What is Recoil?
[[File:Firing a Sig Sauer P226 Handgun MOD 45156988.jpg|thumb|right|200px|{{Center|Recoil causes the handgun to move back and upwards when fired}}]] '''Recoil''' or '''kick''' (sometimes incorrectly called kickback<ref name=Chastain>{{cite web |url=http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/g/definition-of-recoil.htm |title=Definition of Recoil |author=Russ Chastain |date=1 December 2015 |website=About Sports |publisher=About.com |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=31 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531112055/http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/g/definition-of-recoil.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>) is the tendency of a [[firearm]] to move backwards and at the same time the [[wikt:muzzle|muzzle]] of the gun to rise when fired.<ref>''Gun Digest 2015'', ed. Jerry Lee (Iola, WI: Gun Digest Books, 2014), p. 239</ref> This is a [[wikt:reaction|reaction]] to the [[Explosion|explosive]] force of a bullet leaving the [[barrel (weapons)|barrel]] of a firearm.<ref name=vzwoll>{{cite web |url=http://www.gundigest.com/gun-blogs/wayne-van-zwoll-on-firearms/the-science-of-recoil |title=The Science of Recoil |author=Wayne van Zwoll |date=21 March 2012 |website=Gun Digest |publisher=F+W |access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref> A [[handgun]] shooter feels the recoil in the [[hand]]s and [[arm]]s. A [[rifle]] or [[shotgun]] shooter feels most of the recoil in his or her [[shoulder]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bsharp.org/physics/recoil |title=Gun Recoil |website=The Physics of Everyday Stuff |publisher=Samuel Hokin |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=19 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219065345/http://www.bsharp.org/physics/recoil |url-status=dead }}</ref> == Physics of recoil == Recoil is explained by [[Newton's third law|Newton’s third law of motion]].<ref name=Puryear>{{cite web |url=https://www.learnaboutguns.com/2008/04/28/facts-about-recoil-and-guns-for-people-who-are-sensitive-to-recoil/ |title=Facts about Recoil, and Guns for People who are Sensitive to Recoil |author=Eric D. Pu