[Colt117]

As I have been shooting my AR-15 (which I don't shoot often) I have found the recoil to be unmanageable because of how it always pulls to the right. Is it just a matter of getting use to it because I remember shooting a pistol for the first time and the recoil seemed insane but after shooting IPSC for a year I don't even think about it anymore. Is it the same idea for an AR? Just a matter of getting used to the nature of it's recoil?

[Ol` Joe]

You shoot IPSC but the M15 is unmanagable? What do you shoot in your handgun?

[Rampant_Colt]

As I have been shooting my AR-15 (which I don't shoot often) I have found the recoil to be unmanageable and unatural feeling. Is it just a matter of getting use to it because I remember shooting a pistol for the first time and the recoil seemed insane but after shooting IPSC for a year I don't even think about it anymore. Is it the same idea for an assault rifle?

You're joking, right?? :scrutiny:

[Clipper]

Unmanageable recoil from an AR-15??! I remember my first shoot in basic when our instructor put the butt of his M-16 on his crotch and cranked out a 20-round mag on full auto in order to demonstrate the LACK of recoil generated by the gun. Borrow a non-auto 12ga, load it with slugs, and shoot it. You won't notice AR-15 recoil again...

[Colt117]

No, I mean is it the same idea for adapting to recoil in general. I'm not generilizing pistol to rifle just recoil to recoil. I shoot 45. the recoil isn't unmanageable it just doesn't feel natural. I'm not able to make quick and accurate followup shots with the 223. Manageablity isn't my issue it's accuracy. to be even descriptive of my problem it's nor the force of the recoil it's the direction of the muzzle flip. It always pulls to right which as a result makes me use more time ot get back on target

[chestnut ridge]

Perhaps the problem is a poor fit of the butt-stock. The issue plastic
can be replaced with several different configurations. I like some of
the ACE stocks. http://www.riflestocks.com/index2.htm
I like the folder stock, but they make several other types. All
seem to be super strong. hope that helps.

[Grumulkin]

My theorey is that it could be jerking of the trigger rather than gently squeezing it. In a right handed shooter, that would tend to make the bullets go to the right.

[Steve in PA]

Recoil does not push or pull. Recoil is in a straight line with some muzle rise.

Any left or right movement is the result of your actions, not recoil.

[lycanthrope]

Get a good comp for the AR and it won't clock to the right. The F2 comp has ports to deal with that.

Once you learn to track the front sight in recoil after shooting USPSA, you get sensitive to that stuff. Stuff other people won't notice will bug you.

[lycanthrope]

Recoil does not push or pull. Recoil is in a straight line with some muzle rise.

Any left or right movement is the result of your actions, not recoil.


In an AR15 with the cycling of the bolt the gun certainly clocks up and to the right. It's a function of cycling and stock design. It's not user error.

[270Win]

I consider all .223 recoil to be negligable, even with poor stock fit. If recoil force is the problem, I suppose that the stock is VERY poorly fit to you - I also recommend either a slip-on type recoil reducer, or a different stock. I've shot maybe 200 rounds in a range trip from an M4, and never noticed it.

You also might try the idea of using a 12 gauge with slugs and then immediately switching back to the .223 - it's night/day.

On the other hand, it sounds like what you really might be objecting to isn't the actual force of the recoil, but the directionality of it. I'm not sure what to do about the consistant right pull you're experiencing, but perhaps try different positions - prone, kneeling, etc. - and see if that helps. Perhaps try altering your shooting position a little bit one way or the other and see if that makes a difference also.

[wanderinwalker]

Hmmm... I never thought about it, but you're right, the AR does circle a little to the right in recoil. Wow...

Anyway, as for ways to deal with it, well, to make the gun faster you could install a comp. You could also try adjusting your shooting stance. I personally don't find rapid, accurate shots with a non-comped AR to be an issue. And my Service Rifle is plain, but weighs like 12-14 pounds, so it's pretty rock solid.

Is it tracking the same arc shot-to-shot, or are the sights not coming back near the target? If the sights are settling somewhere other than the target, I'd re-evaluate your stance first.

Good luck and HTH.

[The Real Hawkeye]

An AR15 has practically no recoil. How could anyone call it unmanageable? I have introduced many new shooters to rifles and none of them ever compain about the AR15's recoil. When I was a kid, the Winchester 94 in 30-30 seemed pretty stiff in the recoil department, but after I shot a .30-06 for a while, the old 30-30's recoil seemed like a pea shooter. Same thing after I started shooting .338 Win Mag class rifles, i.e., the .30-06 now seems very mild to me in anything but an ultralight. But I have never experienced the AR15 as anything but a pussy cat. One day you will look back at the days you thought of the AR15 as a big bucking rifle and laugh.

[Colt117]

By no means do I think that it's a big bulky rifle. I'm curious of the fact of why it keeps pulling to the right! Not the force of the recoil!

[lycanthrope]

It's because the gun has a straight stock and the recoil pulse is long. The recoil itself is very mild, but the weight of the bolt and carrier as well as the buffer assembly cycling torques the gun. Notice the change in recoil when the gun cycles and locks open after the last shot. Most of us can tell the gun is empty just by feel.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Good stance will address most of the recoil issues with an AR15. A muzzle brake can also be helpful for those times when your stance is a bit sloppy.

[Plastic Cowboy]

If poor stock fit is an issue, an adjustable CAR stock would do the trick. IMO it looks the best on AR-15 style guns as well!!

[MachIVshooter]

AR-15 and recoil in the same sentence without the words has no between them?

Not trying to be inflammatory, but the only centerfire rifles that kick less are.................??????

Seriously, my 9mm Cx4 has a more noticeable recoil impulse.

[Colt117]

Dude, read my previouse posts. It's not the force of the recoil that's my problem it's the direction of the muzzle flip. Even an AR 15 has muzzle flip. And I have a Cx4 and know what your talking about. I shot skeet with a 12 g. for years so I know what real recoil is like. This is the last time I feel like saying this: MY PROBLEM IS NOT THE FORCE OF THE RECOIL, IT'S THE DIRECTION OF THE MUZZLE FLIP! With all due respect to everyone it's not AR-15's in general it's just my ar-15. I borrowed someone elses and It gave me no trouble.

[lycanthrope]

Is your flash suppressor clocked wrong? IS your gun a 16" and the other AR a 20"? The full length gas systems are much smoother.

[The Real Hawkeye]

MY PROBLEM IS NOT THE FORCE OF THE RECOILIf you think the AR15 has a lot of recoil, you are a wuss! Just kidding! I know that you didn't really mean what you said in the first post. You are just having trouble with the nature of the recoil, light that it is, from your AR15.

[MisterPX]

If you're rifle is pulling to the right to the tone of how you're asking about it, I'm gonna have to go with poor shooting stance. The "pull" is a result of the twist of the barrel, much like you're .45 arcs to the right. However, the "pull" of an AR15 is very minimal, unless magnified by something, again, I'm going with your stance. How do you shoot?

[Kor]

Just out of left field here, but it sounds to me like you're trying to hold your rifle on target using muscle tension instead of bone/skeletal support, and after the shot your body tries to 'relax' away from the target.

Please try this Natural Point of Aim(NPOA) exercise:

- Using your normal shooting stance(standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone), aim in at your target. Now, close your eyes and consciously relax the muscles of your body, from your arms to your back to your legs. After 15-30 seconds, open your eyes and see where your sights are in relation to your aiming point.

- If your sights have drifted away from your aiming point, DO NOT use your arm/back muscles to bring the sights back to point-of-aim; instead, shift your entire body's position left-to-right, and/or move your support hand forward or backward on the handguard to raise/lower the sights. Check yourself by closing your eyes and relaxing again, and continue adjusting your body position and stance until your sights stay on or at least very close to your point-of-aim without using muscle tension.

- If your sights are VERY close to your aiming point(i.e. dead-on horizontally, maybe a little low vertically), you have found your NPOA. This is the way your body 'wants' to hold the rifle on target, and trying to force the rifle onto your target with muscular tension only results in fatigue and erratic dispersion from shot to shot. When I have my NPOA set, I find that the sights track straight up with the shot for a short distance, and then drop right back down on target - shooting AR180B, AK74, M1, M14, FAL, Marlin 1894CS, 1903, Mosin-Nagant, Lee-Enfield, Mauser 96/98, etc. in position shooting, John C. Garand match shooting[NRA High-Power Rifle], 3-gun action shooting, tactical training, etc.

...Okay, since you mentioned you shoot IPSC and skeet, maybe you already know NPOA - if so, just tell me to shut up and I'll go away...