How to Reduce Gun Recoil

As hunters and shooters, recoil is a very real and intense part of the shooting experience. It’s also something that can unfortunately intimidate a new shooter. It’s unavoidable, but it can be managed for a more enjoyable shooting experience. So, let’s talk about how to reduce gun recoil! 

What is Recoil?

Remember Newton’s Third Law of Motion from Physics class? For every action of force in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

When a firearm is fired, the firing pin strikes primer in the ammunition igniting the gunpowder and causes an explosion. The gas from the burning powder expands rapidly in the cartridge and pushes the projectile(s) out of the cartridge and down the barrel. This process happens in a split second and generates an enormous amount of force. According to Newton, the projectile's forward momentum must be balanced out by an equal and opposite reaction, which is the rearward thrust of recoil. 

Felt Recoil or perceived recoil is a term often used to describe how the shooter experiences recoil. Many of factors influence felt recoil including the size and weight of the firearm, the size and strength of the shooter, the shooter’s stance and grip, if muzzle devices are used, padding to absorb recoil, the weight of the ammunition, and more. 

Accuracy and precision are decreased if recoil isn’t properly managed. There is also a higher risk of injury for the shooter and damage for the firearm. Managing recoil is imperative for safety.

How to Reduce Gun Recoil

Recoil cannot be avoided because it’s simply part of the physics of firing a gun. However, it can be managed to reduce felt recoil. Managing recoil happens in two ways – within the mechanics of the firearm and by the shooter. Both must work together to minimize the negative impacts of recoil. 

How a Firearm Reduces Recoil

The way a firearm manages recoil depends on the type of firearm and its design. We’ll highlight a few specific examples, but let’s discuss some general principles. 

• A recoil lug sits between the barrel nut and the action and helps to transfer the rearward energy to the stock. The recoil lug is precision machined to ensure perfectly even contact between the action and the rifles stock. This ensures maximum consistency from shot to shot by controlling how recoil is transferred to the stock of the rifle.
  
• Gas systems are commonly used in semi-auto rifles and shotguns to chamber another round after the gun has been fired. Gas systems divert the high-pressure gas that builds up behind the bullet to cycle the bolt and the effect on recoil is minimal in most cases. However, specially designed gas systems like DRIV on the Savage Renegauge shotgun uses the expanding gasses to drive the bolt rearward and vents excess gas forward, resulting in significantly reduced felt recoil. Learn more about how the Renegauge DRIV gas system works. 
  
• Using a suppressor or muzzle brake can help reduce felt recoil. A muzzle brake’s job is to help the shooter recover from the rifle’s recoil by redirecting gas through vertical baffle surfaces. As the bullet passes through the hole in the baffle, the gas behind the bullet impacts the surface of the baffle wall and this pulls the muzzle forward and reduces rearward motion of the firearm into the shooter’s shoulder. Suppressors reduce felt recoil by trapping the gas as it leaves the barrel and dispersing it through the internals, which ultimately reduces the energy moving rearward as recoil. 
  
• Heavier firearms produce less felt recoil. There’s more physics involved here with the law of conservation of momentum. The recoil velocity is inversely proportional to the mass of the rifle – basically, heavier firearms have less recoil, while lighter firearms have more recoil. Long range shooters often choose heavy firearms or modify their rifles with weights to manage the recoil and all but eliminate movement at the muzzle. This is true of handguns too. Handguns with longer barrels have more forward weight which helps to counteract muzzle flip. 
• Ergonomic designs help shooters maintain a firm grip and keep the rifle or shotgun in line with their shoulder to absorb recoil. The shape of the comb of a stock will also affect how the reoil is transferred to a shooter’s face as the gun recoils. By having the front of the comb slightly lower than the rear this moves the comb slightly away from the shooters face. If it were to be angled up the rifle would push into the shooters face as it recoils to the rear making for an uncomfortable shooting experience.

How a Shooter Can Reduce Gun Recoil

Firearms can manage recoil in a lot of ways, but shooters can do a lot to reduce gun recoil as well. How a shooter implements each of these concepts will be individualized based on what works best for the shooter.

• A firearm that fits you is one of the easiest things to help reduce gun recoil. Proper fit is key for consistent and accurate shooting. It gives you a predictable and comfortable platform and lets you focus where focus is needed…on your target. Fitment can be adjusted in many ways from adjustable stocks, compact stocks or using aftermarket accessories like cheek risers or recoil pads. Savage has many adjustable stocks to make this easier for shooters and we have a lot of resources on this topic!
  • How to Find the Perfect Shotgun Fit with Renegauge
  • How to Adjust AccuFit
  • Why Rifle Fit Matters
    
• Improving your shooting position, stance, and grip can help you manage felt recoil. Recoil is a whole-body experience. You may need to practice different shooting positions and how to adjust your body to effectively manage recoil. For example, shooting a rifle off-hand requires more active recoil management than shooting from a bench. Working with a trainer or instructor is a great way to get personalized feedback and tips for finding what works best for you, especially with handguns. 
• Choose the right gun and ammo combination for your needs. Lighter guns have more felt recoil because they lack the extra weight to absorb the force. Higher power cartridges also have more felt recoil because they produce more energy. So, if you don’t need a lightweight gun or a big caliber, chose a heavier gun or lighter caliber to reduce the recoil you experience. It’s always a good idea to match your setup to your needs. 
• Practice and develop good shooting habits. Recoil can’t be eliminated, just mitigated. We’ve discussed many ways this can happen, but learning what shoot without flinching or startling is best way to manage recoil. Rimfire cartridges like 22 LR are great ways for shooters to practice good shooting techniques with minimal recoil and then work up to larger centerfire cartridges with heavier recoil.

If you liked this guide on how to reduce gun recoil, check out our other Firearms 101 and Shooting Tips articles.