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Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
's or
airgun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''c ...
'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 staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, caused by combined recoil from multiple shots being fired in quick succession. It has an adverse effect on maintaining accuracy with using
automatic weapon An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...
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 fol ...
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 balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
, 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 reactional
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, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
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 Couple or couples may refer to : Basic meaning *Couple (app), a mobile app which provides a mobile messaging service for two people *Couple (mechanics), a system of forces with a resultant moment but no resultant force *Couple (relationship), tw ...
, exerting a
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
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 sling may refer to: Places * Sling, Anglesey, Wales * Sling, Gloucestershire, England, a small village in the Forest of Dean People with the name * Otto Šling (1912–1952), repressed Czech communist functionary Arts, entertainment, and media ...
, 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 attache ...
, or a foregrip), 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 brakes, which vector away part of the overall recoil * lowering the recoil with a suppressor, which slows down the escaping propellant gas and reduces the backward recoil force * compensating for the couple using a
recoil compensator A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral 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 recoil and unwant ...
, a ported barrel 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 mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a desired angular accele ...
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 is an example of a firearm where 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 M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
but has the recoil spring down in front of the trigger guard, 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 (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that has at least one gun barrel, barrel and uses a revolving cylinder (firearms), cylinder containing multiple chamber (firearms), chambers (each holding a single ...
. File:500 Linebaugh shooting.jpg, The recoil from the
.500 Linebaugh The .500 Linebaugh is a .50 caliber handgun cartridge designed for use in revolvers. It is considered one of the most powerful handgun cartridges designed in terms of kinetic energy and power factor (momentum). History The .500 Linebaugh cartri ...
cartridge inducing significant muzzle rise during firing a
Ruger Bisley The Ruger Blackhawk is a six-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths. History In the early 1950s, Westerns were popular in movies and television. Colt ...
revolver. File:Beretta m9.jpg, Beretta M9
semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...
exhibiting muzzle rise just after firing a
9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun ...
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 seri ...
, custom with ported barrel and slide intended to reduce muzzle rise File:FG42.jpg, The
FG 42 The FG 42 (German: ''Fallschirmjägergewehr'' 42, "paratrooper rifle 42") is a selective-fire 7.92×57mm Mauser automatic rifle produced in Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapon was developed specifically for the use of the ''Fallschirm ...
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 better differentiate the intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the StG-44, AK-47, M16, ...
/ automatic rifle 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 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

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External links


GunTweaks.com - Handgun Recoil Characteristics and Lowering Felt Recoil

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