one end is lost on the other.

[Biker]

I agree with HSMITH. I use 8 grs of Unique with a 260 LSWC for woods/winter carry in my Taurus 450. Very pleasant to shoot.
Biker

[wbond]

Yes. This has worked very well for me in the past for recoil reduction. However, I don't want to carry a HUGE .357 Mag around. I'd rather carry a .32 Mag and shoot .32 long ammo, or carry a CZ-83 and shoot .380.

I've been looking at 9x18 longingly for CZ-83, but don't know if I could handle it.

My hand is screwed together by 4 screws (literally) plus wrist problems.

Your idea is sound and does work well, except for the massive bulkly long barrel .357 is no fun to carry. Even a 3 inch .357 works well for recoil reduction with .38s, but still the .357 is BIG and HEAVY, unless an airweight, but airweight defeats the purpose.

Many posters seem to have problems with recoil, often due to preexisting injuries.

Would it work to reduce felt recoil to load, say, .38 spl with a relatively slow burning powder and shoot it from a long barreled, heavy .357?
An 8" barrel gives you twice the distance of a 4" to get to the same muzzle velocity. A big old, heavy frame should soak up more recoil.
Any comments?

[palerider1]

many ammunition maufacturers offer low recoil loads. you should look into them if you have a problem with a firearm that bothers you. practice with the low recoil loads for accuracy and use the federal hydro-shock ammunition for home defense.

[Vern Humphrey]

While it will soak up more recoil, that big frame, long barreled revolver is heavier thus you will tire quicker shooting it. What you gain on one end is lost on the other.

Not really a disadvantage, since with much shooting you build up the muscles to handle such a gun.

One of my favorites is a Colt Officer's Model Target -- a .22 on a .41 frame. This is identical to my Colt Model 357 in all but the sights (the OMT has the adjustable front sight). Shooting that heavy .22 is good for me.

[Standing Wolf]

An 8" barrel gives you twice the distance of a 4" to get to the same muzzle velocity. A big old, heavy frame should soak up more recoil.

You're 50% right.

The bullet will reach its maximum velocity in about the same amount of time whether the barrel is two inches long or 22. The longer the barrel, to be sure, the more friction it will encounter, but the difference in time is measured in thousandths of a second.

The more a gun weighs, the more recoil energy it will absorb.

Slower burning powders do, indeed, deliver less perceived recoil, on the whole. The difference is that the recoil is felt as more of a push than a sharp smack.

[Jim Watson]

You will not get the velocity of a 4" .357 Magnum in an 8" .38 Special. Not even close.

A heavier gun will have less felt recoil.

I have seen little difference in dinking around with powders if the end product is loads of the same bullet weight and velocity.

A fast powder and heavy bullet with the same momentum as a light bullet at high velocity, such as HSMITH describes, will feel like it has less recoil, but the effect is small unless the difference in bullet weight is great. Bullet energy will be less, if that matters to you.

I did the experiment once in a blind test with two shooters who fired the gun after I loaded it with various recipes. They could distinguish between a 200 grain .38 at 900 fps and a 158 at 1140 when shooting slowly and paying attention to the gun. Shooting on multiple targets at speed in an IPSC drill, the difference in feel, time, and scores was not detectable. There was no doubt about a 125 at 1450 under any conditions, but I wonder if that was not more due to its loud blast than the nature of its kick.

Wbond, you will not find comfort in a blowback pistol like a .380 or Makarov. My Kahr E9 has less felt recoil than that, with a more powerful cartridge.