Perceived recoil is mostly related to the weight and velocity of the projectile. Some Brit named Newton had a theory that went something like "for every action, there's an an equal and opposite blah, blah, blah" :lol:
After years of IPSC Limited class shooting with .45s I found that the heavier bullets at relatively slow speeds produced the "softest" perceived recoil while still making the required "power factor" (bullet weight x velocity) for competition. For example, my softest shooting competition load was a 230 grain LRN behind 4.1 grains of Clays shotgun powder making about 770 fps. This made major power factor but felt like a .22 compared to the lighter/faster bullet combos making the exact same power factor - and I tried about every combination there was to gain some advantage.
Now I'm shooting IDPA matches with my M9/S9 and I find the exact same situation. When I first got my S9 I was using WWB 115 grain from Wally-World. For 9mm, I find this is quite a stout load IMHO. Now I am buying Lancer Competition Ammo in 147 grain running about 895 FPS (easily making SSP class power factor of 125,000) and I swear it feels as if it has almost half the recoil of the WWB 115s.
I actually did a back-to-back comparison of this round with Winchester Ranger T 147 grain (RA9T), which is about the most effective self-defense 9mm IMHO, and found the recoil difference almost negligible. The WWB 115 felt like it had significantly more recoil/muzzle flip/shot-to-shot recovery time than the Ranger T.
A couple of other things to consider are muzzle blast and supersonic rounds. I believe part of the reason the WWB 115 feels like a stout load is the muzzle blast propelling the lighter bullet at around 300 fps faster than the 147 grains. Also, the 147 grain bullets are subsonic (roughly 1,000 fps at sealevel) and there is no sonic "crack" that adds to the shock wave of muzzle blast, further decreasing the perceived recoil, especially indoors in a low-ceiling/cramped shooting stall.
In summary, I like heavier/slower bullets for both competition and self-defense (the latter given that they are of premium design such as Ranger T) because muzzle blast is significantly lower, while shot-to-shot recovery is conversely that much faster.
Here is a link to Lancer Custom Competition Ammo - it's helped me win some IDPA matches and is remarkably a good training substitute for primo SD ammo like Ranger T. The best part is it is less than $2 more expensive than the Wally World WWB per 100 rounds when you buy 1,000 at a time.
http://lancerammo.com/products/competitioncatalog.aspx?cat=1
Jeff
After years of IPSC Limited class shooting with .45s I found that the heavier bullets at relatively slow speeds produced the "softest" perceived recoil while still making the required "power factor" (bullet weight x velocity) for competition. For example, my softest shooting competition load was a 230 grain LRN behind 4.1 grains of Clays shotgun powder making about 770 fps. This made major power factor but felt like a .22 compared to the lighter/faster bullet combos making the exact same power factor - and I tried about every combination there was to gain some advantage.
Now I'm shooting IDPA matches with my M9/S9 and I find the exact same situation. When I first got my S9 I was using WWB 115 grain from Wally-World. For 9mm, I find this is quite a stout load IMHO. Now I am buying Lancer Competition Ammo in 147 grain running about 895 FPS (easily making SSP class power factor of 125,000) and I swear it feels as if it has almost half the recoil of the WWB 115s.
I actually did a back-to-back comparison of this round with Winchester Ranger T 147 grain (RA9T), which is about the most effective self-defense 9mm IMHO, and found the recoil difference almost negligible. The WWB 115 felt like it had significantly more recoil/muzzle flip/shot-to-shot recovery time than the Ranger T.
A couple of other things to consider are muzzle blast and supersonic rounds. I believe part of the reason the WWB 115 feels like a stout load is the muzzle blast propelling the lighter bullet at around 300 fps faster than the 147 grains. Also, the 147 grain bullets are subsonic (roughly 1,000 fps at sealevel) and there is no sonic "crack" that adds to the shock wave of muzzle blast, further decreasing the perceived recoil, especially indoors in a low-ceiling/cramped shooting stall.
In summary, I like heavier/slower bullets for both competition and self-defense (the latter given that they are of premium design such as Ranger T) because muzzle blast is significantly lower, while shot-to-shot recovery is conversely that much faster.
Here is a link to Lancer Custom Competition Ammo - it's helped me win some IDPA matches and is remarkably a good training substitute for primo SD ammo like Ranger T. The best part is it is less than $2 more expensive than the Wally World WWB per 100 rounds when you buy 1,000 at a time.
http://lancerammo.com/products/competitioncatalog.aspx?cat=1
Jeff
