30-30 is based on a 7.0 pound lever-action carbine. This test’s recoil calculations were based on an 8.0 pound bolt-action rifle. Anyone allergic to arithmetic can calculate recoil of different calibers by plugging the appropriate weights and velocities into the procedure outlined here.If the minimum energy range exceeds the minimum expansion range, the minimum expansion range becomes the maximum effective range since unexpanded bullets are much less effective regardless of how much energy they possess. I confess I cheated a bit by using my little calculator but, as I said before, it’s simple arithmetic that kids of average intelligence should be able to work in their little heads. 30/30 is 12.655 pounds? Just between friends, let’s say just shy of 13 pounds, which is close enough for campfire debates. Well, I’ll be damned! Does this mean the recoil of a little 6 pound. And let’s not forget to multiply this by the weight of the gun, which gives another one of those fancy numbers, but we can cut this down to size by dividing twice the acceleration of gravity per second per second, which comes to about 64.4, which (wonder of wonders!), comes out to 12.655. Here it is.) and the square is 135.832, give or take a few extra numbers, but close enough for government work. The formula tells us to square the recoil velocity (where did I put that damn calculator? It was here on my desk just a moment ago. Now we add to this the weight of the bullet, which gives us 222.5. We do this by multiplying the powder charge by 1.75, which gives us 52.5 (have your pocket calculator handy, or do you want to do this in your head?). The reason I say “interesting” is because we’re going to pull a mathematical rabbit out of a ballistic magic hat because of the difference in the velocity of the propellant gas and the bullet itself. And to make it interesting we’ll say the powder charge weighs 30 grains. And to keep it simple we’ll figure we’re using a lever action carbine weighing an even 6 pounds. 30/30 firing a 170-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,200 feet per second. What could be simpler?Īctually, it’s easier to give an example than try to explain, so let’s use a popular hunting caliber such as the. Multiply by the weight of the gun and divide by twice the acceleration of gravity, and you get the recoil energy in foot pounds. In other words, you simply square the velocity of recoil, which is easily calculated when we know the weight of the bullet and powder charge and its velocity when exiting from the muzzle. Enjoy! * Buck Attacks Hunter * Shark Attack * Two Bucks Boxing * Worst Shot Ever! * Squirrel Attacks Deer * Cat Fight * Stealing Salmon from Bears * Fish Jump Right in the Boat * Don’t Feed the Tarpon * A Shark in Slow Motion* * * » See all Photo GalleriesĪs I said, it is simple arithmetic and the formula for recoil energy is simply E=1/2 MV Squared, with “M” being mass of the gun and “V” being the recoil velocity. Table of Contents Click on the “next” or “previous” links in the slides, or use the table of contents below to navigate. We love how she refuses to get involved.) ||||| (Apparently the fella’s wife is the one working the camera. A deer hunter ends up going toe-to-toe with a heavyweight champion buck.