Bullet weight

W16OEN

Well-Known Member
Might sound like a daft question but does bullet weight affect recoil?

Take my 243, would I notice any difference in the recoil using 100gr for deer as opposed to 58gr for charlie?

Thanks all.
 
Bullet weight is one of the biggest factors in "felt recoil".

I used to know the formula off by heart but that was over 20 yrs ago :eek: (that's what happens when you get bitten by the reloading bug)

Its all down to Newtons third law, with a bit of his second law to add to the math!

If the same load of powder is used to push two different bullets down the range, then the heavier bullet will produce more energy.
In VERY basic terms, more energy forward equates to more energy backwards (to add to the confusion, I am talking about energy created by the bullet in both directions, rather than energy created by powder to move the bullet)

You could start to factor in velocities, but things get very complicated and I will end up typing for far too long ;)

You only need look through the discussions on this forum regarding the "best" cartridge to effect an instant knock down on a deer to realise while ballistics have set laws to describe/predict actions, there is a huge hole in them for personal choice/experience/good luck/bad luck!

That probably reads much worse than it sounds in my head, so I apologise in advance :oops:

An EXTREMELY basic formula I was told when I started shooting (and one I have no intention of defending! ;) ) is this

small = fast, flat shooting, light recoil
big = slow, big drop, heavy recoil
 
I would be very surprised if you felt any recoil from any bullet in a .243 and if you have a sound moderator mounted on it then I guarrantee you won't feel any.
 
I would be very surprised if you felt any recoil from any bullet in a .243

I totally agree. What you may get, with shorter barrels, is muzzle blast. But recoil? No! It doesn't really seem to be an issue until the bullet weight gets up above 150 grains.
 
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