Handgun Weight & Recoil

Before purchasing a handgun, you should be sure that you can physically handle both:

Serious consideration should be to your upper body strength, wrist strength, and any physical conditions - such as arthritis or other joint pain/tenderness.

Recoil, also known as kick, is the force a handgun exerts back upon its user when it is fired. Because recoil flips the barrel of a handgun upward (a phenomenon called “muzzle flip”), this moves the handgun up away from the target. The greater the recoil, the greater the time needed to reacquire the target in your sights. That’s why a “lighter” recoil makes it easier to direct rapid fire.

Far too many people incorrectly associate recoil with a particular caliber. In reality, the recoil energy a handgun produces primarily relates to four factors:

New handgun owners typically incorrectly assume that a small (e.g., a compact or subcompact) or light-weight handgun (e.g., made from composite material or aluminum vs. steel) will be easier for them to handle. In reality, the opposite is usually the case. The goal should be to find the right balance between handgun weight, cartridge, and the resulting recoil for you to handle comfortably WITH the proper handgun grip. The below video is Pro Shooter Jerry Miculek (64 years old at the time of the video) training you as to how to grip your pistol to control recoil.

(Alternate Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kWc_kvaPZI)

The chart below lists several common cartridges with various pistols (e.g., Glock, Staccato (C DPO & C2), Smith & Wesson M&P® Bodyguard® (a popular CCW handgun), Springfield Armory HELLCAT® 3″ Micro-Compact (a popular CCW handgun), Beretta M9 (Standard Issue for the US Military from 1985-2017), Sig Sauer P320-M17 & P320-M18 (Standard Issue for the US Military from 2017-Present), and Rock Island Armory (Armscor)) sorted by the resulting recoil energy.

If you would like to calculate the recoil of a specific handgun and cartridge, you can use the free, online Recoil Calculator.

Cartridge Bullet Wt. (gr.) Bullet Velocity (fps) Propellant Wt. (gr.) Handgun Weight (lbs.) Handgun Referenced Recoil Energy
(ft Lbs.)
.22LR 40 1240 2.5 0.915 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 44 1.34
9mm 124 1061 5.9 2.7 (Unloaded) Rock Island TAC Ultra FS HC - 9mm (1911A2 style) 3.05
9mm 124 1061 5.9 2.49 (Unloaded) Rock Ultra FS - 9mm (1911A1 style) 3.30
9mm 124 1061 5.9 2.47 (Unloaded) Rock Island GI Standard FS - 9mm (1911A1 style) 3.33
.380 ACP 90 930 3.7 0.86 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 42 3.85
9mm 124 1061 5.9 2.08 (Unloaded) Beretta M9 3.96
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.85 Sig Sauer P320-M17 4.21
9mm 115 1127 7.5 2.08 (Unloaded) Beretta M9 4.26
.380 ACP 90 930 3.7 0.769 (W/Laser) Smith & Wesson M&P® Bodyguard® 4.31
.380 ACP 90 930 3.7 0.75 (W/O Laser) Smith & Wesson M&P® Bodyguard® 4.42
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.756 Sig Sauer P320-M18 4.69
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.85 Sig Sauer P320-M17 4.79
9mm 147 996 6.3 2.08 (Unloaded) Beretta M9 4.83
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.66 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C DPO 4.96
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.756 Sig Sauer P320-M18 5.04
.45 ACP 185 925 8 2.70 (Unloaded) Rock Island TAC Ultra FS HC 1911A2 5.24
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.554 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 17 5.29
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.66 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C DPO 5.34
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.85 Sig Sauer P320-M17 5.43
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.477 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 19 5.57
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 2.82 (Unloaded) Rock Island TAC Ultra FS 1911A1 5.57
.45 ACP 185 925 8 2.49 (Unloaded) Rock Island Ultra FS 1911A1 &
Rock Standard FS - 45ACP
5.68
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.554 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 17 5.70
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.756 Sig Sauer P320-M18 5.72
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 2.70 (Unloaded) Rock Island TAC Ultra FS HC 1911A2 5.82
.45 ACP 185 925 8 2.40 Remington 1911 R1 “Carry” 5.89
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.477 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 19 6.0
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.66 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C DPO 6.05
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.345 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 26 6.12
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.56 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C2 (2021) 6.27
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 2.49 (Unloaded) Rock Island Ultra FS 1911A1 &
Rock Standard FS - 45ACP
6.31
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.2875 (W/Empty Mag) M&P® 9 SHIELD 6.39
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.56 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C2 (2021) 6.44
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.554 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 17 6.46
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 2.40 Remington 1911 R1 “Carry” 6.54
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.345 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 26 6.58
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.56 (Empty W/ No Mag.) Staccato C2 (2021) 6.68
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.477 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 19 6.8
9mm 124 1061 5.9 1.16 (W/Extended Mag) Springfield Armory HELLCAT® 3″ Micro-Compact 7.09
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 1.81 (Unloaded) HK 45 7.27
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.345 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 26 7.46
9mm 115 1127 7.5 1.16 (W/Extended Mag) Springfield Armory HELLCAT® 3″ Micro-Compact 7.63
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 1.87 (Unloaded) M&P®45 M2.0™ with TRUGLO® TFX™ SIGHTS 10+1 (4.6" barrel) 8.4
10mm 165 1275 9.7 2.50 (Unloaded) Rock Ultra FS HC - 10mm (1911A2 style) 8.50
10mm 165 1275 9.7 2.49 (Unloaded) Rock Island TAC Ultra - 10mm (1911A1 style) 8.54
9mm 147 996 6.3 1.16 (W/Extended Mag) Springfield Armory HELLCAT® 3″ Micro-Compact 8.65
.45 ACP 230 848 5.5 1.87 (Unloaded) M&P®45 M2.0™ 10+1 (5" with Threaded barrel) 9.94
10mm 165 1275 9.7 1.92 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 20 (Gen 4) 11.07
10mm 165 1275 9.7 1.67 (W/Empty Mag) Glock 29 (Gen 4) 12.73

<note>All of the 9mm cartridges above (115 gr., 124 gr. & 147 gr.) were commercial 9mm Luger (Parabellum) cartridges. To understand how these are different from other 9mm cartridges, read: “The Many Names of 9mm Ammunition”.</note>

Tuning your Recoil

While on many pistols, you can “tune” your recoil by changing the weight of your recoil spring, you should “know what you're doing” before you start experimenting.

Tuning Your Pistol with Recoil Springs (1911s)


How to Tune Your Recoil Spring - On a Glock (or any pistol)