gbw
16th July 2005, 13:25
I'm new to this, and have a question, probably for the engineers and / or physicists out there. That is:
Where is the slide at the instant the bullet leaves the barrel?
Asked another way, when exactly does the pistol begin to unlock?
Reason I ask is that I've seen at least 2 theories on this:
The first one says that the pistol is a closed system until the bullet leaves the bore. That the friction between the bullet and the barrel prevent any slide movement until after the bullet leaves the muzzle. In this theory, the pistol does NOT begin to unlock until then. Seems wrong to me, but I don't know for sure - if this is true, then there is also no recoil felt until the bullet leaves the bore. It would also imply that parts fit is important only during full lockup (i.e. before the pistol is fired), for accuracy. That would also seem to mean that how the pistol is gripped is irrelevant. The STI diagram, for example, shows the pistol working this way.
The other theory is simply Newton's law, which says the unlocking (i.e. slide and barrel movement) will begin as soon as the bullet begins to move down the bore. This seems correct to me. If this is the case, then parts fit near full lockup and grip are critical for accuracy.
Well, if anyone out there knows for sure, I would be grateful. Maybe one of the high speed photography guys would test this - the results would be facinating. Thanks,
Where is the slide at the instant the bullet leaves the barrel?
Asked another way, when exactly does the pistol begin to unlock?
Reason I ask is that I've seen at least 2 theories on this:
The first one says that the pistol is a closed system until the bullet leaves the bore. That the friction between the bullet and the barrel prevent any slide movement until after the bullet leaves the muzzle. In this theory, the pistol does NOT begin to unlock until then. Seems wrong to me, but I don't know for sure - if this is true, then there is also no recoil felt until the bullet leaves the bore. It would also imply that parts fit is important only during full lockup (i.e. before the pistol is fired), for accuracy. That would also seem to mean that how the pistol is gripped is irrelevant. The STI diagram, for example, shows the pistol working this way.
The other theory is simply Newton's law, which says the unlocking (i.e. slide and barrel movement) will begin as soon as the bullet begins to move down the bore. This seems correct to me. If this is the case, then parts fit near full lockup and grip are critical for accuracy.
Well, if anyone out there knows for sure, I would be grateful. Maybe one of the high speed photography guys would test this - the results would be facinating. Thanks,