Which has more recoil?
- Thread starter JGIORD
- Start date
1911A1 fan
New member
The .357 in something that one would carry(K-frame and smaller) compared to a short 1911 or Glock.
Welcome aboard JGIORD.
Several ways of lookin at it.
Felt, or percieved, recoil dependant on a lot of variables. Including weight of gun, grip to your hand fit, bore line in relation to your wrist etc etc etc.
Actual recoil energy will be related to the energy of the cartridge. Action/reaction and all that. Thus a .357mag loaded to 1,000 ft lbs muzzle energy will have more gross recoil than .45 ACP loaded to around 360 ft lbs.
In the real world, few shoot full house .357 mags in other than heavy, large framed guns. A lot of defensive .357 mag loads run around 500 ft lbs energy.
Personal perception tells me that most full sized .45 autoloaders recoil less than most .357mags. I like to use GI pattern .45 for introducing those with small stature and hands to big bore shooting. Managable recoil and thin grip helps to make the experience more enjoyable for the neophyte.
Sam.......follow me, I know a shortcut.
Several ways of lookin at it.
Felt, or percieved, recoil dependant on a lot of variables. Including weight of gun, grip to your hand fit, bore line in relation to your wrist etc etc etc.
Actual recoil energy will be related to the energy of the cartridge. Action/reaction and all that. Thus a .357mag loaded to 1,000 ft lbs muzzle energy will have more gross recoil than .45 ACP loaded to around 360 ft lbs.
In the real world, few shoot full house .357 mags in other than heavy, large framed guns. A lot of defensive .357 mag loads run around 500 ft lbs energy.
Personal perception tells me that most full sized .45 autoloaders recoil less than most .357mags. I like to use GI pattern .45 for introducing those with small stature and hands to big bore shooting. Managable recoil and thin grip helps to make the experience more enjoyable for the neophyte.
Sam.......follow me, I know a shortcut.
Two different things concerned here, actual recoil energy (calculated by mass of bullet, mass of burnt propellant gases, muzzle velocity, and weight of gun), and felt or perceived recoil (determined by bullet weight, acceleration curve, bore axis, stock design, etc.). For most people the 1911 pattern guns have less felt recoil than a typical mid weight .357 gun. Combination of frame design (pistol typically puts the barrel closer to the hand than the revolver), and acceleration curve. The .357 throws a much lighter bullet, but at a much higher acceleration curve. So the felt recoil is sharper, not as drawn out. Total energy transfered may be lower, but it feels worse. Now if you are comparing an ultra compact, lightweight .45 (Kimber Ultra CDP for example) to an N frame six inch barreled Smith and Wesson .357, the .45 will probably have a lot more felt recoil.
Ben Shepherd
New member
There area lot of variables, as the others mentioned. But as a general rule the 357 has quite a bit more.(we are talking 357mag, not 357 sig, correct?)
Ben Shepherd
New member
One more thing that I think everyone here will agree with. The 357 will be much sharper, the 45 will be more like a hard shove.