The Physics of Gun Recoil. Scientific Background

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Personal Evaluation
References

Introduction

Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun after a bullet has been discharged. It is sometimes referred to as: kick, kickback, or knockback. On most occasions, this movement of a gun causes discomfort to the shooter since reduces the accuracy of the target. There are numerous occasions when a shooter is thrown backward after shooting, especially in Hollywood movies. This backward force is what is termed as recoil (The Ballistician, 2002).

Newton’s principle of momentum conservation best explains the recoil of a gun. This principle states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Momentum is the ability of an object to resist any change in its motion. Linear momentum occurs when an object moves in straight line. Angular momentum occurs in rotational motion. The basic principle in the two cases remains to be conservation. According to Newton, objects that are moving tend to keep on moving and those at rest continue at the same state unless an external force is applied.

This work tries to explain the physics behind gun recoil. What makes this happen? And how can this be reduced to minimize the injuries that are caused by recoil? What are the main parameters that can be changed to make a gun efficient and with little recoil? This is a physical science operation that can easily be dealt with to reduce its impact. This can only be done with an in-depth understanding of the scientific background surrounding it. Propositions can later be deduced on ways of reducing the impact of gun recoil.

Body

A gun at rest is affected by three types of forces. These are the weight of the gun pushing downwards, the normal force exerted by the shooter upwards, and the point of contact with the shoulder. Firing the gun allows for the projection of a bullet by force. This causes another opposite force that pushes the gun backward. Most importantly, it should be remembered that the principle of momentum conservation holds at any moment of the process. Therefore, when the firing has been done but the explosion of the gun powder has not taken place, the gun and the bullet (though in motion) have a zero net force (Pinizzotto et. al., 2004).

The law of conservation still must hold as the bullet jets out of the gun. If we assume the bullet has a mass of m_b and a speed of V_b then the momentum P_b will be given by P_b= m_b V_b. As the bullet moves in the forward direction, there must be a balance in the momentum, something that gives the gun-bullet system momentum of zero. This is an equal and opposite momentum equated by: P_b=- P_b. This opposite momentum is what causes the recoil. It has to take place to maintain the principle of momentum conservation which must be zero to keep the balance (The Ballistician, 2002).

Up to this point, someone may be having a question as to why the recoil does not have the same velocity as the bullet. This is the verdict: according to Wallack’s report entitled American Rifle and Design Performance (1977), the bullet has a small mass but large speed thus enabling the large momentum with which it is released. This is unlike the gun which has a large mass. This makes it have a very small speed thus low momentum. Nevertheless, this recoil is always enough the push the shoulder of the shooter strong enough. This means that a heavier gun is expected to produce lower recoil than a lighter one. There are two types of recoil. Primary recoil is the one described above. A secondary coil occurs when gases outflow from the muzzle. The latter is always the most dangerous coil for the shooter (Wallack, 1977).

Conclusion

Gun recoil is inevitable. As mentioned above, this is a physical science phenomenon that is part of gun manufacturing. Unfortunately, the principle of conservation of momentum has to be adhered to to ensure that the efficiency of any gun is achieved. The gun-bullet system must have a net momentum of zero. Therefore, the amount of recoil will depend on the weight of the gun and other specifications. To come up with guns with less recoil, these specifications have to be dealt with by the manufacturers and other stakeholders.

Personal Evaluation

I strongly believe that guns should be made in a way to produces less recoil. The recoil causes a lot of discomfort and even injuries to the shooters. When a shooter predicts the recoil of a gun, he can avoid pulling the trigger appropriately hence missing the target by choosing to jerk the trigger. The discussion above has clearly shown that having the correct balance of the weight of a gun and that of the bullet can help reduce the recoil. Another issue is on the gun powder. Manufactures should produce battles with fewer outflows of gases hence reducing chances of the secondary coil.

References

Pinizzotto, A. et. al. (2004). “One-Shot Drops Surviving the Myth”. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (Federal Bureau of Investigation).

The Ballistician, (2002). What is recoil and how is it calculated? Web.

Wallack, L. (1977). America Rifle Design and Performance. NY: Winchester Press.

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The Physics of Gun Recoil. Scientific Background

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