{"id":11430,"date":"2023-06-01T17:46:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T21:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?p=11430"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:48:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:48:35","slug":"how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/","title":{"rendered":"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then? Could a loose grip cause bullets to impact higher on the target? We used a high speed camera to help figure out what&#8217;s really going on in the eyeblink after you pull the trigger.<\/p> <p>Details are in the video below, or scroll down to read the full transcript.<\/p> <div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async><\/script><\/p> <noscript class=\"idle-load\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 28px 0;position:relative;\"> <div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"> <div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_jvul8602qn dnt=1 seo=false videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"> <div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/jvul8602qn\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\" \/><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div><\/noscript> <\/div> <hr \/> <p>Hey everybody, I am Chris Baker from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\">LuckyGunner.com<\/a> and today we\u2019re going to look at how recoil affects accuracy in handguns. Now, that\u2019s a pretty broad topic. Practically speaking, there are lots of ways recoil affects accuracy. Most of them are related to the shooter\u2019s technique. Recoil moves the sights off target and it can move the gun in our hand. It can cause recoil anticipation or pre-ignition push. We have to apply good shooting techniques to counteract those effects.<\/p> <p>But today, I want to focus on an aspect of recoil that\u2019s mostly out of our control. Does recoil have an objective, mechanical effect on the bullet\u2019s point of impact? Or, to phrase it another way, does the muzzle begin to rise before the bullet leaves the barrel. And if so, does it rise enough to cause a noticeable change in where the bullet ends up?<\/p> <p>I\u2019ll go ahead and tell you up front that, regardless of the answer, there is not a whole lot of practical application here for the average shooter. This is something gun nerds debate on occasion. We\u2019re going to have fun finding out the answer. But for shooting handguns at typical handgun distances, it doesn\u2019t matter much. There are a couple of very narrow use-cases where it might come into play, and I\u2019ll get to those at the end.<\/p> <p>To aid us in our mostly useless quest, we\u2019ve called upon some assistance from a Chronos 2.1-HD high speed camera. We did one batch of shots at 4370 frames per second, which is 182 times slower than real time. Then we did a second batch of shots with a lower resolution at just over 10,000 frames per second, or 437 times slower than real time. If we crank up the frame rate any higher than that, the resolution gets too fuzzy to really tell what\u2019s going on.<\/p> <p>Okay, back to our big question: does the bullet leave the barrel before the muzzle rises? It depends on the gun.<\/p> <h3><strong>Semi-Autos<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Let\u2019s start with a semi-auto. This is a 9mm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/the-sig-p365-xl-a-really-good-pistol\/\">Sig P365 XL<\/a>. I\u2019ll just let it play through in real time first. And here it is in slow motion. There goes the bullet, and there\u2019s plenty of recoil. The gun wants to move straight back. The shooter\u2019s hand stops that rearward motion, so the gun takes the path of least resistance, which is up. The result is a rotational movement, or what we sometimes call muzzle rise.<\/p> <p>But let\u2019s go back and look at it frame by frame. Did that rotation start before the bullet exited the barrel? First, we see a little smoke, and then a couple of frames later\u2026 there we go. That gray blur there is the bullet. Let\u2019s back it up one frame when we know for sure the bullet is still in the barrel. If we compare that to our last pre-ignition frame, we can see the slide and barrel have started to move to the rear while the bullet is still in the barrel, but we\u2019re not seeing any of that rotational movement yet. There is no upward movement of the barrel. That doesn\u2019t start until right about\u2026 here, and by then the bullet is already out of the frame.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sig-recoil.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sig-recoil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"995\" height=\"830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sig-recoil.jpg 995w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sig-recoil-539x450.jpg 539w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sig-recoil-768x641.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 995px) 100vw, 995px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>So, for the Sig, at least, it looks like muzzle rise should not be a factor in the bullet\u2019s point of impact.<\/p> <p>Let\u2019s look at another semi-auto. This is the new .380 Beretta Cheetah 80X that I\u2019m in the process of reviewing. This gun has a straight blowback operated action. The Sig was recoil-operated. Let\u2019s see if that makes any difference in when the muzzle rise begins.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/beretta-recoil-1.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/beretta-recoil-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/beretta-recoil-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/beretta-recoil-1-570x450.jpg 570w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/beretta-recoil-1-768x606.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>There goes the hammer and there\u2019s the bullet. Before I even go frame by frame, you could probably see what happened there. With a blowback pistol, the barrel doesn\u2019t move with the slide, it stays locked to the frame. There\u2019s the bullet right there. We back up a frame, compare it to the frame when the hammer stopped moving. There\u2019s slide movement, but the barrel hasn\u2019t moved at all. The rotational movement doesn\u2019t begin until the slide is almost completely open.<\/p> <h3><strong>Revolvers<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Okay, you know what\u2019s coming next. What about revolvers? We\u2019ve got a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/ruger-gp100-match-champion\/\">Ruger GP100<\/a> and let\u2019s start with a really mild load. This is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/38-special-148-grain-hbwc-black-hills-ammunition-500-rounds\">.38 Special 148-grain wadcutter from Black Hills<\/a>. It\u2019s puttering along at 660 feet per second with almost no muzzle flash, so it\u2019s pretty easy to see. Let\u2019s go frame by frame. There\u2019s the bullet. Back up a frame. Compare it to the pre-ignition frame. There is definitely some rotational movement there while the bullet is still in the barrel.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil-600x439.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil-1024x748.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/wadcutter-recoil-768x561.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>But how much movement, and is it enough to really matter? I tried a half dozen different methods for measuring the change in the barrel\u2019s angle and I wasn\u2019t really satisfied with any of them. We would need a high speed camera capable of much higher resolution and framerate in order to measure that accurately. And that\u2019s not in the budget right now.<\/p> <p>But my best estimate is that the barrel moves roughly .2 to .3 degrees before the bullet exits. That doesn\u2019t sound like much, but at 25 yards, that translates to a point of impact that\u2019s between 3.1 and 4.7 inches higher than if the muzzle had remained in place.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-angle-shift-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>So let\u2019s say you locked the gun in some kind of mechanical rest so that it could not move, and you zeroed the sights to be dead-on at 25 yards. If you took the gun out and shot it with your hands, you would be hitting three to five inches high.<\/p> <p>Now, that wadcutter was moving pretty slow. What if we tried a magnum round? Would it exit the barrel before the muzzle rises? This is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/remington-357-mag-ammo-for-sale-357mag125jspremumc-50\">Remington 125-grain jacketed soft point<\/a> moving at 1400 feet per second. It definitely spends less time in the barrel compared to the wadcutter. Only five frames versus nine. But there does still seem to be some rotational movement taking place before the bullet exits.<\/p><p><\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-4\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil-600x427.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil-1024x729.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/magnum-recoil-768x547.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>So muzzle rise does influence the point of impact for revolvers. The degree of that influence probably changes depending on the load you\u2019re shooting, although it\u2019s hard to see that in our high speed footage. But we know a slower bullet will spend longer in the barrel, which means it should rise more before the bullet exits. That\u2019s at least one of the reasons slower bullets typically have a higher point of impact than faster ones.<\/p> <p>Theoretically, a bullet that recoils more (like a magnum) might have more muzzle rise before the bullet exits. That could be a factor. But looking at the footage of our wadcutter and magnum, there is not much difference in the amount of rotational movement of the gun in that short period while the bullet is still in the barrel. I\u2019m inclined to believe the amount of time the bullet spends in the barrel is more important than the magnitude of the recoil because most of that recoil happens after the bullet is gone.<\/p> <h3>Can Grip Influence Point of Impact Shift?<\/h3> <p>So what about grip? Does a firm grip cause less muzzle rise than a loose grip? I tried firing a magnum load with a firm two-handed grip and again with a loose one-handed grip. Obviously, the loose grip allowed a lot more rotation overall. I could not really tell a difference in the amount of movement before the bullet exited.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/grip-comparison.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-5\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/grip-comparison.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/grip-comparison.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/grip-comparison-500x450.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/grip-comparison-768x691.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>What I did notice is that no matter how hard I gripped the gun or how little or how much recoil the gun had, the grip appeared to move in my hand before my hand reacted. Our hands are covered in squishy things like skin, fat, and muscle, so they\u2019re always going to have some give. Regardless of how tight you squeeze, the gun will be able to move at least a tiny bit before it encounters the full resistance of your grip.<\/p> <p>Having said that, I did not want to dismiss grip as a possible factor in shifting the point of impact.<\/p> <h3>The Sandbag Test<\/h3> <p>So I tried Plan B. Instead of gripping the gun differently, I tried firing with sandbags for support. First, with only the frame of the gun supported, and then again with an additional sandbag under the grip. I compressed it down as much as possible so the grip was firmly planted on that sandbag. This is not the same as immobilizing the gun. The sandbag does not prevent that rotational movement, but I figured it would cause the gun to recoil in a different way. If that was enough to alter the point of impact, then I think it stands to reason that it\u2019s at least possible that the way you grip the gun could also change the point of impact.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sandbag-test-1.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-6\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sandbag-test-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"788\" height=\"845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sandbag-test-1.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sandbag-test-1-420x450.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/sandbag-test-1-768x824.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>Here it is first without the bottom sandbag. The rotation looks pretty much the same as shooting unsupported. Now, with the bottom sandbag, it\u2019s a little different. The gun moves back and then up. Again, this is not something I could easily measure and compare based on our high speed footage. Instead, I just shot some groups at 25 yards.<\/p> <p>Here\u2019s a five shot group with the Black Hills wadcutter at 25 yards. First with the bottom sandbag supporting the grip. And another group without the bottom support. That\u2019s about three and a half inches higher than the first group. It looks like that bottom sandbag delayed the muzzle rise, which caused the lower point of impact.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-wadcutter-2.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-7\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11436\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-wadcutter-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-wadcutter-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-wadcutter-2-600x281.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-wadcutter-2-768x360.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>And now the Remington 125-grain Magnum load. With grip support on the left, without it on the right. About two and a half inches higher. Same effect as the slower bullet, but with less muzzle rise, maybe because of less time in the barrel.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-magnum.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-8\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-magnum.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-magnum.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-magnum-600x287.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/target-magnum-768x367.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p> <p>So what can we take away from all of this? For most of us, not much, except that shooting is fun and so are high speed cameras. But if you like to shoot revolvers at 25 yards and beyond, there might be something here. It\u2019s probably a good idea to make sure your grip is unsupported if you zero your revolver from a bench rest. Always confirm your bench rest zero by shooting a couple of groups without the bench. Any time you\u2019re shooting at those longer ranges, try to make sure you grip the gun exactly the same way every time. And of course, the next time you need some ammo, be sure to get it from us with lightning fast shipping at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\">LuckyGunner.com<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[216,6],"tags":[317,21,202,318,42,463],"class_list":["post-11430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wheel-gun-wednesday","category-toolbox","tag-ballistics","tag-handguns","tag-high-speed","tag-recoil","tag-revolvers","tag-semi-auto"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lucky Gunner Lounge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-01T21:46:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-13T18:48:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Baker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Baker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\",\"name\":\"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-01T21:46:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-13T18:48:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7\"},\"description\":\"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":944},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/\",\"name\":\"Lucky Gunner Lounge\",\"description\":\"Reliable shooting advice for regular people.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7\",\"name\":\"Chris Baker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Baker\"},\"description\":\"Chris Baker joined the Lucky Gunner team in 2011 and, among other roles, serves as the editor of Lucky Gunner Lounge. Chris has a broad interest in all types of\u00a0shooting activities, but he's most passionate about firearms as tools for personal protection. Prior to working for Lucky Gunner full time, Chris taught basic handgun skills and concealed carry permit classes to a diverse range of clients in his home state of North Carolina. He is a Rangemaster-certified Shotgun and Advanced Handgun Instructor and NRA Handgun Instructor. His ongoing pursuit of knowledge in the shooting world has included over 500 hours of professional firearms and self-defense training from instructors like Ken Hackathorn, Tom Givens, Ernest Langdon, Craig Douglas, Gabe White, Darryl Bolke, Wayne Dobbs, Chuck Haggard, Claude Werner, John Hearne, Jim Higginbotham, Kyle DeFoor, and Randy Cain,\u00a0among others.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/author\/chris\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy","description":"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy","og_description":"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/","og_site_name":"Lucky Gunner Lounge","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris","article_published_time":"2023-06-01T21:46:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-13T18:48:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":944,"url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Baker","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Baker","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/","name":"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-01T21:46:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-13T18:48:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7"},"description":"Does recoil cause the muzzle to rise while the bullet is still in the barrel, or is the bullet long gone by then?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/recoil-affects-accuracy-featured.jpg","width":2160,"height":944},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/how-recoil-affects-handgun-accuracy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Recoil Affects Handgun Accuracy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/","name":"Lucky Gunner Lounge","description":"Reliable shooting advice for regular people.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/e5f16064c8ef9168e878956da3123dc7","name":"Chris Baker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/media\/chris-profile-96x96.jpg","caption":"Chris Baker"},"description":"Chris Baker joined the Lucky Gunner team in 2011 and, among other roles, serves as the editor of Lucky Gunner Lounge. Chris has a broad interest in all types of\u00a0shooting activities, but he's most passionate about firearms as tools for personal protection. Prior to working for Lucky Gunner full time, Chris taught basic handgun skills and concealed carry permit classes to a diverse range of clients in his home state of North Carolina. He is a Rangemaster-certified Shotgun and Advanced Handgun Instructor and NRA Handgun Instructor. His ongoing pursuit of knowledge in the shooting world has included over 500 hours of professional firearms and self-defense training from instructors like Ken Hackathorn, Tom Givens, Ernest Langdon, Craig Douglas, Gabe White, Darryl Bolke, Wayne Dobbs, Chuck Haggard, Claude Werner, John Hearne, Jim Higginbotham, Kyle DeFoor, and Randy Cain,\u00a0among others.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lucky.gunner.chris"],"url":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11430"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11446,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11430\/revisions\/11446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}