Is There A Recoil Measuring Device?

[fiddleharp]

I'd love to see statistics between the official difference between the felt recoil in different shotguns.
The thread about the difference between the recoil of a Ithaca 37 and a Browning BPS perked my interest.

 

[Milkmaster]

Lighter gun = more felt recoil
Heavier gun = less felt recoil
Heavy gas gun = least felt recoil I have found so far!

Just physics as far as I can tell.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Shot weight, speed, gun weight and design are the biggest factors in free recoil.

For perceived recoil, add in pad effectiveness, gun fit, etc.

 

[Virginian]

Dave, you forgot 'OPINION', undoubtedly the biggest factor relative to felt or perceived recoil. Recoil is pure physics, but perceived recoil is pure psychology. You can calculate until you are blue in the face, but a Benelli SBE II owner will still swear his gun doesn't recoil that bad at all with the little 3-1/2" Roman Candle thundersticks. Human nature.

The Benelli was used just as a convenient example in this case.

 

[boilingleadbath]

You could put a load cell or accelerometer in the gun, and thus measure the force applied to the shoulder...

Measuring the free recoil is largely pointless. Shotguns have a very high shotowder weight ratio, and such their recoil physics can be approximated easily and accurately.

 

[Sunray]

Hi. The felt recoil, with any firearm, isn't the same as the actual recoil. The actual recoil is just physics. That Newton fellow made it a law.
Felt recoil has a bunch of variables. The stock material, weight, ammo, shape and width, among others.

 

[Snarlingiron]

Get a copy of Bob Brister's book "Shotgunning: The Art and The Science". He discusses this at length. There are devices to measure recoil. Problem is, you can't measure perceived recoil because this is largely subjective.

This is why you see posts where folks go out and shoot a box of shells out of a particular gun and report that "it nearly tore my shoulder off. I was in pain for a week", and the next guy will shoot hundreds of rounds from the same gun and with the same loads and report that is was a pussycat.

 

[748]

I was thinking about using shock watch stickers.

 

[rcmodel]

http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

Semi-Autos spread the recoil impulse out over a longer time span, and feel like they kick less then fixed breech arms.
Especially gas-operated ones!

rc

 

[pps]

The occasional shot where you fail to plant the butt firmly against your shoulder (it can happen when you're in a hurry to shoot that beautiful mallard that is rapidly going out of range) will deliver higher felt recoil, as the shotgun has had some time/distance to accelerate into your shoulder. Especially with the "3 1/2" Roman candle thundersticks"

 

[rcmodel]

As will shooting a Magnum Turkey load while your back is leaned up against a convenient tree trunk!

Ouch!

rc

 

[pps]

As will shooting a Magnum Turkey load while your back is leaned up against a convenient tree trunk!

It only hurts if you miss.

 

[rcmodel]

Oh, I don't know about that!

I didn't miss, and I was black & blue on both sides the next day!

rc

 

[pps]

rc, pain is temporary, and turkey is delicious.