After a recent unsuccessful attempt at trying to explain to several people exactly what recoil is...how it happens...and how it operates the 1911 and other short recoil operated pistols...I thought I might do this for ya'll. Some have the mistaken idea that the bullet moving forward,and nothing more, causes recoil to occur, It doesn't. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty surprised at the number of people who believe just that. Experienced and knowledgeable people!
Here's the skinny. Recoil "happens" because two objects are being pushed...or pulled...in opposite directions by a force. In order for mass to move, a force must be imposed on that object that is greater then the object's resistance to acceleration...whether that resistance comes from inertia or friction...force must be applied.
The slide has mass. The bullet has mass. (Other factors are also involved in the resistance of both to acceleration, but we won't go into that.) Both must be forced to move. The only force available in a gun is pressure that comes from the expanding gasses that are released by the burning powder. The same mechanism that drives the slide in a straight blowback pistol also drive the slide in the recoil-operated pistol. The only difference is that...in the recoil-operated pistol...the slide takes the barrel rearward with it for a short distance, and then drops it when the barrel drops. There's no other way for it to work. Recoil is NOT a force. Recoil is a response or a reaction to force applied, just like bullet acceleration.
The gun fires. The slide and bullet start to move at the same time. The slide pulls the barrel backward with it. The barrel drops, and the slide continues on momentum. That's all there is to it.
This is a simple statement of frustration and fatigue. A scream would have been simpler, but I found that it lacked in literary merit...
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