Is there a formula ...

[Alan Fud]

... to calculate recoil? If I know the energy of a given round and the weight of the gun, is there a way to scientificly figure out how much something kicks compared to something else?

 

[Firethorn]

Roughly:
(mass of bullet*speed of bullet)/mass of gun. For a Single/Bolt/lever/pump

Higher number = greater recoil.
Different actions can change the 'effective recoil'. For example, Bolts, lever actions, and such where just about the only part moving when you fire the gun is the firing pin have the most effective recoil for the weight of the gun. Semi-autos have the bolt going back, so you'd have to figure that it.

Hmm...

(BulletM*BulletV-BoltM*BoltV)/(GunM-BoltM) Might work. Of course, it might be tough to figure out how fast the bolt's moving

Then you have recoil suppressors, But they generally work on the same basic principle as the semi-auto does, throwing a seperate mass backwards faster than the gun's moving. So the same principle should work. Of course, you still have the recoil, but it's over a longer impulse, therefore easier to deal with.

Finally Muzzle Breaks. That's beyond me for calculating.

 

[Kamicosmos]

I bought Lee's $12 Shooter program. Besides being a nice little reloading and firearms tracking database, it has several little calculators:
Felt recoil calc
cost of cartridge (very cool, you input your price of various components, and it figures up that Your Load X = 4.50 per 50 or whatever)
and various ballistic calculators too.

I know I've seen most of these formulas and calcs at websites, but don't have any bookmarked recently.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Alan,

Try:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

for a discussion of recoil, including the formula for calculating it and a table of the recoil of common rifles and cartridges.

Jim

 

[justnuts]

Here's another place to try...
http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

 

[zahc]

F=m*a

By physics, the muzzle energy of the bullet is equal to the recoil energy of the rifle, shooter system. This doesn't actually tell you much about felt recoil though.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, zahc,

You have to factor in not just the bullet mass but the mass of the powder as well, since the powder, burned and unburned, is part of the mass that is moving down the barrel. Not a big deal with a .45 pistol (5 grains of powder to a 230 grain bullet) but in a .30 rifle you might have a 150 grain bullet and 55 grains of powder, a considerable factor.

Jim