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So I'm pondering something and need the great minds of this group for an answer. What percent increase would the recoil from a 180 gr .40 cal minor load be over 147 gr 9mm minor load? Same gun, same powder (brand, not charge), I'm sure there's an equation to calculate this and some theoretical thought also, so what say you?

 

 

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Well, since it's 3:00 a.m., and all our "Great Minds" are asleep, I'll take a stab at this one.    :)

 

I know of no "equation to calculate this", but from a "theoretical" perspectice (actually more

anecdotal), I usually shoot 147 gr 9mm minor loads in my 32 ounce BHP.  

 

When I shot a mag of

.40 Major  thru a GM's STI (40 ounces?), I didn't feel ANY difference in "recoil".

 

So, the two guns were totally different, and one was minor and the other a Major load,

and I didn't feel any difference - I've never been very sensitive to minor recoil differences

(my .41 magnum feels different, and a .460 S&W magnum I fired once felt Different),

but didn't see much difference between those two loads.

 

I've heard that a .40 Minor in a heavy gun will feel lighter in recoil than a 9mm Minor load....

that's one reason some people shoot .40 minor rather than 9mm minor in Production.

 

Well, I'm going to try to get back to sleep - have visions of 9mm and .40 caliber recoils.

 

So Good Night - let's see what "the great minds" come up with when the sun comes up    :) 

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40 minor recoil will be less. Somewhat noticeable if you shoot them back to back, but not by a huge amount and not anything to lose sleep over.

I shoot 40 minor in Production because I started in Limited and was set up to load 40, and because 40 cal Unicorns were much easier to find and cheaper to get.

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On 6/20/2017 at 7:22 PM, Mountbkr said:

 

So I'm pondering something and need the great minds of this group for an answer. What percent increase would the recoil from a 180 gr .40 cal minor load be over 147 gr 9mm minor load? Same gun, same powder (brand, not charge), I'm sure there's an equation to calculate this and some theoretical thought also, so what say you?

 

 

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Google "recoil calculator" ;)

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So I'll share the reason for the question. Looking to shoot carry optics and I have 2 XDM 5.25 guns, ones a factory 9, the other a factory 40. Was considering shooting the 40 due to it being a slightly heavier gun, the only drawback being slightly more expensive ammo, couple lower round count mags. Just pondering the recoil differences between the two calibers being anything to factor in, didn't think there would be but just something to wonder about.


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I would certainly shoot the 9 in that case

 

Or better yet, sell them both and get a nice gun [emoji6]

 

What nice gun would you recommend?

 

I'm thinking Shadow 2 might be consideration but I'm stocked on XDM holsters and mags so I would have a garage sale to fund something new.

 

Why would you say 9?

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Mountbkr said:

 

What nice gun would you recommend?

 

I'm thinking Shadow 2 might be consideration but I'm stocked on XDM holsters and mags so I would have a garage sale to fund something new.

 

Why would you say 9?

 

 

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I'm just an XDM hater. If you like it, go for it.


I'd say 9 for sure solely based on capacity. 

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1 hour ago, waktasz said:

 

I'm just an XDM hater. If you like it, go for it.


 

 

Yeah i thought that was the case, ha ha. Seems like quite a few people feel that way, i'm sure i'll figure out why at some point in time.

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On 6/21/2017 at 3:06 AM, Hi-Power Jack said:

Well, since it's 3:00 a.m., and all our "Great Minds" are asleep, I'll take a stab at this one.    :)

 

I know of no "equation to calculate this", but from a "theoretical" perspectice (actually more

anecdotal), I usually shoot 147 gr 9mm minor loads in my 32 ounce BHP.  

 

When I shot a mag of

.40 Major  thru a GM's STI (40 ounces?), I didn't feel ANY difference in "recoil".

 

So, the two guns were totally different, and one was minor and the other a Major load,

and I didn't feel any difference - I've never been very sensitive to minor recoil differences

(my .41 magnum feels different, and a .460 S&W magnum I fired once felt Different),

but didn't see much difference between those two loads.

 

I've heard that a .40 Minor in a heavy gun will feel lighter in recoil than a 9mm Minor load....

that's one reason some people shoot .40 minor rather than 9mm minor in Production.

 

Well, I'm going to try to get back to sleep - have visions of 9mm and .40 caliber recoils.

 

So Good Night - let's see what "the great minds" come up with when the sun comes up    :) 

 

thanks Hi-Power

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If you want numbers yo compare, I need the following;
bullet weight
bullet velocity
powder charde
gun weight
 
for each
 
Guy


Thanks for the offer, I found the calculator online. I had googled but didn't get the right wording to find it the first time.


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9mm

147 gr

925 fps

135 pf

recoil impulse-.68 lbs sec

recoil velocity-7.31 fps

recoil energy-2.49 ft lbs

 

40 cal

180 gr

725 fps

135 pf

recoil impulse-.67 lbs sec

recoil velocity-7.19 fps

recoil energy-2.41 ft lbs

 

In comparison:

40 cal

180 gr

950 fps

171 pf

recoil impulse-.85 lbs sec

recoil velocity-9.07 fps

recoil energy-3.84 ft lbs

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Wonder how the .40 major would make out in a heavier (STI) gun ...  ?
 
The only .40 major I shot, in an STI, felt about the same as my 9mm
minor loads in my BHP.


I used 36 oz gun for all of these for what it's worth


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Do these values include the powder charge?  Did they way what gas velocity they use?

 

My numbers vary a bit - though it is generally a relative comparison.  Looking at the Major load, for example, using your 36 ounce (2.3 pound) gun, I have the momentum as 0.85, as they show, but the gun velocity I show as 12.1 fps.  The corresponding recoil energy using the bullet alone, with no powder is 4.1 ft-lbs.  Assuming 5 grains of powder and a gas velocity of 4000 fps, recoil becomes 5.1 ft-lbs by my calculation.

 

Did they list the equation?  The calculation as shown in several references is a momentum balance to determine the gun velocity, then using that in the energy equation.

 

Thanks.

 

Guy

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I see one mistake I made, I used 3 lbs for gun weight, not 36 oz, my bad.
Yes it asked for powder charge as well. I used 3.2 gr for the 40 minor, 3.5 for 9, and 4.2 for 40 maj


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With the 36 ounce gun, and the values you give, I find;

 

Cartridge                    9mm          40          40

                                   Minor         Minor     Major

Bullet                          147            180        180

Velocity                       925            725        950

Charge                        3.5            3.2         4.2

Momentum                   0.67          0.64       0.84

Gun Velocity                9.5             9.1         11.9

Recoil (no charge)      2.6             2.4          4.1

Recoil (with charge)    3.2             2.9          5.0

 

Guy

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With the 36 ounce gun, and the values you give, I find;
 
Cartridge                    9mm          40          40
                                   Minor         Minor     Major
Bullet                          147            180        180
Velocity                       925            725        950
Charge                        3.5            3.2         4.2
Momentum                   0.67          0.64       0.84
Gun Velocity                9.5             9.1         11.9
Recoil (no charge)      2.6             2.4          4.1
Recoil (with charge)    3.2             2.9          5.0
 
Guy


Slight differences then, what site or method did you use to calculate?


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I calculate directly, beginning with finding the gun velocity with a momentum balance.  The gun momentum equals the ejecta momentum (bullet plus powder gases.  Once the gun velocity is obtained, insert it in the kinetic energy formula to get the free recoil energy.

 

It's described in Hatcher's Notebook as well as some other sources.

 

I've attached a brief description.Momentum balance   I put it into a spreadsheet some time back.

 

I hope it's helpful

 

Guy

Recoil Calc 6-23-17.pdf

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I calculate directly, beginning with finding the gun velocity with a momentum balance.  The gun momentum equals the ejecta momentum (bullet plus powder gases.  Once the gun velocity is obtained, insert it in the kinetic energy formula to get the free recoil energy.
 
It's described in Hatcher's Notebook as well as some other sources.
 
I've attached a brief description.Momentum balance   I put it into a spreadsheet some time back.
 
I hope it's helpful
 
Guy
Recoil Calc 6-23-17.pdf


Thanks, that's way above my pay grade ha ha. I depend on google too much.


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