How is the recoil of a semi-automatic rifle like the M16?

Question

I have always wondered about the recoil of modern semi-automatic rifles. There are people that fire it like it's the easiest thing in the world while there are people that get blown away like it was a miniture cannon or at least can't control it at all and stop after two or three rounds.

Answer 1

The recoil on the 5.56mm (.223 caliber) round M-16 is negligible. The reason you don't feel much recoil is due to the fact that combustion gases are used to operate the slide mechanisms. The gases that aren't used for this purpose get vented out of the barrel.

Another reason that the recoil is negligible is the weight of the projectile. If I recall correctly, the projectile on a 5.56mm round is about 65 grains, very very light in the bullet world.

Finally, barrel length also factors in. If you shoot one of the M-4 versions of the M-16 or the older paratrooper/special forces models, you would feel more recoil than you would with the standard M-16A1 or M-16A2

Answer 2

M16 are full auto (5.56mm). AR15 are a similar semi-auto model. In my younger days at about 160 lbs, I could fire a M16 on full auto on the hip in the correct two handed grip without loosing control. Firing from the shoulder is much more accurate. Recoil is like getting girl slapped on the shoulder. A larger caliber weapon will have a more powerful recoil. A 7.62 mm or 50 cal round normally needs a mount to stabilized the weapon. A gun range may let you fire a AR15 in semi-auto, for a cost of course.

Answer 3

There really isn't much recoil. It's a .223 round. I was a machine gunner, so I carried the M240 G(the modern version of the M60.) It has more recoil How much is hard to say. After you fire it as much as I did, you become somewhat numb to it.

If you can find a range that has firearms that you can use, see if the have the Colt AR-15. It is the same thing essentially.

Answer 4

The recoil of the M16 is nothing that the typical 10 year old child would have a problem with. I don't know where people get the impression that recoil is much of a problem, particularly in the case of in intermediate cartridge like the 5.56mm or the 7.62x39mm. It is actually quite pleasant to fire.

Answer 5

No spring in the stock. It has to do with the weight of the projectile and the venting as the previous poster said. M-16 fires a .22 sized bullet with a .06 case. A 30-06 uses the same case but a much heavier bullet using a bolt action (most applications) and has much higher recoil.

Answer 6

Eugene Stoner you should Google. He developed the AR-15 for the Army, couldn't sell it to them, and wound up getting a contract with the Air Force, later getting in through the back door to an Army contract. Armalite couldn't handle the volume, and licensed the manufacture to Colt (not Mattel, though it made a good joke that some took to be truth at the time). This annoyed our NATO allies, as we had only a few years before rammed the 7,62x51 cartridge down their throats, and here we were unilaterally switching to the 5,56x45. Even before it got to Vietnam, it had to go through some changes, and it's been upgraded periodically ever since. The current M-16/A2, M-16/A4, M-4, and other variants are about as good as you can get with a rifle shooting a .224 ball. (Let me pre-emptively say here that though the civilian designation is 223 Remington, its groove diameter is .224".) One recent variation uses a necked-up (.277) ball, the 6.8 SPC. This is as much cartridge as the rifle can handle dimensionally, and it comes close to the 7mm caliber that's been known for about a century to be the best compromise caliber for general military use, though few militaries have actually adopted one.

Answer 7

M-16 is like a BB gun recoil. It will push you back a little if you are standing, but it is more of a "push" than a "pop". Most harsh recoil come from large caliper revolvers such as the .44 Magnum (dirty harry) because all of the energy goes straight to your hand. The M-16 uses a tiny bullet (0.223) and the butt goes on your shoulder and the bolt and spring transfers the energy to shoulder gradually, not all at once like a shotgun.

Hope that helps.

Answer 8

The recoil is very minimal, little more than say a .22 long rifle. The weapon fires a very small caliber of ammunition. The preferred weapon of our enemy is the AK-47 which fires a much larger caliber, though.

Answer 9

Recoil of a M-16 is pretty weak.

Recoil is based upon MV = MV or..

MASS of the BULLET x VELOCITY of the BULLET =
MASS of the RIFLE x VELOCITY of the RIFLE.

the MASS of a .223 caliber bullet is low, so even though the bullet is fast, it generates minimal recoil. (The impact of the bullet is also pretty low so it is not considered a real "stopper" of a round.

Answer 10

I have fired numerous rounds out of an M-16, and the reciol is no more than a reagular .22 rifle, practically non-existent.