Colt 1911 vs a S&W 357 mag

T

TheMilitaryGunBuff

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I was wondering how the recoil on these two guns compare. My dad has a Smith and Wesson but Ive always liked the 1911s I just wanted to know how the recoil on them compare.
 
Generally speaking, the .357 is going to recoil more, but that depends on many things. Are we talking full power loads? What model revolver? Barrel length? I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, either one can shoot as softly as you want it to (I assume you are talking about the standard govt size 1911). A stout .357 revolver with light .38 special loads doesn't recoil much more than the average .22LR.

This is such a wide open question, and the best answer, actually, is to decide for yourself by shooting them both with a variety of loads. Have fun and be safe.
 
Way too many factors to give you a firm answer. With that said, a 5" 1911 will have less recoil in my experience than a 6" revolver such as a S&W 686.
 
357 MAGNUM= High pressure supersonic bullet

45acp= Low pressure subsonic bullet

The 357 will almost alway have more recoil in anything other than the very heaviest revolvers. The 45 acp will have lighter recoil even in lighter guns.
 
Ranking recoil:

I opine that the action type will have a lot to do with it (the Semi-Auto's recoil spring absorbs a lot of energy and feeds it back to your hand over a longer period of time than the inflexible revolver frame.

Abber, Krezyhorse and Bossman are pretty much right. Let me expand a bit.

I owned a S&W Model 28 Highway Patrolman. This is the same "N" frame as used in Smiths' 45 Colt, 45 ACP revolvers, 41 Magnum and 44 Magnum (Model 29). It is heavy. That weight can mitigate a lot of recoil force.

I also own other .357 mag revolvers from SP101, Security Six, GP100 (Rugers, all) and a Ruger Blackhawk.

I own Lightweight and all-steel 45 ACP semi-autos.

I also own a 1911 pattern .357 Semi-auto (Coonan Model B)

And a recently acquired (so it has not been shot much) Ruger Bisley Blackhawk 45 Colt/45 ACP convertible.

If I lined up all these guns on the shooting range bench, here is (by my best recollection) how the recoil would rank, from least severe to the most severe.

This is, perforce, COMPLETELY subjective, for a lot depends on the fit of the grip to my hand and brand of factory ammo I was using (I tried to avoid recollecting my handloads, which I vary in power levels).

Fullsize 45 Auto (Colt, Randall, AMT)
Colt Officer's Model (steel frame 45 Auto)
Blackhawk 38 Spec
Ruger Bisley 45 ACP
Highway Patrolman .357 Mag with target grips
Lighweight 45 Auto (Star PD)
Coonan .357
Ruger Bisley 45 Colt (standard loading)
Highway Patrolman .357 Mag with standard grips
Security Six 357 target grips
Sec. Six 38 Spec (comparable in weight to the S&W "K" frame model 19)
Blackhawk 357
GP100 357 mag (comparable in weight to the S&W "L" frame model 686
Security Six 357 standard grips
SP101 38 special (much heavier than S&W J frame)
SP101 .357

I reserve the right to revise, repudiate or even forget all about these rankings, as I have never really run comparison tests rigorously. I put the effort into making this list because I think it is about right and it might be informative, or encourage others with more trigger time and more recent trigger time to post their own opinions.

Pay particular attention to:

1 where I ranked the S&W "N" frame Model 28 (Highway Patrolman) with different grips.

2 Where I ranked the Security Six 357 with different grips

3 where I ranked the same guns shooting 38 special vs 357 magnum

4 where I ranked the Sec Six with 38 special vs the same gun with target grips and .357 mag

and, perhaps most significantly

5 where I ranked the (comparable action type and weight) Coonan .357 and full size 45 ACP automatics.

You can see that I ranked the (fairly comparable in weight) full size 45 ACP Autos as much lighter recoiling than the Coonan .357 Auto and the Ruger Bisley shooting 45 ACP as lighter recoiling than the Blackhawk 357. Part of my felt difference might be grip size and shape (The Coonan has a BIG grip to accommodate the length of the .357 cartridge) and the Bisley grip is significantly different in shape to the Blackhawk and is reputed to be more comfortable in recoil.

About grip materials, size and shape. The (smallish and unyielding) wood grips of my Redhawk 44 Mag vs Pachmeyers on the same gun shooting the same ammunition make a world of difference. So, I opine that you can do a lot to soften the recoil of the S&W .357 mag by choosing the best grip for your hand.

I hope this helps

Lost Sheep
 
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The 357 is a Mo[del] 65-2.
Click to expand...
Although felt recoil is subjective by definition, IMHO a 4" Model 65 firing full-power Magnums is going to kick harder than any 5" Gov't Model. It will be about on par with an alloy-frame Officer's Model but will have much more muzzle blast due to the highly supersonic round.

K frame S&W .357's with 4" and shorter barrels are often the subject of the axiom "Specials for Practice, Magnums for Business". They're on the light side for full-power Magnums; although I don't consider them abusive, I'm usually not eager to fire more than ~100 rounds through one in a single range visit. ;)
 
And then there's raw physics. Ya know, that guy with the apple falling on his head, and the equal and opposite thing! Other factors not considered, the muzzle energy of the 357 is more than that of the 45ACP. That doesn't mean that weight, and design of the guns don't affect recoil, but energy is where it starts.
 
LOad the .357 magnum down to the .45 acp and use the same weight gun and I suspect the .357 magnum well recoil about the same as the 1911.
 
I occasionally load 180-200 grain 357 magnums at sub-sonic speeds any they are very comfortable to shoot. They tend to shoot low (as expected) but they are great if you plan to spend all day at the range. The only down side is they do go super sonic from a 16.5 inch Marlin.
 
LOad the .357 magnum down to the .45 acp and use the same weight gun and I suspect the .357 magnum well recoil about the same as the 1911.
Click to expand...

I wonder if that's the case. Lets say we load a .357mag with 200gr lead round nose and we do the same with a 1911 .45acp.
Give them both powder that results in 900fps muzzle velocity at the same level of acceleration.

Wouldn't the difference in base diameter result in differences in recoil? I'd guess that the wider base of the .45 would have slightly more recoil.
 
I own two 1911 and a 45 caliber S&W 1955. To me felt recoil using 230 grain military spec hardball is identical.

With my DW 357 Pistol Pack using my 146 grain hunting loads, felt recoil varies.

2 1/2 inch barrell the recoil is significantly greater than the 45s.

4 inch barrell the recoil is about the same.

6 inch barrell I have never fired it so I have no comparision.

8 inch barrell recoil is about the same as my 9mm Witness or TZ75.

Recovery time on the revolvers, with the exception of the 8 inch barrell, is greater than the 1911. This may be due to the fact that I have fired about 100 times the number of rounds through the 1911s than I have fired through the revolver.

The 8 inch barrell recovery is significantly quicker than than any of the 45s or the 9mm. It is equivelant to the recovery time on my Ruger MK IIs and MK III.

Hopefully, this comparision is helpful.
 
In my limited experience (five 1911 .45 ACP pistols and one SP 101 .357), I have no doubt the felt recoil of the .357 is much greater. The 101 is a great gun but not fun (for me) to shoot with .357 loads. A 1911 is fun to shoot with virtually any factory load.
 
When talking recoil, there are two things involved. The actual energy, and what you feel when you fire.

Now, you can calculate the recoil energy down to a decimal if you want, taking into account gun weight, bullet weight, velocity, the time of day and the angle of the moon if you want.

And you will see that with "standard" loads the .357 has a higher number than the .45ACP. By a fair amount.

Now, what you feel is different. Sure, it takes into account the raw energy of recoil, but it also includes such factors as how the grip fits your hand, how you hold it, the time of the recoil pulse, and even muzzle blast can play a part in what you "feel".

The .357 Magnum has an awfully loud, concussive muzzle blast, and recoil is fast. Snappy is a good description. The .45acp (in a 1911 since thats what you're asking about) is a lound bang and the recoils feels (to me) like more of a push. The weight of the moving parts of the auto pistol give the gun more recoil "feel" than the cartridge alone, but it takes place over a longer time. (and by longer time, we are talking fractions of a second)

In general terms, the 1911 recoils less than the .357. How much of a difference that makes to you when shooting is a very individual thing.
 
In "standard" loadings for the two calibers:

.45 ACP 230gr @ 900 fps
.357 Mag 125gr @ 1450 fps

Honestly they feel exactly the same to me when fired out of service-sized weapons. The magnum is louder, but the .45 has an unpleasant whipsaw effect that all autos have from the slide going back and forth. I consider them to have very similar felt recoil and flinch-inducing capability.
 
125 gr v. 230 gr

The 125 gr, full power mag ammo is a personal thermal nuclear device! Especially from a short barrel. Much flash, much bang/concussion, and "recoil" is noticable. Cheap "white box" 125, with no flash suppessant in the powder is the worst. All this combines to make the 125/.357 pretty formidable. Other full power .357 loads do not seem as wild as the 125 number.


The 230 gr load from a full size auto, even a shorter Commander length tube, is pretty mild by comparison.
 
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