Recoil of .45 vs 9mm

D

DrGlock

Inactive
HI all

As you can see I am a new member so forgive me if this question has been asked. I primarily shoot 9mm (as you can also see by my handle it is often a Glock). I am considering trying out & purchasing a .45, in particular a H&K USP45C. I was wondering what the recoil is like compared to a 9mm. I like to shoot for fun & don't particularly like guns with a heavy kick (ie 357 magnum). From what I've read so far the USP45C is a great gun.....
 
Recoil of my USP .45 is not much more than my G19. In fact, loaded with WinCleans, it is the same.

Of course, YMMV.
 
The sensed (or felt) recoil of a .45 and a 9mm automatic is very similar. If you can shoot onr you can shoot the other.
 
Hello, Doc...

45 and 9 mm are fairly similar in terms of recoil. Maybe 45 is a little more, but it certainly is a lot less than 357 magnum.

Now for some unsolicited advice: Before you buy your 45 though, I think you need to strongly consider getting a Glock 30 instead. It is the best Glock out there, in my opinion. It is extremely accurate, almost as accurate as custom 1911's costing much more.

By the way, what kind of Dr are you?
 
I must second the opinion on the Glock 30. Since you are already familier with the Glock why be a gun switcher? You may not be using it for carry, but I just assumed that may be the case since you specified USP 45C. There is an advantage to owning guns that function the same.
By the way the G30 recoils about 3/4 as much as my Kimber .45.
 
The difference between 9mm and 45ACP is slight. 357,40S&W,357SIG all kick alot harder than the 45 even though the 45 is bigger. I find 45 shooting a pleasure after running 500 rounds through my sigpro 40.357sig.

.40 and 357SIG can be torture. The 45 is a pussycat.

Rent some 45's or shoot some friends. That way you can see for yourself. By the way, the 45 is the ultimate defensive round. IMHO


Tim ;)
 
Rent some 45's or shoot some friends. That way you can see for yourself.

When i say shoot some friends. I mean shoot thier 45's


Shooting friends is a fast way to become lonely. I wouldnt recommend it.LOL :D



Tim ;)
 
This question is really dependent on the guns in which the ammo is being shot. Shooting side by side Glocks, one in .45 and one in 9 mm, I thought there was a goodly amount of difference. Shooting .45 in a full-sized 1911 versus 9 mm in a Glock 26 or Baby Glock, I thought the recoil was not all that different. Shooting .45 in an officer's size gun versus 9 mm in the baby Glock and I find the recoil to be much more for the .45.
 
According to a table I found...


recoil energy

9mm 115gr 3.9 ft/lbs
.45auto 230gr 5.8 ft/lbs
.357mag 125gr 9.2 ft/lbs

Your perceived recoil is going to vary with gun and ammo used.
 
The bottom line is the same gun will kick and climb less in the 9mm than the .45. The .45 is best bunch will argue that but the basic E=mc2 equasion is the fact on that.:):)
 
I would have to wholeheartedly agree with Double Naught Spy. In the same size weapon the .45 will seem to have significantly more push/lift than the 9mm. Take the tremendous difference in on target performance of the casual shooter using a 9mm compared to a .45. For example there was a tremendous jump in scores at qualification when the services switched from the .45 to the 9mm. Again, I am referring to the performance of casual shooters and not dedicated shooters who can learn to perform quite well with a .45. It may be a matter of degrees, but if given two different weapons to shoot and not told which was the 9mm and which the .45 it would not take to much thinking or shooting to figure out which was the .45 :D
 
personally the 45 does kick a little more than the 9mm but not by too much, and is a lot less snappy than the .40
 
Maybe 45 kicks a little more than 9 mm but it doesnt feel like too much of a difference to me.

Certainly, there is more difference between 45 and 357 than 45 and 9mm, agree?

45 recoil is not at all unmanagable
 
The 45 is best bunch. How nice. Only 1 problem with the recoil table, as with much of this world there is the rest of the story the table doesn't tell. A little things like bore axis location relative to the hand; center of gravity; and grip size/shape. My compact HP (Glock 19 sized) has "less" recoil than say an equal weight Smith with it's high bore axis. By the same token a Smith 457 will appear to have more recoil than an Officer's size 1911. My dad's 6in M29 has more "felt" recoil with the wood target grips than the rubber grips. The wood grips have a much larger circumference and the gun will shift between shots.

Goto a range and rent the guns which interest you. Buy what YOU like, even if it is combat tuperware. :D

One last comment, without the equipment to test it so it is just my opinion, the polymer framed guns should have less apparent recoil due to frame flex. YMMV.
 
You know, recoil to a point is a state of mind. If you are distracted by paying close attention to the front sight, or anything else for that matter, it's hardly noticed.

Having said that, My Browning High power and My 1911 recoil about the same with whatever you put in them. That is, a full power military load feels like a full power military load in the other one and a light target (practice load) also feels the same in both. I agree with what has been said above (mostly)

Now comes the BUT. My USP45C recoils substantially more than either of them. It doesn't cause pain but it is very noticable at first. Probably a combination of the lightweight pistol and the heavier charge in the 45 ACP cartridge. I guess for a leightweight "Carry" pistol it's reasonable.

PigPen
 
IMHO, felt recoil is subjective and depends on a lot of factors: the load you are using, the type of gun, the gun's weight, your hand-hold/the fit of the gun, the weight of the recoil springs, the noise (the loud crack of the .357 bothers me), and your sensitivity to a snap versus a push-pull recoil.
When I first started shooting, the recoil of a .45 ACP really bothered me, so I shot only 9mm. One day I rented a Colt 1911. I was surprised since I was a lot more accurate with it than a 9mm and the recoil bothered me less. Now I shoot only .45s.
 
FWIW, over the weekend I fired three 'compact' .45's side by side - a Kimber Compact in stainless, a Beretta Cougar, and an H&K USP45C, all using teh same ammo. Recoil-wise, the H&K was the softest of the bunch, the Beretta was next, and the Kimber had teh most felt recoil. None were harsh or abusive by any stretch. OTOH, the extra weight of the Kimber was beneficial in dampening the recoil and kept the muzzle down for faster follow-ups, while the H&K, being almost 1/2 lb. lighter, had more muzzle flip, even though the felt recoil was noticeably less. All had more recoil than a 9mm (I find I can shoot a lot more 9mm in a given session than .45 before my wrist starts to complain - YMMV). Accuracy-wise, it was the Kimber (4" barrel), H&K (3.8"), and the Beretta (3.6"), although all grouped well enough, the Kimber made a ragged hole, while the Cougar was 3-4". Funny how the tightness of the groups corresponds to barrel length, eh? Again, YMMv. Take care, M2
 
I have an HK USP 45C. First off, it's compact only in regards to the full-size USP; it's still a pretty large, thick gun. A Kimber Compact is significantly smaller. The SA trigger is ok, but not great. It's not as good as the SA trigger on my Sig 239, and certainly not as good as the one on a good 1911. The DA trigger is ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS. It takes two men and a mule to pull the DA trigger. Ugh. I like the fact that it can be carried cocked and locked, and that's how I would carry it. The safety/decocker works in the correct direction and is frame mounted, both good things. Accuracy was reasonable and it has been reliable in the small amount of shooting that I've done with it.

Regarding felt recoil, I've never felt that .45 ACP was a very hard recoiling round. It does recoil a bit more than 9mm, but not much. Certainly it is easier to shoot than my 4" S&W model 66 loaded with .357 Mag. I have shot a Glock 30 side by side with my full size Kimber, and surprisingly found that the Glock 30 had less felt recoil. That said, I was still more accurate the Kimber (I do hate the Glock trigger so...).

The HK is a fine gun and won't have much felt recoil. It's bigger than it should be and the DA trigger sucks. Pricey, too.

M1911
 
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