Quote:
Originally Posted by kirant
I've always been curious on the concept of balancing a gun's kick. Most guns I've seen people use are bottom heavy, meaning they'll have their centre of mass lower than the gun's barrel, meaning an upward (Clockwise moment if the gun was facing left on a piece of paper). Where are the typically "normal" places to add weight (or strip it)? Or is a small kick generally just ignored instead?
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Recoil is always relative to the round being fired, the mass of the firearm, and the control of the operator.
There are multiple angles that can be taken, but you'll typically not "add mass" to a gun to reduce recoil, the reason being that it becomes impractical to carry around (or just plain annoying).
Positioning the firearm correctly in your stance is the first step to take, ensuring the butt pad of the firearm is resting mid to outside collarbone, preferably lower in the chest (your shoulder will thank you). Ensure you have a proper cheek plant on the stock, and if needed scope rings can be purchased at different heights to make up for your own "personal geometry". Ensuring you are "absorbing" the recoil as best as possible is a good step to having a reduced sensation of recoil.
Second off, using rests will often reduce the perceived recoil, as you don't have the exaggerated motion of a standing or kneeling firing position.
Thirdly, and by far the most common for reducing recoil is to use a muzzle brake on the end of your barrel, a directionally ported vent that uses muzzle gasses to counter the direction of recoil. They obviously have to be installed correctly, and they do have some not so nice side effects, primarily being obnoxiously loud to your fellow shooters, as well as debris blast depending on your shooting position. To take this one step further, barrel porting can be done for a hefty fee (is common in competition pistols, but still possible on rifles), and is a big help.
I would say that some firearms just have bad recoil, and you just have to get used to it, or find another rifle in the same calibre that is heavier from the factory, or has different materials (avoid synthetic stocks on larger calibres), or simply positions on your body better (natural pointers)