Caliber Recoil Question.

[sloopy70]

I've got a question about Recoil... I was planning on getting an XD 9, but when I was at the gun shop today admiring the massive collection they had I was talking with an army guy and was telling him how I was thinking of getting a 9 as opposed to a .45 so that I could teach my Girlfriend to shoot. He told me that he's taught a few women to shoot, and that they usually prefer a .45 over a 9 because the 9 has more of a snap, and the .45 has more of a hard push as opposed to a quick snap which makes some women more comfortable to control... What are your opinions on this... ???

 

[mete]

Recoil is dependent on the cartridge and weight of the gun and the recoil mechanism .A light weight gun [plastic frame ] will recoil more than a steel one . Delayed blowback action [ P7]is better than locked breech though HK USP has mechanism that reduces recoil. Height of bore above hand has an effect also.Fit of gun to your hand is also important !Never pick a gun for someone , let them pick what works for them.

 

[sloopy70]

I know that it depends on the actual load your shooting, I'm just talking in general here... as far as getting her a gun, I don't think she'd want to carry, and I'm teaching her how to shoot incase I'm not home one night and the gun is, and if she needs it she'll know how to shoot...

 

[10-Ring]

Depending on load, perceived recoil will differ. Naturally the hotter defensive loads will have more perceived recoil than what you would generally call practice loads. Now if your teaching your GF to shoot, I'd recommend a 22lr handgun and gradually move up to your house gun. Get her basics down and then move to something more challenging

 

[LadySmith]

As Mete said:

Never pick a gun for someone , let them pick what works for them.

I recently bought an XD 45 and I also have a Colt 1911A1. I agree that the .45 recoil is more of a hard push than a snap like the 9mm. However, when it's girls' night out at the range, most of my girlfriends go for the Glock 17 9mm and only one shows a preference for the Browning Buckmark .22. I tell them to go with what they like and what they're comfortable with. As for me, I haven't found a caliber that I don't like (yet).

 

[Lou629]

Weight of the gun

can have a lot to do with it. For instance, i can take a full-house .357 mag. load and fire it thru my 6" ruger GP100 ( which weighs more than i do, lol ) without too much trouble from recoil. The recoil is there, but manageable. Take the same load and fire it thru say, a 3" barrel, and it's not a round i would care to shoot anymore, or at least not often.
Same thing holds with most 'serious' calibers. My friend has a glock # something-or-other in 9mm, that he loves. I was surprised to find i can hardly control the thing, whereas the same round fired from my BHP produces almost no recoil at all. So imho, it's not just the round, but the weight of the firearm it's being shot from, and the barrel length.

 

[carlrodd]

at least you're asking for advice. i made the mistake of going to the range with my girlfriend(is isn't very fond of guns), and having her shoot my taurus .38 snubby. i just wasn't thinking, and wish i would have run it by everybody here. i'm so used to it, and frequently fire it with other handguns...all i was thinking was, 'uncomplicated, small, comfortable'. what i wasn't thinking was 'loud, more recoil because of the small frame, substantial muzzle flash.' she may never go back.

 

[Juna]

Well I can tell you that my wife loves shooting my CZ 75 BD. It's a full sized, all steel, 9mm pistol, and the recoil is definitely mild. I agree with what others have said about weight of the pistol, size of the pistol, ammo loads (e.g. +P+), etc. All of those factor in.

I've shot a 4" .357 magnum revolver, and it's not that bad in terms of recoil. I was expecting from all the hype to have my hands blown up over my head, but I'd describe it as a more forceful push with a little more muzzle flip than my 9mm. I will say that follow-up shots were significantly more difficult, though, due to the added muzzle flip. I assume a .45 is similar.

It didn't really jar my hands much more, but it was just more difficult to keep on target for the second shot. So if you're worried about your wife having to use it and needing more than one shot, then that might be a consideration to support the 9mm.

 

[jman74]

Recoil is a funny and individual thing. I once taught an ex to shoot that thought both my P90 and P220 both had too much recoil. Her gun of choice was my snubby Speed Six with .357 mag 125gr Corbons. I still don't get that choice...

 

[Surefire]

Most brand new shooters I take to the range are actually VERY surprised by how soft the .45 ACP recoil really is, and how sharp the 9mm is. Most new shooters seem to assume that the .45 is a hand cannon, and the 9mm only recoils a little more than a .22. In truth, IMO both rounds have mild recoil, but a different TYPE of recoil.

The 9mm has a sharp snap to it, and most new shooters I've taken to the range are bothered by the 9mm for the first few magazines. If I then bring out the .45, they are very surprised by how soft the recoil feels.

It really depends a lot on the gun, and also shooter preference.

I can shoot any of the major autoloader caliber cartridges very well, but for me the .45 acp is what I do best with (in accuracy). For revolvers, the .38 special is what I shoot best with; although I can handle any .357 magnum load in shorter durations.

 

[SFvet]

I agree totally. I perfer the standard 230gr fmj/hp@850-890fps .45 load (Sig P220) as opposed to the 124gr [email protected] (Berretta M9). There is a nice and easy push with the forementioned .45 load kinda like a .44 mag out of a Colt Anaconda. With the Beretta 124gr there was more of a snap but less push on my wrist. Overall I like the push better than an upward snap. Just my opinion on the two pistols. However both of those loads in their respected firearms are NICE!

 

[Onmilo]

I have never seen enough difference in the recoil of 9mm verses .45 to make it that big an issue, even for females.
What does become an issue is whether the woman can hand cycle the slide on the weapon.
If she can't make the pistol function it really doesn't matter if she can tolerate the recoil or not,,,,,,,