slide weight vs total weight

[Zeaken]

I have been doing a lot of reading up on the great debate of gun weight and slide weight and just wanted to get your guys feedback on if what i am thinking makes sense.

I don't have any experience with slide lightened pistols but I do have experience reducing the reciprocating mass of a rifle. From what I understand for rifles ideally what you want is really light reciprocating mass with a total weight of the rifle balanced best for the shooter on reducing recoil impulse but not slowing down the speed of how the rifle moves from target to target. Specifically this mass seems to be centered on the rifle and is undesirable on the front end or the rear.

Pistols tend to have a much higher ratio of reciprocating mass vs total mass but I think the same general concept applies. So assuming the total mass is where you shoot best at, if you decrease the reciprocating mass but leave the the total net mass the same would it generally result in a better handling firearm or would it turn into some kind of wash/shooters preference?

[zzt]

Pistols and rifles don't compare. The typical pistol barrel sits much higher in the hand (axis of rotation) relatively speaking than a rifle bore sits above the shoulder. Since you are referring to semi autos, reducing reciprocation mass has a decided effect on performance. The less mass you have, the quicker the slide operates, the flatter the gun shoots and the sooner the sights realign.

I prefer balanced pistols for almost everything, and very slightly muzzle heavy pistols for USPSA Limited.

[Pfiddy]

I think he meant it compares in the sense of less weight reciprocating equals less enertia/movement of the firearm overall. In which case I would agree. Also agree that total weight vs weight distribution is not apples to apples.

Sounds like he is talking himself into spending some coin on an upgraded pistol