Does recoil still bother you?

[kalibear]

Okay, I've been in the firearms hobby for several years now and have spent many a fun times at the range. I've been lucky enough to have owned and tried out various handguns ranging in calibers. I think he most painful one I've shot was a Smith 329PD with full power .44 magnum loads. Another crazy one was a .454 Casull revolver but it was heavy and took most of the "snap" off.

Right now I mostly shoot 9mm and .45 (Glock & 1911) with factory rounds. For me, it seems second nature now (the recoil) I don't even think about it when I shoot, doesn't bother me at all. My hand does get tired after shooting .45 for a while say in the 200-300 rd range but I rarely shoot that many rounds in one session.

I still observe other shooters flinching and squinting their eyes from the recoil but I guess after a while you get used to it.

[markymark]

.40 used to bother me a lot when I started. I enjoy it now. I'd like to try a .44 mag to see how that feels.

[JawBone]

Bother me? Heck, I love it. Recoil keeps it interesting - otherwise I'd be shooting air guns.

[Fjold]

Absolutely. Recoil is something you have to consider everytime you squeeze the trigger. It's part of my shooting routine to think about it just to make sure that I don't develop bad habits.

I was shooting a single shot air pistol the other day and put the safety on because the target fell over. After I fixed it I picked up the air pistol again, sighted and watched the front sight dip 1/2 an inch when I squeezed because I had forgotten to take the safety off.

I don't know if I was anticipating recoil or just the force on the trigger pulled it down but either way it is not the right thing to do. I spent an extra 10 minutes working on trigger control to make sure.

[WallySparx]

am i the only who who doesn't enjoy .22lr due to the lack of recoil?

[Californio]

Reloads for target, to supress bad habits, and power for hunting, no recoil problem when you are pumped. I also have a heavy barrel .22 to keep the muscles in my old arms in shape

[Wulf]

Lots of rounds down range can help you develop some immunity to it.

However,I think that people that have the most obvious flinches are not so much reacting to the recoil, as they are to the mere fact that they have a gun in their hands. Some people just get hopelessly "buzzed" from merely holding the gun that smooth competent trigger work is beyond them.

IIRC, In one of his writings Cooper advocated that gun handlers carry an unloaded weapon around the house with them while they went about their daily chores, when they were home alone. The idea was that you could develop a level of comfort, and familiarity with the item when you are focused on some other task that would translate into a more peaceful state of mind when handling a loaded weapon.

[savasyn]

The only thing that still bothers me is .44 Mag. I've never shot any of the hotter rounds like the .454. I'd lke to try .44 special sometime just to see, but I have no use for the .44 Mag. Just shooting 50 rounds out of a 6" M29 had my hand hurting for a day. It wasn't fun or even interesting.
For some reason, I still do it every few years just to remind myself of that.
Normal calibers don't bother me at all anymore.

[BamBam-31]

Not really. I think I've got enough rounds downrange that recoil doesn't trump muscle memory any more.

[Black Majik]

I can get a little weary from a long days shooting and build a slight flinch towards the end. I'll dryfire in between strings to re-trick my mind. As to recoil, I'm used to it... doesn't really bother me. I like big bore guns, but I'll flinch like a mutha on them.

[matarlegoate]

Recoil from the normal weapons I fire isn't bothersome to me....however, occasionally I shoot something odd....Like my 340 PD snubbie with full power .357 rounds....that is just painful enough to be unpleasant.

Normal sized firearms with .45 or .40 rounds are what I prefer to shoot. One .40 that I don't consider "fun" to shoot is my baby Glock .40. It's just snappy enough that I find myself flinching after about 50 rounds.

The other day I took out my Glock 19 that I hadn't shot in years...It was actually pretty fun to shoot and seemed to lack any recoil compared to what I was used to. It was a fun shooting session.

I did watch some idiots shooting a 500 S&W next to me on an indoor ranger yesterday. It was something of a contest between the 3 of them to prove who was a man and could fire more rounds. The pathetic thing was that they were having a hard time hitting a man target at 10 yards because they were jerking the gun all over the place trying to fire it. I'm not sure when trying to endure maximum recoil became a test of manhood, but I guess I'll just pass and remain a sissy.

[The SoCal Gunner]

The largest caliber I have for pistols is .45acp. My 1911s bother me after awhile mostly because the grip starts hurting my hand. My Glock is more comfortable to shoot but with enough rounds down range, I notice that my hand begins to get a little shaky with all my .45s. My .40s&w does not bother me and with 9mm I don't even notice recoil.

[Full Clip]

I have friends with .454s and .44 mags. Not fun to shoot at all after about three rounds each. I'll keep my .45s, .22LR and .38 spc, thanks.

[sammy]

I am a puss. I don't know if it is the bang or the recoil but I have a flinch thet will not go away. At 15 yards I can shoot a 6" jagged hole but I can't improve on that.

[psriley]

Recoil doesn't bother me, per se, in fact it's one of the most fun parts of shooting. My favorite at the moment is my Smith .357 with full-boat loads.

I do sometimes get flinchy toward the end of a range session. So I try to limit my round count on the 1911 and .357 to 100/50 respectively. I'll also take along a 9mm or an AR carbine sometimes just to break things up a bit. I think just about everyone gets flinchy now and then. The trick is learning to recognize it and master it.