No way to explain it if you don't understand the concept of TORQUE, or a MOMENT.
Basically, a MOMENT (or TORQUE) = FORCE x DISTANCE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque
Typically the FORCE applied to accelerate the bullet is applied above the pivot point of your wrist. Therefore your wrist has to resist the MOMENT created by that FORCE times the DISTANCE above your wrist.
Your reaction time is around .25 of a second. The bullet spends about .001 seconds in the barrel, during which time a FORCE of many thousands of pounds is acting at a given DISTANCE above your wrist to torque your wrist upwards. This means that the muzzle is going to flip upwards before you can do anything about it.
If you hold the gun upside down with the barrel below your wrist, the gun will torque DOWN. If you hold the gun sideways, the gun will torque SIDEWAYS. It all depends on where the barrel is in relation to your wrist. This is the reason that Olympic Free pistols are designed as nearly as possible to have the barrel in line with the shooter's wrist. They are trying to reduce muzzle flip by making the DISTANCE that the FORCE acts above the shooter's wrist as small as possible.
Some basic science in this article about halfway down page 8:
http://www.oglethorpe.edu/faculty/~j_cramer/documents/Chapter1_000.doc
Newton told us that FORCE = MASS x ACCELERATION 400 years or so ago.
Since a barrel is a constant length, for a given muzzle velocity ANY bullet no matter what the weight must experience the exact same ACCELERATION to reach a given VELOCITY at the muzzle. For example, a 230 grain bullet and 115 grain bullet must experience identical acceleration to reach identical velocities in an identical barrel length.
We know F=MA.
Since we know that the ACCELERATION is identical in both cases (given identical VELOCITY and barrel length) but the MASS is twice as much for the 230 grain bullet, it is hopefully obvious from F=MA that the FORCE to accelerate the 230 grain bullet must be twice as much as the FORCE to accelerate the 115 grain bullet. Given identical pistols with an equal DISTANCE above the shooters wrist, this means that the MOMENT causing the muzzle to flip upwards is twice as much for the heavier bullet. Therefore the muzzle flips up twice as far causing the heavier bullet to impact higher.
Basically, a MOMENT (or TORQUE) = FORCE x DISTANCE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque
Typically the FORCE applied to accelerate the bullet is applied above the pivot point of your wrist. Therefore your wrist has to resist the MOMENT created by that FORCE times the DISTANCE above your wrist.
Your reaction time is around .25 of a second. The bullet spends about .001 seconds in the barrel, during which time a FORCE of many thousands of pounds is acting at a given DISTANCE above your wrist to torque your wrist upwards. This means that the muzzle is going to flip upwards before you can do anything about it.
If you hold the gun upside down with the barrel below your wrist, the gun will torque DOWN. If you hold the gun sideways, the gun will torque SIDEWAYS. It all depends on where the barrel is in relation to your wrist. This is the reason that Olympic Free pistols are designed as nearly as possible to have the barrel in line with the shooter's wrist. They are trying to reduce muzzle flip by making the DISTANCE that the FORCE acts above the shooter's wrist as small as possible.
Some basic science in this article about halfway down page 8:
http://www.oglethorpe.edu/faculty/~j_cramer/documents/Chapter1_000.doc
Recoil has another effect worth mentioning: it makes the gun turn upward when fired. This effect is most problematic for an automatic weapon, like a machinegun, with a high firing rate. The muzzle rises and aiming is hard to maintain. It is also apparent when you shoot a pistol single-handed. The pistol jumps upward when fire.
The reason for this is that the recoil produces an upward torque on the gun. The recoil is applied along the barrel but the gun is held at a lower point by the hand or at the shoulder. The lower point is the natural pivot of the gun but the recoil is applied at a higher point and backward toward the shooter. Thus, the barrel moves back, turning up and around the pivot. The end of the barrel rises and the gun is now pointing high and off target.
Newton told us that FORCE = MASS x ACCELERATION 400 years or so ago.
Since a barrel is a constant length, for a given muzzle velocity ANY bullet no matter what the weight must experience the exact same ACCELERATION to reach a given VELOCITY at the muzzle. For example, a 230 grain bullet and 115 grain bullet must experience identical acceleration to reach identical velocities in an identical barrel length.
We know F=MA.
Since we know that the ACCELERATION is identical in both cases (given identical VELOCITY and barrel length) but the MASS is twice as much for the 230 grain bullet, it is hopefully obvious from F=MA that the FORCE to accelerate the 230 grain bullet must be twice as much as the FORCE to accelerate the 115 grain bullet. Given identical pistols with an equal DISTANCE above the shooters wrist, this means that the MOMENT causing the muzzle to flip upwards is twice as much for the heavier bullet. Therefore the muzzle flips up twice as far causing the heavier bullet to impact higher.