Powder burn rate vs recoil

[Rooster52]

I have tried the RL17 in my 300wsm with 150 grain Accubonds and the recoil is pretty stiff..Same bullet with 4831 and RL22 near max loads gives close to the same FPS with less felt recoil. The faster burn rate ofRL17 seems to give a lot greater recoil. I t makes sense but I was surprised at the recoil difference.

 

[Gunner46]

Try typing your loads into this: http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

Impulse and velocity have Alot to do with 'felt' recoil.

 

[1_pointer]

My understanding is that it's generally the opposite way. Faster burn rates = lower max charges. The charge weight should be accounted for in the formula for calculating recoil. I know that switching to a faster powder in my 338 Win Mag noticably reduced the amount of recoil. However, I wonder if the recoil energy is reduced by faster charges, but if it may increase the recoil speed?

 

[Bambistew]

Did you shoot it through a chronograph? I would bet the RL17 is way faster. Any pressure signs?

My experience with the the other powders is the book max is considerably slower than the velocities I het, sometimes 2-300 fps. I would think you would feel that, but not sure, as I have a hard time dicerning recoil.

 

[sbhooper]

I don't think that between loads in the same caliber, you will be able to notice significant difference in recoil, unless you go to real light loads. Recoil is only a factor from the bench, anyway.

 

[elkaholic06]

My understanding is that free recoil energy depends on the weight of the rifle, the weight of the bullet, the velocity, and the charge weight. If you're comparing max loads, I would think slower burning powders would give greater recoil due to the higher velocities. Felt recoil is a different beast, because it deals with how fast that energy is being delivered to your shoulder (impulse). The faster the energy is delivered the sharper the recoil (kind of like the snap of a .40 S&W vs the push of a .45 Auto). I have a hard time imagining that you could tell a huge difference in recoil by simply changing powders with the same caliber/bullet weight/velocity, but maybe recoil velocity has something to do with it. Try plugging in your data into a recoil calculator (http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp).

 

[Wheezy1958]

I've no numbers to back it up...but I have noticed the same thing as OP. When working up loads for a 30-06 I found RL22 softer shooting than many factory loads. I was told by someone that factories often used faster powders to reliably cycle autoloaders. And my RL22 loads chrono'd considerably faster than the factory loads. I assumed it was perception due to the recoil being "spread out" a little more as in the .40/.45 scenario mentioned.
If it's all in my head- ah well 'perception is reality' ;^)