How to Manage Recoil in a Handgun

For a beginner, the effect of a handgun's recoil can be one of the biggest obstacles to learning to shoot accurately. There are several different steps to take that can make this obstacle easier to overcome. In particular, one must pay close attention to the choice of weapon, and to the way one holds the weapon.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Handgun
• Ammunition
• Shooting Range

Choosing an appropriate weapon

1. Choose a small caliber weapon. In a gun of the same size and weight, smaller bullets generate less recoil. As a general rule, someone who is recoil sensitive should avoid anything larger than 9 mm, until they feel more confident.

2. Choose an older, all metal weapon. The shear weight of a heavy, all metal gun will reduce recoil, as compared to a modern lightweight gun of the same caliber. The newer designs tend to have a lot of plastic parts, and hence are usually lighter in weight.

3. Choose a full size gun that fits your hand. Small, "compact" weapons (like a Browning .25 or a Derringer) are difficult to hold, and tend to "bite" a lot even though they may be small in caliber.

4. Choose a weapon that fits your hand well. Different people have different size hands. Try out a variety or weapons until you find one that feels right to you. One part of the challenge of recoil is psychological, and using a gun you like the feel of can help with this.

Hold the gun properly

1. Use both hands. Stop pretending you are Laura Croft or Yosemite Sam. Recoil is much harder to manage when shooting one-handed. Why make life more difficult than it has to be?

2. Hold the gun with your arms stretched all the way forward, and your elbows locked. If your elbows are bent, it will be harder to control the gun and bring it back on target.

3. Learn about different ways to grip your gun. Over the years, a variety of different techniques have been developed, depending on the type of gun, and some may work better for you than others.

4. Take a one minute break after every few shots. Your arms will start to shake if they become tired. There is no point in continuing until your arms relax. This is especially true if you are learning to shoot a heavy gun, or one with a large recoil. It takes more energy than you think.

Tips & Warnings

• Always practice safe gunmanship, and use common sense. If you are inexperienced, ask someone experienced to shoot with you.

Resources

• How to grip a gun