Anyone work in a gunshop???

[DakotaElkSlayer]

Checking to see how gunshop workers, or anyone else would handle this...  Just started working at a local sports shop and a guy came in to special order a Ruger Alaskan.  This guy told me about how he likes to shoot the big stuff(500S&W)...  I asked him if he thought the .454 Alaskan was going to be "brutal", and he said that he already owned a long barrel .454 and the Alaskan wasn't going to recoil as badly.  "Since it has such a short barrel, the bullet will be slower and therefore the recoil will be less than my longer barreled revolver."
  I had yet to pick my jaw off the floor before he walked away.  If you were I, and you regained your composure quicker, what would you have said?

Jim

[Redhawk1]

In a way I agree with him. The bullet spends less time in shorter barreled gun and therefor has less recoil. When shooting a 8 3/8 inch 500 Mag and a 4 inch 500 Mag, I notice the recoil or should I say muzzle lift to be grater with the 8 3/8 inch barrel.  I had a custom made 454 Casull that was 2 1/2 inches long and the recoil was stout but in my opinion was not worst then when it was a 7 1/2 inch barrel. The weight of a Ruger Alaskan is still heavy as well is a 4 inch 500 Mag. What I did not agree with in his statement was because of the bullets speed. Yes the bullet in the shorter barrel is going to be slower but it leaves the barrel quicker being it is shorter. Less torque and muzzle lift. JMHO     I have worked in a gunshop and also help out a buddy in his shop for several years.

[Questor]

If guns chambered in 38 special are any indication, the snubbies do seem to recoil more than the ones with 6" barrels.

If it were me, I'd tell him that I had not compared the two and could not give him an authoritative answer. I'd then point out that the porting on the barrel would probably help, and suggest that the gun is intended to be a self defense gun with full power loads but could be fired with 45 Colt or reduced loads for practice. I'd also suggest that the lighter bullets might tend to give less recoil, but perhaps more muzzle flash.

In other words, I'd give him an opinion based on experience with other things.  I don't work in a gun shop but that's the kind of knowledgeable advice I like to get from people who do.

[Savage]

Shorter barrel=shorter recoil impulse. Now the muzzle blast-----------that's a different story. It too, is a factor in precieved recoil.
Savage

[Redhawk1]

Shorter barrel=shorter recoil impulse. Now the muzzle blast-----------that's a different story. It too, is a factor in precieved recoil.
Savage

Exactly what I was talking about.  I was shooting my 460's the other day and on my 7.5 inch PC model S&W that has a compensator, in my opinion  had more perceived recoil than my 5 inch 460 S&W Mag shooting the exact round in each. Now the shorter barrels seem to have more flash than the longer barrels.

[Questor]

Now that I've had a chance to think about it a bit, I'd be tempted to mention that a 454 Casull is a hard kicking pistol no matter how long the barrel.

Here's the response I'd expect to get from some of the gun shop guys in my area:
You ain't a man if you can't handle a little recoil from a real gun.  Whatsamatta, you some kind of wimp? It don't matter anyway. By the time you get that thing outta your holster, the bear will have you half eaten, har! har! har!

[DakotaElkSlayer]

I totally understand the point of the bullet going slower out of a short barrel, but what about all the weight that is lost from having a shorter barrel?  Never shot a ported pistol, but I do notice quite a bit more recoil from my 5.5" Vaquero when compared with my SBHH w/o scope that sports a 7.5" barrel.

Jim

[kyote]

customer is allways right....have him sign one of those lawyer speak forms holding you harmless for his activitys.just from shooting my 44 mags in differnt length barrels and my .357s in differnt length barrels.I always felt the shorter ones recoiled the most.I guess hurt the most might be more correct for me.

[Redhawk1]

I totally understand the point of the bullet going slower out of a short barrel, but what about all the weight that is lost from having a shorter barrel?  Never shot a ported pistol, but I do notice quite a bit more recoil from my 5.5" Vaquero when compared with my SBHH w/o scope that sports a 7.5" barrel.

Jim

Yes weight does affect recoil, but 2 inches of barrel at about 6 oz is not going to make much difference. What a lot of people perceive as recoil is, shorter barrels have more flash and a little louder.

[Prebanpaul]

i would agree with him the ut most.  point in hand the 45-70 was the most brutal and forgiving gun that I have ever shot.  Here you go, dont ever and i mean ever pull the trigger on a 45-70 14inch thompson center gun. It is brutal.  Now the other way,   the thunder five, (the ugliest gun ever) has a 2 inch 45-70. I can rapid fire the gun all day long and the recoil is nothing.  Here is why    barrel pressure.  The longer barrel allows the cartridge to build full pressure.  the short barrel does not.  when you build full pressure you will have the most recoil for particular round.  ohhhhhhhhhhh  yeah i work in a gun shop with a range.

[PaulS]

Recoil is a result of mass of ejecta and its velocity.
It really doesnt matter how much pressure there is inside the barrel and chamber.
You can prove this easily by loading your favorite revolver with a maximum load of bullseye and then load it with a load using all the same components but with the slowest burning powder recommended for that load - down-loaded to the same velocity as the Bullseye load. The load with the highest pressure is the bullseye load but the slower powder will use more grains of powder to get the same velocity and thus have more mass. The low pressure load will have more recoil than the high pressure Bullseye load.
(if you can notice the difference between the two at all.)

When comparing different arms and their recoil there are a lot of variables that affect FELT recoil. The rise of the barrel above the wrist, the velocity differences, the style and fit of the grip, and the way the guns are held.

[dougk]

I would have said "Ummm Interesting point, that will be $2,000"  Thinking to myself  how many times is he really going to shoot this. 

[DWTim]

One thing to add: I'd bet the grips on the Alaskan would make a difference in perceived recoil, but probably won't lessen muzzle flip.

Aside from that, I love people like this, and I'd let him buy it if he wants to. He obviously has some experience with a hard-kicking gun, but the best ones just buy a cannon based on the 'coolness factor'. This is great in two ways. 1) The manufacturer, distributor and gun shop all get a cut of the guy's disposable income. 2) When he soils himself at the range and decides to sell it six months later, I get to buy a near-new gun for a big discount. See? It all works out.

[williamlayton]

If we all fell in love with the same woman it would be a hell of a fist fight.
The correlation to that is, would you ask someone why he would marry such an ugly woman?
Leave it alone, life is too short to argue with everbody about everything. If he is wrong he will find out soon enough and scoffing at him for his opinion will not make him a satisfied customer.
HE did not seek advice from you, according from to the post. Why do you think you have need to say anything---unless what he is thinking would be potentally harmful to him or someone else?
Blessings

[Savage]

Good council William!

Savage