Recoil question

[Steve H]

My wife is considering three .380's for her CCW. I really do not want to make this a "is it big enough" post. She is VERY recoil sensitive. I have two guns that she wants to try and my neighbor has a third. Mine are a Mustang and a PPK and my neighbor has a Berrsa .380. Can someone please explain what I have heard about straight blowback recoil in the PPK causing it to be the biggest of the recoil offenders?

Thanks
Steve

 

[critter]

Personally, I'd throw all the 'opinions' and 'theories' out the window. The ONLY thing that counts is how it feels TO HER when she tries each of them. Get her what SHE likes and feels she can use.

I regularly shoot heavily loaded .44 mags, .45 Colt-Ruger level loads and have fired some really big boomers. BUT one of the guns that really gets my attention is a lil ole NAA Guardian in .32 acp. Don't know why, but it does.

 

[ugaarguy]

Can someone please explain what I have heard about straight blowback recoil in the PPK causing it to be the biggest of the recoil offenders?

Because the breech does not lock a straight blowback gun requires a heavier slide to delay it recoiling until chamber pressures drop to a safe level. With a locked breech design you get even more delay from the locking, plus you can use a lighter slide. A lighter slide means less mass moving rearward which generally means less felt recoil. Also, even though it's only fractions of a second, the longer delay of a locked breech spreads the recoil impulse over a greater span of time. This also helps with felt recoil. Lastly, the tiny .380s are light so even though the .380 is about half the chamber pressure and and muzzle energy of a 9x19 it has very little gun to recoil against - both gun weight and narrow surface area in the hand. Because of this most tiny .380s, locked breech or straight blowback, have more percieved recoil than a larger and heavier 9mm.

 

[kokapelli]

I agree with critter.

She has to shoot them and decide for her self.

I have found that the right grip on a pistol can dampen felt recoil and make a heavier recoiling pistol feel better than a lighter recoiling pistol.

A good example is the Makarov. With it's standard grip, it really hammers your hand.
Put a Peirce grip on it and it's not at all bad.

 

[BigV]

Because the breech does not lock a straight blowback gun requires a heavier slide to delay it recoiling until chamber pressures drop to a safe level. With a locked breech design you get even more delay from the locking, plus you can use a lighter slide. A lighter slide means less mass moving rearward which generally means less felt recoil. Also, even though it's only fractions of a second, the longer delay of a locked breech spreads the recoil impulse over a greater span of time. This also helps with felt recoil. Lastly, the tiny .380s are light so even though the .380 is about half the chamber pressure and and muzzle energy of a 9x19 it has very little gun to recoil against - both gun weight and narrow surface area in the hand. Because of this most tiny .380s, locked breech or straight blowback, have more percieved recoil than a larger and heavier 9mm.

Very good explanation ugaarguy!
I think your wife will be disappointed in the recoil of the .380, I know my wife was. I would describe it as more of a “slap” than push-back recoil. As a result, my wife said it made her hand sting. The PPK also has a very high beavertail which can easily cause the slide to bite her hand. If that happens, she will quickly loose interest in shooting it. Perhaps reconsider and let her try a .38 snubbie or a small 9mm. I think she will enjoy shooting and carrying these much better than a .380.

 

[Steve H]

Thanks for the info and opinions. I would like her to have something at least in the range of a 9 but she wants to go the other way. A while back she shot my Beretta Model 21 (.22) and now she thinks that is the gun for her......... She has a Tarus M85 but it doesn't feel right to her.

 

[ugaarguy]

Steve H, you might look at the CZ-82 (9x18 Makarov) or CZ-83 (.380 or .32 ACP). These are more midsized and fire from a locked breech, so they might work well for her. Quite a few of these recently hit the surplus market and prices are quite reasonable. The SIG P232, and Browning BDA/Beretta 84 Cheetah are other .380s in the same size range that you might also consider.

Please excuse the auto loaders sub forum drift here for a momemnt now. If the Taurus 85 doesn't sit right with her try other grips too. If grips don't work the slightly larger Ruger SP-101 might be worth a look as well. If you look you can also find them in a 6 shot 32 H&R mag which is lighter recoiling than a .38 special, and gives you the benefit of the extra round in a small gun. Something midsized in .38 special with a little more weight to help recoil and provide a larger grip might also work. S&W K-Frames the Models 10, 15, 64, and 67 are good places start, along with the Colt Official Police, and the similar sized offerings from Taurus. Taurus and S&W both also offered small frame revolvers like the Taurus 85 she has now, but in .32 H&R Mag if it's the chambering more than the size that bothers her in the current 85.

Hopefully that all helps.

 

[never_summer]

i dont understand why everyone thinks the ppk has alot of recoil in .380. Shot 200 rounds thru my .357 sig with my friend and then switched over to the ppk, feels like shooting a 22. I was going to say go with a ppk but besides my buckmark its the least recoil ccw ive shot so far

 

[shooter71]

i shot a Sig P220 (45acp) at the range one day ..and i swear i had to ask the guy is this a 220 or a 226 since it felt like a 9mm instead of a .45. so i agree with everyone else, shoot it first, the barrel length, caliber, and overall dimensions of the gun , any gun , will vary the recoil.

 

[Redlg155]

My wife is also recoil sensitive. She definitely does not like the .380 P3 AT or any .38 snub nose. The recoil dynamics are just wrong and she percieves a lot of recoil.

I'd suggest you try to do a kind of "blind taste test" with her. Go ahead and get the ones you want her to try, but include a 9mm in the choices. Try to have it loaded and ready for her to shoot without her seeing that it is a 9mm.

*Note...I wouldn't do it with much more than a 9mm since you don't want her to become recoil shy.

You may be surprised. My wife shoots my .40 Sig P226 much more comfortably than the little Kel tec.

 

[tlish]

very good explanation above on locked breech vs. blowback. i don't think she'll like the ppk or the bersa. they have a snappy recoil. the mustang, however, has negligilble recoil. it doesn't feel like much more than a .22. it's my carry gun - i love it. i'm not sensitive recoil, but you can definitely feel a difference between these guns