Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

's or

airgun An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...

's muzzle (front end of the

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, caused by combined

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

from multiple shots being fired in quick succession. It has an adverse effect on maintaining accuracy with using

automatic weapon An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firea ...

s or rapid-firing

semi-automatic firearm A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm ( fully automatic and selective fire firearms are also variations on self-loading firearms), is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a follo ...

s, as a moving muzzle can throw off the shooter's aim, causing subsequent shots to miss the intended target.

Reason

The primary reason for muzzle rise is that for nearly all guns, the bore axis (longitudinal centerline of the barrel) is above the gun's

center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the d ...

, while the contact points between the shooter and the gun (e.g. grips and stock) are often all below the center of mass. When the gun is fired, the bullet motion and the escaping propellant gases exert a

reaction Reaction may refer to a process or to a response to an action, event, or exposure. Physics and chemistry *Chemical reaction *Nuclear reaction *Reaction (physics), as defined by Newton's third law * Chain reaction (disambiguation) Biology and ...

directly backwards along the bore axis, while the countering forward push from the shooter's hands and body are well below it. This creates a rotational couple, exerting a

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

around the center of mass that causes the gun to pitch upwards, causing the muzzle to elevate. Muzzle rise can be reduced, though generally only through trading off other qualities. Methods include * adding more ergonomic contact points (such as a sling, an "inline"-style

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...

, or a

foregrip A vertical forward grip or foregrip is a vertical pistol grip mounted on the fore-end of a long-barrel firearm, designed for grasp A grasp is an act of taking, holding or seizing firmly with (or as if with) the hand. An example of a grasp is ...

), or employing a "thumb-over-bore" grip, for more efficient exertion of anti-recoil forces * reducing the vertical distance between the barrel and the contact points * lowering the recoil by using less powerful cartridges * lowering the recoil by lowering the

rate of fire Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. This can be influenced by several factors, including operator training level, mechanical limitations, ammunition availability, and weapon condition. In m ...

of fully automatic weapons, or supplanting the full-auto mode with burst firing * lowering the backward recoil with devices such as

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral (ported barrel) to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter re ...

s, which

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

away part of the overall recoil * lowering the recoil with a

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

, which slows down the escaping propellant gas and reduces the backward recoil force * compensating for the couple using a recoil compensator, a

ported barrel A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral (ported barrel) to the construction of, the firearm muzzle, muzzle or gun barrel, barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of pro ...

or other asymmetric muzzle fixtures, which vector some of the propellant gas upwards to create a reactional downward torque on the muzzle * increasing the

moment of inertia The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular/rotational mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is defined relatively to a rotational axis. It is the ratio between ...

by attaching additional weight to the muzzle end; it is unusual to do this expressly, although a suppressor or compensator accomplishes it as a collateral effect * increasing the rate of fire of burst-fired firearms to give the muzzle rise less time to affect the shot placements

Designs

A number of firearms have been designed specifically to address the issue of muzzle rise. The Jatimatic

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

is an example of a firearm where the

bore axis The bore axis of a firearm is the longitudinal axis through the geometric center of the gun barrel. In a rifling, rifled barrel, the projectile (bullet/round shot, ball, pellet (air gun), pellet or shotgun slug, slug) will spin around the bore axis ...

is inclined against the bolt and the rest of the firearm in order to redirect the recoil force slightly upwards. The KRISS Vector submachine gun uses a more elaborate mechanical articulated mechanism which allows the block and bolt to recoil not just rearward like most other firearms, but back and then 'vectored' down off-axis along a rail system behind the weapon's magazine well to reduce muzzle rise and felt recoil. The Hudson H9, introduced in 2017, is based on the

M1911 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early hist ...

but has the recoil spring down in front of the

trigger guard A trigger guard is a protective loop surrounding the trigger (firearms), trigger of a firearm designed to prevent unwanted contact with the trigger, which may cause an accidental discharge. Other devices that use a trigger-like actuator mechanism, ...

, resulting in a barrel very close to the top of the shooter's grip, with the creator claiming that, "the recoil impulse from that recoil spring is directed into the meat of your hand."

Gallery

Image:Csa04katherine500smith1.jpg, The recoil from the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge inducing significant muzzle rise during firing a Smith & Wesson Model 500

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

. File:500 Linebaugh shooting.jpg, The recoil from the .500 Linebaugh cartridge inducing significant muzzle rise during firing a Ruger Bisley revolver. File:Beretta m9.jpg,

Beretta M9 The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1 ...

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

exhibiting muzzle rise just after firing a

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...

cartridge. File:Custom XD-40 V-10.jpg,

Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the M1A and imports handguns such as the XD series ...

, custom with ported barrel and slide intended to reduce muzzle rise File:FG42.jpg, The

FG 42 The FG 42 (German language, German: ''Fallschirmjägergewehr'' 42, "paratrooper rifle 42") is a selective fire, selective-fire 7.92×57mm Mauser automatic rifle produced in Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapon was developed specifically ...

battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to differentiate automatic rifles chambered for fully powered cartridges from automatic rifles cha ...

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of Self-loading rifle, autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic firearm, automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally selective fire, select-fire weapons capable of firing in Semi-automatic firearm, semi ...

was one of the first inline fire arms incorporating a "straight-line" recoil configuration to reduce muzzle rise. File:AKM and MP5K.JPEG, An AKM

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

asymmetric slant cut muzzle fixture designed to counteract muzzle rise (and muzzle climb) during (automatic) firing. File:Steyr lp10.jpg, The barrel of the Steyr LP 10 PCP air pistol has three holes drilled on top along its length to counteract muzzle rise.

References

{{Reflist

External links

GunTweaks.com - Handgun Recoil Characteristics and Lowering Felt Recoil

.45 ACP Revolver vs Pistol Recoil Slow Motion video
Firearm terminology