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SAAMI TECHNI CAL DATA SHEET 1. O4O2A
TECHNI CAL CORRESPONDENT' S HANDBOOK
GUN RECOI L
-
TECHNI CAL
FREE RECOI L ENERGY
Recoi l can be descri bed mat hemat i cal l y by t he physi cal l aw of t he Conservat i on of Moment um. The
law states:
"lf
a force and it' s reaction act between two bodies, and no other forces are present, equal
and opposi t e changes i n t he moment um wi l l be gi ven t o t he t wo bodi es. " Si mpl y st at ed, t hi s says t hat
f or every act i on t here i s an equal and opposi t e (i n di rect i on) act i on.
The moment um, t heref ore, of a f ree recoi l i ng f i rearm i s equal and opposi t e i n di rect i on t o t he
moment um of t he bul l et (or shot charge and wad col umn) and t he propel l ant gases. Because t he
propel l ant gases are ext remel y di f f i cul t t o wei gh, f or purposes of t hi s appl i cat i on, t he propel l ant gas
wei ght wi l l be equat ed t o t he powder charge wei ght .
Free Recoi l Energy i s real l y ki net i c energy and so can be expressed mat hemat i cal l y as
-
F. R. E.
=
l r MVz
Where
-
M
=
i s t he mass (or t he wei ght of t he f i rearm di vi ded by 32. 17) and
V
=
i s t he vel oci t y of t he recoi l i ng f i rearm,
To det ermi ne t he vel oci t y of t he recoi l i ng f i rearm we can use t he f ormul a:
V
Wo*Vu *W
o' *V "
7000xW "
Where
-
W"
=
Wei ght (i n grai ns) of t he ej ect a (bul l et or shot and wad col umn)
V"
=
Velocity of ejecta in feet per second
Won
=
Wei ght of propel l ant gases
Von
=
Vel oci t y (f ps) of propel l ant gases
7000
=
Conversi on f act or f or grai ns t o pounds
W
=
Wei ght of f i rearm i n pounds
5t 1t 76
SAAMI TECHNI CAL DATA SHEET 1O4O2B
TECHNI CAL CORRESPONDENT' S HANDBOOK
GUN RECOI L
-
TECHNI CAL
lf therefore
-
W, W,
M- - t h e n t L M= a n d
32 t t
z
64. 34
, ,
_W"xV"
+(l hg. Wt . xV*
7000xW.
The Free Recoi l Energy of a Fi rearm can be descri bed as:
(
w, \ ( w* t ' ' t ( hswt xv- \ '
! ' ' ! l . l i
- l
l l
' ' '
zx
[ 64
34r[ 7000xW,
)
The wei ght s of t he gun, of t he ej ect a and of t he propel l ant gases or powder charge are easi l y
det ermi ned. The ef f ect i ve vel oci t y of t he propel l ant gas, a much more di f f i cul t measurement , vari es, i n
general , wi t h t he muzzl e pressure and proj ect i l e vel oci t y.
The f ol l owi ng Vps shoul d be used: V*
=V"xf
wheref or
Hi gh powered ri f l es Von
=
V" x 1. 75
Shot guns (average l engt h) Von
=
V. x 1. 50
Shot guns (l ong barrel ) Vps
=
V. x 1. 25
Pi st ol & revol vers Von
=
Vu x 1. 50
[The
above velocity relationships were derived from extensive experiments by the British,
publ i shed i n
"Bri t i sh
Text Book of Smal l Arms" publ i shed i n 1929 and conf i rmed by l at er
work i n t hi s count ry. l
5t 1t 76
SAAMI TECHNI CAL DATA SHEET 1O4O2C
TECHNI CAL CORRESPONDENT' S HANDBOOK
GUN RECOI L
_
TECHNI CAL
NOTE: Fi rearm wei ght must be i n pounds; ej ect a and powder charge i n grai ns; vel oci t y i n f eet per
second. Free recoi l energy wi l l t hen be expressed i n f oot pounds.
EXAMPLE. How much Free Recoi l Energy woul d be devel oped by an average l engt h shot gun
wei ghi ng 7 pounds f i r i ng a 12 ga2%- 3l zl oad of No. 4 shot wi t h wads wei ghi ng 43
grai ns and l oaded wi t h 33. 4 grai ns of powder.
Therefore:
Wr
=
7
Pounds
Wu
=
Shot i s 1 % oz. x t he conversi on f act or 437. 5 or 546. 9 grai ns;
wads wei gh 43 grs. TOTAL: 589. 9 grai ns
Chg. Wt .
=
33. 4 grai ns
V"
=
1275 fps (Average velocity from tables)
r
=1. 5
(For average l engt h of shot gun)
S o -
F R E
= (
' '
) (
\ 2 x 3 2 1 7 ) l
.Wt.x
w1
+
(-hg
7000x
WoxVo vor,
) '
)
F R E
=
1o
rce{7szt2z
+otstt s1'
\
4e000
)
F R E
= (o
roo1' sroooo
s' ' 1'
' \
4e000
)
5t 1t 76
SAAMI TECHNI CAL DATA SHEET 1. O4O2D
TECHNI CAL CORRESPONDENT' S HANDBOOK
GUN RECOI L. TECHNI CAL
F. R E
=
(o l oo[ ro os),
=
(o roo[zzz.:)
=
30.22 FT LBS.
ANS: About 30 f t . l bs.
Exact F. R. E. f or a gi ven shot woul d depend upon exact wei ght of shot charge and exact vel oci t y of t hat
shot .
Cal cul at i ons may be made i n t he met ri c syst em i f f i rearm wei ght i s gi ven i n ki l ograms; ej ect a and
powder charge wei ght i n grams and t he vel oci t y i n met ers per second. Mass t o wei ght conversi on
f act or i s t hen 9. 8. The equat i on woul d t hen t ake t he f orm:
(
w. \ ( w xr
* ( ' hs. wr
xl ' r , ) '
F . R E
_ I J
[ zxoaJ[
w,
)
The F. R. E. woul d be gi ven i n ki l ogram-met ers
5t 1t 76