I'm a firearms enthusiast...Ask me anything!!

[Aleks]

Alright, its about high time that I start this up. I would like to focus more on education of firearms law, firearms usage, and general questions to help out my fellow board mates.

I'm sure its inevitable, but if we could keep the political pandering to a minimum and keep this more fact based, it would be appreciated. I am guilty of expressing an often controversial opinion on current events, but I beg you to understand I have only the best intention of hopefully helping people understand, not to convert people to shooters, just be comfortable with the notion that we are good people.

So please, fire away (no pun intended). Ask technical, general trivia, anything , lets get along!

[metallicat]

What do you do for a living?

[frinkprof]

Did you send this message from your Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk?

[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?

[simmonjam1]

What's the best multi purpose round for hunting deer, moose, etc? 7mm, .308, ?

[Calgaryborn]

Are you American or Canadian?

[Lobotroth]

Do guns kill people?

[Yeah_Baby]

If guns were outlawed, would only outlaws have guns?

[Wormius]

Is the Auto-9 in the Robocop movie a real gun?

[evman150]

Did you really just make an "ask me anything" thread then ghost for 20 minutes?

[Canada 02]

Been to the Stampede yet?

[Aleks]

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?

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)

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by Aleks

So please, fire away (no pun intended). Ask technical, general trivia, anything , lets get along!

I think there was a pun in ten did. Was there?

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Aleks

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).

I probably didn't specify enough, but I meant from the designer's point of view. If in the prototyping stage, there were concerns with the design because of the moment, what steps would generally be taken to reduce it?

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by simmonjam1

What's the best multi purpose round for hunting deer, moose, etc? 7mm, .308, ?

Well, most simply put, .308 is plenty big for a deer, and still large enough for moose/elk, and quite frankly cheaper than 7mm, and a milder round in terms of shooter comfort (read: recoil)

The "etc" is the hard part, because there is no real do it all round (hunting regs are usually a good indicator of that). The problem is there are alot of personal preferences when it comes to round type, because everyone is different (ie" do you have budget for 1 gun? 2 guns? handloading?). I'd be more inclined to use something like a .243 or .270 and span animals from coyotes to deer (Elk if you're a damn good shot and put it where it needs to be). Moose and Elk are getting big, and need larger calibres such as .300mag, .308, 7mm, etc.

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

Are you American or Canadian?

Canadian

[saskflames69]

Are you Charlton Heston?

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by Lobotroth

Do guns kill people?

Mine haven't had an inkling of going off on their own ever. I've stood there, called them names, given them the finger, tried everything...They just sit there... I can confidently say, no.

Flying projectiles will, those include baseballs, baseball bats, rocks, aircraft lavatory missiles, large hail, etc.

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by evman150

Did you really just make an "ask me anything" thread then ghost for 20 minutes?

Meant to be an open thread....They usually stay open for a while....I anticipate this one will as well

[Aleks]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

If guns were outlawed, would only outlaws have guns?

Yes. But if guns were outlawed, many gun owners would not surrender their property, so in essence becoming outlaws....its like the twilight zone....

But in all seriousness, firearm prohibitions have done very little to ever prevent the criminal element on possessing or using firearms.