Light and fast vs heavy and slow recoil

[Brush buster]

Which has a higher perceived recoil to the shooter, a bullet that is lighter and has a higher velocity, or a bullet that is heavier with a slower velocity in the same caliber? Or is there much of a difference at all?
Example: 300wm 180gr @3150fps vs 300wm 215gr @ 2900fps

 

[Schnyd112]

I have shot a very light .270 wsm with 117 and 140 gr bullets. Same powder, the 140d are more recoil, but slower vs faster isn't what I am thinking about. They are both stout.

12 gauge with goose loads is slow recoil. Muzzle loader is slow recoil. 45-70 is slow recoil. As opposed to rifle in 30-06 shooting 180s, a featherweight .270 with factory 140s, and your example of a 300 wm with 215s are fast, sharp recoil. I have not shot a lot of the 215s, but they are definitely not easier to shoot than 180s at a higher pace.

if you are concerned about recoil, stop, clear your mind and concentrate on what is in front of you. Dry fire practice and live fire practice are the only ways to change, or decide if it is too much. If you can't reign it in, there is no shame in moving to something different. There are so many options available it's worth searching.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Assuming that both bullets are loaded to the same pressure level, heavier bullets will almost always result in heavier felt recoil. IMO anyway

 

[Brush buster]

I have shot a very light .270 wsm with 117 and 140 gr bullets. Same powder, the 140d are more recoil, but slower vs faster isn't what I am thinking about. They are both stout.

12 gauge with goose loads is slow recoil. Muzzle loader is slow recoil. 45-70 is slow recoil. As opposed to rifle in 30-06 shooting 180s, a featherweight .270 with factory 140s, and your example of a 300 wm with 215s are fast, sharp recoil. I have not shot a lot of the 215s, but they are definitely not easier to shoot than 180s at a higher pace.

if you are concerned about recoil, stop, clear your mind and concentrate on what is in front of you. Dry fire practice and live fire practice are the only ways to change, or decide if it is too much. If you can't reign it in, there is no shame in moving to something different. There are so many options available it's worth searching.

I'm actually not concerned with the recoil. Just curious and looking to learn something. Was going to shoot 215s out of my 300 but determined I'm going to shoot 181 hammers (lead ban here in Ca). I was just kicking around the differences in my head and thought the recoil difference was an interesting idea.

 

[memtb]

If you can approximate your powder charge and your muzzle velocity, you can get an idea of ft/lbs recoil, recoil impulse ( lbs/sec), and recoil velocity (fps), using the following website. I realize that attempting to approximate some of the values is using the "SWAG" system....but if you can get some values then you can compare your results to some known values from cartridges/rifles your familiar with!

Just as an example, my current hunting rifle has just over 60 ft/lbs recoil. If my hypothetical "new" rifle will produce more recoil than that....I know that 20 rounds per bench shooting session is about all that this "puss" wants to shoot! memtb


http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

 

[cohunt]

a 180 grain in 300wm isn't really light weight --now a 110 or 130 grain I would consider light weight/fast bullet in a 300 wm, maybe even a 150 class

but to address your actual question, I cant tell a difference between a 140 and 175 grain in my 7 rem mag, but I'm comfortable shooting this rifle--- my daughter shoots the 6.5cm, and she can notice the recoil difference between a 110 HH @ 3150
vs. a 140gr eldm @2600 if that helps you---- where I do pick up a noticeable difference in recoil would be if I drop the weight of the rifle I'm shooting it in, most recently I dropped my 8.5 pound 30-06 down to 6.8 pounds (field ready)-- the increased perceived recoil was enough that I installed a good 4 port brake to reduce the recoil

 

[Tiny Tim]

I am at the other end of the spectrum in that I could definitely perceive a difference in felt recoil between a 140 gr and 160 gr bullet in my 7 RM. Heavier with equal pressure will always result in higher free recoil. Your size, gun weight, shooting form/position, pain threshold and stock design all play a role in your perception of recoil, as do recoil management devices. The laws of physics are fixed, we can manipulate them, but they are fixed.

 

[tdot]

I'm actually not concerned with the recoil. Just curious and looking to learn something. Was going to shoot 215s out of my 300 but determined I'm going to shoot 181 hammers (lead ban here in Ca). I was just kicking around the differences in my head and thought the recoil difference was an interesting idea.

I've shot those exact two bullets in my 300wm. 215 at roughly 2900fps, 181 at roughly 3100+. I dont remember there being a noticeable difference in the recoil.