The KRISS Vector is a series of weapons based upon the parent submachine gun design developed by the American company KRISS USA, formerly Transformational Defense Industries (TDI).
134-473: Designed in 2006 and seeing limited production since 2009, the KRISS Vector uses an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived recoil and muzzle climb , invented by French engineer Renaud Kerbrat . The weapon is designed to accept extended Glock magazines and fires a variety of pistol cartridges . In the spring of 2007, TDI announced their development of
268-445: A shock absorber . Energy in firing a firearm comes in many forms (thermal, pressure) but for understanding recoil what matters is kinetic energy , which is half mass multiplied by squared speed. For the recoiling gun, this means that for a given rearward momentum, doubling the mass halves the speed and also halves the kinetic energy of the gun, making it easier to dissipate. If all the masses and velocities involved are accounted for,
402-600: A "half-cock" notch safety but the design was revised in 1983 due to numerous inadvertent discharges. The M1 Garand created a safety with a metal rocking lever at the front of the trigger guard that is now called the Garand-style safety , used in the Ruger Mini-14 rifle and Marlin Camp carbine . Some bolt-action rifle safeties have three positions: "fire" which allows the gun to fire, "safe" which does not allow
536-600: A block to prevent them from contacting the firing pin. In addition some manual safeties such as the Ruger SR9 pictured lock the pistol's slide closed when in Safe position whereas, for example, S&W M&P manual safeties do not lock the slide closed. The benefit of these design variances have not been clearly stated or pointed out by manufacturers, however, in the Ruger SR example, a chambered round cannot be ejected to empty
670-459: A button under the slide, whereupon tension from the striker spring would push it back to the engaged position. Thus, engaging the safety also relieved some tension in the striker spring. As the Ortgies is a pocket pistol meant for personal defense, this feature eliminates the problem of failing to disengage the safety when one needs to shoot. Gripping the pistol tightly is all it takes to disengage
804-472: A chambered cartridge. A second purpose is to allow the sear to "catch" a hammer that is falling when the trigger has not been pulled, such as in cases where a drop jarred the sear loose or when the hammer was not fully cocked before being released. However, a safety notch used to "half-cock" a firearm is an active feature that must be engaged, and does not positively prevent accidental discharges in all cases. A certain amount of manual dexterity and familiarity with
938-403: A decocker, manual safety, or both. However, the exact configuration depends on handgun type, year, make, and model. Double-action only (DAO) pistols, which usually use designs similar to traditional double-action but without the ability to remain cocked, do not usually have external safeties. Most single-action revolvers have no external safeties. The original designs, which dated to back before
1072-501: A discharge, with internal safeties preventing non-trigger-pull discharges (e.g., dropping the gun). Almost all modern semi-automatic handguns, except some exact replicas of antique models, have some form of safety mechanism including a "drop safety" that requires a trigger pull to discharge a cartridge. Single-action designs such as the Colt 1911 virtually always incorporate a manual safety, while traditional double-action pistols incorporate
1206-463: A feature, and as a result if the trigger was held the newly chambered round would be fired as soon as the breech had been closed. Such disconnects or interlocks are generally simple to incorporate, and in fact are a by-product of many firearms' actions; pulling the trigger while the breech is unlocked or open does nothing as the mechanism is not fully reset until cycling is complete. As such these features are often not considered "true" safeties, although
1340-458: A firearm is also required to "half-cock" a firearm; unfamiliarity with how to engage the "half-cock" position can result in accidental discharges. Moreover, safety notch and "half-cock" style safeties are prone to breakage which can result in unintentional discharges leading to severe personal injuries or death. A firing pin block is a mechanical block used in semi-automatic firearms and some revolvers that, when at rest, obstructs forward travel of
1474-433: A gas-operated gun, the bolt is accelerated rearwards by propellant gases during firing, which results in a forward force on the body of the gun. This is countered by a rearward force as the bolt reaches the limit of travel and moves forwards, resulting in a zero sum, but to the shooter, the recoil has been spread out over a longer period of time, resulting in the "softer" feel. A recoil system absorbs recoil energy, reducing
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#17327880052771608-406: A hammer follows the bolt carrier group forward as it closes. Examples of the variety of typical semi-auto mechanisms are a stiff double-action trigger pull with the safety off ( Beretta 92F/FS ), a double-action with no external safety ( SIG Sauer P-series , or Kel-Tec P-32 ), or a crisp single-action trigger pull with a manual safety engaged ( M1911 , FN Five-seven and certain configurations of
1742-413: A hammer, so the only way to return the trigger to its longer pull (safer) state is by means of a decocking or detensioning lever which actually releases the tension in the striker's spring without allowing firing pin full travel and internal safeties disengagement (such as the firing pin block which these types of firearms are generally fitted with). When a handgun is fitted with a "decocking" lever, there
1876-470: A loaded chamber indicator is an empty chamber flag . A trigger disconnector captures the hammer in the cocked position after a shot has been fired, even if the trigger is held to the rear as the gun cycles. This ensures the gun can only fire in the semi-automatic mode, as the trigger needs to be released to 'reset' and have the disconnector release the hammer back to the trigger sear. It also prevents out-of-battery " slamfire " malfunctions that occur when
2010-485: A loaded chamber under the hammer. Some single-action revolvers have relief cuts in between cylinder bores that allow the hammer to be rested directly upon the cylinder with no chance of interacting with loaded cartridges or primers. These are also known colloquially as "safety notches." They are usually found on black-powder revolvers, but there are also metallic cartridge-firing revolvers with safety notches. Most double-action revolvers have no external safety devices;
2144-435: A longer or shorter distance to bring the car to a stop. However, for the human body to mechanically adjust recoil time, and hence length, to lessen felt recoil force is perhaps an impossible task. Other than employing less safe and less accurate practices, such as shooting from the hip, shoulder padding is a safe and effective mechanism that allows sharp recoiling to be lengthened into soft recoiling, as lower decelerating force
2278-517: A magazine disconnect, as a backup gun for law enforcement officers. "The absence of a magazine disconnect safety also is a benefit for tactical reloads that allow the user to engage a target with one round remaining in the chamber and the magazine out of the gun for reloading," Ruger said. A tactical reload is the tactic of replacing a partially empty magazine with a fully loaded magazine in a situation where increased capacity might be needed. These safeties, similar to grip safeties, are de-activated as
2412-688: A manual safety in its function, but is momentary; the safety is deactivated only while the shooter maintains their hold on the grip, and is reactivated immediately once the shooter releases it. The M1911 design is a popular example of a handgun with a grip safety, while the Uzi submachine gun and the HS2000 (marketed in the US as the Springfield Armory XD ) and its descendants are other notable examples of this type of safety. A related grip-type safety
2546-501: A mechanism that engages an internal safety such as a firing-pin block or trigger disconnect. An early example of its use was in the Browning Hi-Power pistol. As with any firearm feature, there is debate regarding the necessity of a magazine disconnect. Historically, most magazine-fed firearm designs had no magazine disconnector. There are exceptions, notably Ruger rimfire rifles and some of their newer handgun designs, and
2680-436: A natural consequence of the shooter firing the firearm, but are engaged in most other circumstances. The trigger is composed of two interdependent parts, and the shooter in firing the firearm manipulates both parts of the trigger. Conversely, unintentional pressure or a strike against the trigger is unlikely to do so, and such an action will not fire the firearm. Such a design, made popular by Glock pistols but originally used in
2814-505: A new submachine gun. It was an experimental weapon under advanced stages of development at that time. The name Kriss comes from a Southeast Asian dagger with a flame-shaped blade. The second generation prototype of the Vector, called the K10 , was announced at 2011 SHOT Show . It is a slightly more compact version of the Vector that is based on the same Super V system. The main difference
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#17327880052772948-422: A new telescoping stock instead of a folding one, and a four-sided accessory rail tube around the barrel. The K10 was not displayed after SHOT Show 2013 and its status is unknown and likely has been canceled. Kriss announced "Gen II" versions of the original Vector models in 2015. These feature a redesigned pistol grip, trigger, safety selector, and compatibility with a new 9×19mm lower. These appear to have replaced
3082-532: A proprietary 10-round magazine, and functions using a traditional straight blowback operating system rather than the Super V delayed system. The Canadian (and some American) civil market versions only come with the blocked 10-round magazines rather than the full capacity magazines. Like the Law Enforcement / Military SMG models, the civilian model Vectors can be converted to chamber and fire other calibers if
3216-404: A rearward velocity that is ratio of this momentum by the mass of the gun: the heavier the gun, the slower the rearward velocity. As an example, a 8 g (124 gr) bullet of 9×19mm Parabellum flying forward at 350 m/s muzzle speed generates a momentum to push a 0.8 kg pistol firing it at 3.5 m/s rearward, if unopposed by the shooter. In order to bring the rearward moving gun to a halt,
3350-519: A single-action decocker was the Vis wz. 35 "Radom" redesign in 1932 to enable horsemen to safely holster their firearm with one hand. The earliest use of a cocking/decocking lever is the Sauer 38H from 1938. Ruger until 2007 manufactured "decock-only" variants of its P-series pistols, and the "two-way" decocking safety has been available on these pistols since their introduction. Many jurisdictions such as
3484-404: A spring-loaded pad that forms the upper portion of the trigger face and manipulates a similar lock. This design has more moving parts, but is advantageous in that accidental pressure on the lock release has reduced leverage thus requiring more force to pull the main trigger, where force against the lower portion does not release the lock and will not move the trigger. The loaded chamber indicator
3618-595: A sufficiently firm trigger pull will always result in firing. The heavy trigger pull required to cock and then fire the firearm usually prevents accidental discharges due to dropping or mishandling the gun. Most modern double-action revolvers have an internal safety, either a hammer block or a transfer bar, that positively prevents firing without the trigger being pulled. The only modern double-action revolvers with external safeties are unusual cases available only on special order or modified through aftermarket conversions. Pistols made and imported by Glock Ges.m.b.H. , such as
3752-458: Is a device present on many semi-automatic handguns intended to alert an operator that there is a round in the chamber. It is typically a small button or pivoting lever (though sometimes a rod, such as on the Ruger series of .22 LR handguns, which are not slide pistols), generally located just behind the ejection port on the slide of the handgun that pops up to indicate the presence of a round in
3886-399: Is a redesign of the lower receiver intended for easy caliber interchangeability; utilizing just a single takedown pin, users can change between 9×19mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP by mounting different lower receivers. This also brought a redesign of the charging handle, which now travels diagonally, almost vertically, and can be mounted on either side of the weapon. Other notable differences were
4020-452: Is a switch, button or lever that, when set to the "safe" position, prevents the firing of a firearm. Manual safeties are as varied as the designs of firearms themselves, but the two most common mechanisms are a block or latch that prevents the trigger and/or firing mechanism from moving, and a device that disconnects the trigger from the firing mechanism of the firearm. Other designs may block the hammer or striker from forward movement or act as
4154-552: Is dissipating the kinetic energy of the recoiling gun mass. A heavier gun, that is a gun with more mass, will manifest lower recoil kinetic energy, and, generally, result in a lessened perception of recoil. Therefore, although determining the recoiling energy that must be dissipated through a counter-recoiling force is arrived at by conservation of momentum, kinetic energy of recoil is what is actually being restrained and dissipated. The ballistics analyst discovers this recoil kinetic energy through analysis of projectile momentum. One of
KRISS Vector - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-495: Is explained by the law of conservation of momentum, and so it is easier to discuss it separately from energy . Momentum is simply mass multiplied by velocity. Velocity is speed in a particular direction (not just speed). In a very technical sense, speed is a scalar (mathematics) : a magnitude; while velocity is a vector (physics) : magnitude and direction. Momentum is conservative: any change in momentum of an object requires an equal and opposite change of some other objects. Hence
4422-460: Is in line with the shoulder as in the M16 rifle , but also in line with the shooter's hand. This is intended to reduce muzzle climb when combined with the off-axis bolt travel, though it also greatly raises the sight line in comparison to the bore axis. The initial prototype model by TDI achieved a rate of fire of 1,500 rounds per minute, though this was brought down to around 1,200 rounds per minute on
4556-400: Is moved into place by the normal action of the trigger, providing similar "drop safety" to a firing pin block. Popular on bolt, pump and lever-action firearms such as shotguns and rifles, a bolt interlock disengages or blocks the trigger if, for any reason, the bolt/breech is not in its fully closed, ready position. A variation is the trigger disconnect which prevents the gun from firing until
4690-410: Is no need to pull the trigger while holding the lever like in a revolver. The actual process of "decocking" the gun is done by simply flipping the decocking lever to its "decocked" position with the fingers away from the trigger. A decocker or manual decocking lever allows the hammer to be dropped on a live cartridge without risk of discharging it, usually by blocking the hammer or retracting or covering
4824-502: Is only available for military and law enforcement use. It features a 5.5-inch barrel (with an option of a 6.5-inch barrel on the Gen II version), a folding stock, flip-up Midwest Industries back-up iron sights (BUIS) (KRISS Sights on Gen II weapons), a full-length Picatinny rail for mounting various optics/scopes, and either two mode fire selector (single and full-auto) or a three mode fire selector (single, two-round burst and full-auto). It
4958-491: Is only sold as a complete weapon in .45 ACP and 9×19mm Parabellum; Due to the nature of the weapon the auto trigger pack is not compatible with any Vector lower. The 9mm model uses Glock 17 -compatible magazines (typically the extended 33-rounder used by the Glock 18) and the .45-caliber model uses Glock 21 magazines. Semi-automatic variants are produced and available for the US civilian market. There are three main configurations,
5092-403: Is that determining whether the gun is safe becomes linked to the presence of the magazine as opposed to actually checking the gun, opening the action, and making sure it is unloaded." Another concern is that if fatigue, debris or rust cause the disconnect mechanism to fail, it will most likely do so in the "fire" condition. Further arguments are that functionally without a magazine the firearm
5226-556: Is the angle above the aim angle at which the bullet leaves the barrel, t f {\displaystyle t_{f}} is the time of travel of the bullet in the barrel (because of the acceleration a = 2 x / t 2 {\displaystyle a=2x/t^{2}} the time is longer than L / V b {\displaystyle L/V_{\text{b}}} : t f = 2 L / V b {\displaystyle t_{f}=2L/V_{\text{b}}} ) and L
5360-574: Is the angle of rotation of the barrel axis "up" from its orientation at ignition (aim angle). The angular momentum of the gun is found by integrating this equation to obtain: I d θ d t = h ∫ 0 t F ( t ) d t = h m g V g ( t ) = h m b V b ( t ) {\displaystyle I{\frac {d\theta }{dt}}=h\int _{0}^{t}F(t)\,dt=hm_{\text{g}}V_{\text{g}}(t)=hm_{\text{b}}V_{\text{b}}(t)} where
5494-633: Is the baseline model of the Vector family. It was later replaced by the improved Gen II version which features a redesigned pistol grip and trigger and has the swing angle of the safety lever reduced from 120 to 45 degrees. It also eliminates the opening above the barrel for the original weapon's optional Surefire weapon light, since these are no longer manufactured. In addition to the original Flat Black finish, optional factory Cerakote coatings now come in Olive Drab (green), Flat Dark Earth (tan), Alpine (white), or Combat Gray. The Vector SMG variant
KRISS Vector - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-493: Is the decocking grip found on some H&K pistols like the P7 Series . The firearm is cocked and ready to fire only when the front of the grip is squeezed by the operator. When the grip is released, the firearm is decocked, and the single-action trigger will not cock the firearm, therefore it will not fire unless the grip is squeezed and the trigger pulled. Alternatively, the trigger can first be pulled and then it will fire when
5762-417: Is the distance the bullet travels from its rest position to the tip of the barrel. The angle at which the bullet leaves the barrel above the aim angle is then given by: θ f = 2 h m b L I {\displaystyle \theta _{f}={\frac {2hm_{\text{b}}L}{I}}} Before the projectile leaves the gun barrel , it obturates the bore and "plugs up"
5896-438: Is the mass of the propellant charge, equal to the mass of the ejected gas. This expression should be substituted into the expression for projectile momentum in order to obtain a more accurate description of the recoil process. The effective velocity may be used in the energy equation as well, but since the value of α used is generally specified for the momentum equation, the energy values obtained may be less accurate. The value of
6030-592: Is the momentum of the firearm and p p {\displaystyle p_{\text{p}}} is the momentum of the projectile. In other words, immediately after firing, the momentum of the firearm is equal and opposite to the momentum of the projectile. Since momentum of a body is defined as its mass multiplied by its velocity, we can rewrite the above equation as: m f v f + m p v p = 0 {\displaystyle m_{\text{f}}v_{\text{f}}+m_{\text{p}}v_{\text{p}}=0} where: A force integrated over
6164-529: Is the muzzle velocity of the projectile and α {\displaystyle \alpha } is approximately constant. The total momentum p e {\displaystyle p_{e}} of the propellant and projectile will then be: p e = m p V 0 + m g α V 0 {\displaystyle p_{e}=m_{p}V_{0}+m_{\text{g}}\alpha V_{0}\,} where m g {\displaystyle m_{\text{g}}\,}
6298-428: Is the perpendicular distance of the center of mass of the gun below the barrel axis, F ( t ) {\textstyle F(t)} is the force on the gun due to the expanding gases, equal and opposite to the force on the bullet, I {\textstyle I} is the moment of inertia of the gun about its center of mass, or its pivot point, and θ {\displaystyle \theta }
6432-410: Is transferred through the platform on which the weapon is mounted . Practical weight gun mounts are typically not strong enough to withstand the maximum forces accelerating the gun during the short time the projectile is in the barrel. To mitigate these large recoil forces, recoil buffering mechanisms spread out the counter-recoiling force over a longer time, typically ten to a hundred times longer than
6566-429: Is transmitted into the body over a slightly greater distance and time, and spread out over a slightly larger surface. Keeping the above in mind, you can generally base the relative recoil of firearms by factoring in a small number of parameters: bullet momentum (weight times velocity), (note that momentum and impulse are interchangeable terms), and the weight of the firearm. Lowering momentum lowers recoil, all else being
6700-539: Is useless except as a club. Without the disconnect feature, a gun owner or police officer who accidentally releases the magazine in a gunfight would still be able to fire the bullet in the chamber; if a magazine was lost or otherwise not available, then at least the gun could be chambered with a single round to be used as a single-shot firearm. A Pro variant of the Ruger LC9s was introduced in December 2014, without
6834-460: The Glock 17 , incorporate a design with three levels of integrated safety, known as safe action ; there are no external safety switches on these handguns. First, an integrated trigger latch prevents the trigger body from moving unless the trigger is positively squeezed. Second, the gun's striker-firing mechanism is locked in place by an extension bar linked to the trigger; the striker cannot move unless
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#17327880052776968-511: The HK USP ). An alternative are striker-fired or " safe action " type firearms which have a consistent trigger pull requiring force greater than required by a single-action design, but lighter than needed for a double-action trigger. Many such firearms do not have an external safety or external hammer ( Glock pistols and the Walther P99 and variants). In both cases a trigger pull always sends
7102-497: The accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes such as internal safeties (which typically do not receive input from the user) and external safeties (which typically allow the user to give input, for example, toggling a lever from "safe" to "fire" or something similar). Sometimes these are called "passive" and "active" safeties (or "automatic" and "manual"), respectively. External safeties typical work by prevent
7236-443: The firing pin before releasing the sear . This eliminates the need to pull the trigger or to control the fall of the hammer; however, since all mechanisms can fail, it is still necessary to keep the muzzle of the gun pointed in a safe direction while decocking. A decock/safety is a combination manual safety switch and decocking lever. Two popular variants exist. In the "three-way" system, made popular by Heckler & Koch pistols,
7370-445: The firing pin , but is linked to the trigger mechanism and clears the obstruction to the pin just before the hammer or striker is released. This prevents the firing pin from striking a chambered cartridge unless the trigger is pulled, even if the hammer is released due to a faulty sear or the gun is dropped or struck by another object. A hammer block is similar to a firing pin block. It is a latch, block or other obstruction built into
7504-440: The 1897 Iver Johnson Second Model Safety Hammerless revolver , incorporates a trigger with a spring-loaded lever in its lower half. This lever which protrudes from the trigger face must be fully depressed in order to disengage a lock that allows the main trigger body to move. Unintentional pressure against the top of the trigger without pressing the lever does not disengage the lock and the trigger will not move. Other designs include
7638-462: The K10 prototypes, though no features from the K10 were carried over. The Vector uses an articulated mechanism referred to as the "Kriss Super V", which allows the bolt and an inertia block to move downward into a recess behind the magazine well. The theory is that at the end of this travel, the energy is transmitted downward rather than rearward, thus reducing the felt recoil. When fired, the barrel axis
7772-527: The MVS was removed from the TDI website in late 2009. Recoil Recoil (often called knockback , kickback or simply kick ) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum , as according to Newton's third law the force required to accelerate something will evoke an equal but opposite reactional force, which means
7906-479: The State of California require some form of "drop safety" on all new firearms, which are usually passive safeties designed to reduce the chance of a firearm accidentally discharging when dropped or roughly handled. Such safeties generally provide an obstacle to operation of the firing mechanism that is only removed when the trigger is pulled, so that the firearm cannot otherwise discharge. Drop tests were introduced with
8040-500: The Super V system in a much smaller package to minimize recoil and muzzle rise in 9×19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP calibers. It does not have a blowback slide, instead it has a T-shaped cocking handle on the rear. As TDI, KRISS also announced a 12-gauge shotgun called the MVS and a .50 BMG heavy machine gun using a double Super V mechanism called the "Disraptor," but the Disraptor has not been mentioned since their name change, while
8174-410: The U.S. State of California passed legislation in 2006 requiring magazine disconnects on all new handgun designs sold in the state starting January 1, 2007, which has resulted in their widespread availability in other jurisdictions as well. The arguments in favor of a magazine disconnect are that if the gun cannot fire without a magazine, then an accidental discharge can be prevented if someone removes
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#17327880052778308-493: The US Civil War, had no internal safety to render them drop-safe, and were usually carried with an empty chamber under the hammer. Many original single-action revolvers have a half-cock "safety" notch on the hammer, but these are not drop-proof. Modern single-action revolvers, those made after the early 1970s, almost always have an internal safety, such as a hammer block or transfer bar. It is safe to carry such firearms with
8442-528: The Vector CRB, Vector SBR and Vector SDP. In addition to 9×19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP , they can also be chambered in .40 S&W (using Glock 22 magazines), 10mm Auto (using Glock 20 magazines), or .357 SIG (using Glock 31 magazines). A variant chambered for 9×21mm IMI that feeds from standard 9×19mm Glock 17 magazines is available for the Italian civilian market. The .22 LR variant feeds from
8576-419: The action and normally positioned to prevent the hammer contacting the cartridge primer or firing pin when at rest. Similar to the firing pin block, the obstruction to the hammer's travel is removed as a consequence of pulling the trigger. This allows the hammer to contact the primer or firing pin only when the trigger is pulled. A transfer bar is also used in revolvers and some exposed hammer rifles, but works
8710-400: The barrel recoils backward, then is dissipated via hydraulic damping as the barrel is returned forward to the firing position under the pressure of the compressed air. The recoil impulse is thus spread out over the time in which the barrel is compressing the air, rather than over the much narrower interval of time when the projectile is being fired. This greatly reduces the peak force conveyed to
8844-413: The barrel upon the gun (recoil force), which is equal and opposite to the force upon the ejecta. It is also determined by the counter-recoil force applied to the gun (e.g. an operator's hand or shoulder, or a mount). The recoil force only acts during the time that the ejecta are still in the barrel of the gun. The counter-recoil force is generally applied over a longer time period and adds forward momentum to
8978-462: The barrel, in order to minimize any rotational effects. If there is an angle for the recoil parts to rotate about, the torque ( τ {\displaystyle \tau } ) on the gun is given by: τ = I d 2 θ d t 2 = h F ( t ) {\displaystyle \tau =I{\frac {d^{2}\theta }{dt^{2}}}=hF(t)} where h {\textstyle h}
9112-419: The barrel. And then to properly design recoil buffering systems to safely dissipate that momentum and energy. To confirm analytical calculations and estimates, once a prototype gun is manufactured, the projectile and gun recoil energy and momentum can be directly measured using a ballistic pendulum and ballistic chronograph . The nature of the recoil process is determined by the force of the expanding gases in
9246-408: The base of the hammer, that allows the sear to catch and hold the hammer a short distance from the pin or cartridge primer, in a " half-cocked " position. The safety notch works first by allowing the handler to retract the hammer a short distance from the firing pin or primer, such that dropping the firearm on its hammer will not result in an energy transfer to the pin or spur, which could then discharge
9380-404: The case of zero-recoil, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force but lasts for a longer time. Since the recoil force and the counter-recoil force are not matched, the gun will move rearward, slowing down until it comes to rest. In the zero-recoil case, the two forces are matched and the gun will not move when fired. In most cases, a gun is very close to a free-recoil condition, since
9514-416: The chamber. Such devices have been in existence for decades; strictly speaking, loaded chamber indicators are not safeties, nor are they efficacious with an untrained user. Another form of warning is an indicator behind the ejector port that does not rise enough to disrupt a shooter's sight picture , but enough to be easily seen or felt to alert a user that there is a round in the chamber. The opposite of
9648-411: The charge is ignited, about half of the recoil impulse is applied to stopping the forward motion of the barrel, while the other half is, as in the usual system, taken up in recompressing the spring. A latch then catches the barrel and holds it in the starting position. This roughly halves the energy that the spring needs to absorb, and also roughly halves the peak force conveyed to the mount, as compared to
9782-408: The cocked hammer, and thus an inadvertent trigger pull is less likely. However, the act of cycling the action on such a firearm (as a natural consequence of discharging the firearm, or to chamber the first round) will leave the hammer cocked in single-action mode. To return the pistol to its safe state, it is necessary to uncock (decock) the hammer, usually by holding the hammer spur, carefully pulling
9916-432: The common ways of describing the felt recoil of a particular gun-cartridge combination is as "soft" or "sharp" recoiling; soft recoil is recoil spread over a longer period of time, that is at a lower deceleration, and sharp recoil is spread over a shorter period of time, that is with a higher deceleration. Like pushing softer or harder on the brakes of a car, the driver feels less or more deceleration force being applied, over
10050-422: The condition for free-recoil is t r ≪ t cr {\displaystyle t_{\text{r}}\ll t_{\text{cr}}} , while for zero-recoil, F r ( t ) + F cr ( t ) = 0 {\displaystyle F_{\text{r}}(t)+F_{\text{cr}}(t)=0} . For a gun firing under free-recoil conditions, the force on the gun may not only force
10184-401: The constant α is generally taken to lie between 1.25 and 1.75. It is mostly dependent upon the type of propellant used, but may depend slightly on other things such as the ratio of the length of the barrel to its radius. Muzzle devices can reduce the recoil impulse by altering the pattern of gas expansion. For instance, muzzle brakes primarily works by diverting some of the gas ejecta towards
10318-474: The duration of the forces accelerating the projectile. This results in the required counter-recoiling force being proportionally lower, and easily absorbed by the gun mount. To apply this counter-recoiling force, modern mounted guns may employ recoil buffering comprising springs and hydraulic recoil mechanisms , similar to shock-absorbing suspension on automobiles. Early cannons used systems of ropes along with rolling or sliding friction to provide forces to slow
10452-418: The ejecta, and do not alter the overall momentum of the system, they do involve moving masses during the operation of firing. For example, gas-operated shotguns are widely held to have a "softer" recoil than fixed breech or recoil-operated guns. (Although many semi-automatic recoil and gas-operated guns incorporate recoil buffer systems into the stock that effectively spread out peak felt recoil forces.) In
10586-530: The equality of the momenta of the gun and bullet have been used. The angular rotation of the gun as the bullet exits the barrel is then found by integrating again: I θ f = h ∫ 0 t f m b V b d t = 2 h m b L {\displaystyle I\theta _{f}=h\int _{0}^{t_{f}}m_{\text{b}}V_{\text{b}}\,dt=2hm_{\text{b}}L} where θ f {\displaystyle \theta _{f}}
10720-479: The expanding gas generated by the propellant combustion behind it. This means the gas is essentially contained within a closed system and acts as a neutral element in the overall momentum of the system's physics. However, when the projectile exits the barrel, this functional seal is removed and the highly energetic bore gas is suddenly free to exit the muzzle and expand in the form of a supersonic shockwave (which can be often fast enough to momentarily overtake
10854-411: The federal Gun Control Act of 1968 for imported guns. A safety notch is one of the oldest forms of drop safety, used on older single-action revolvers manufactured before the invention of the hammer block, some lever-action rifles, 1911 -pattern guns, and hammer-fired semi-automatics that were designed before the invention of the firing pin block. The safety notch is a relief cut made in the tumbler at
10988-583: The firearm and projectile are both at rest before firing, then their total momentum is zero. Assuming a near free-recoil condition, and neglecting the gases ejected from the barrel, (an acceptable first estimate), then immediately after firing, conservation of momentum requires that the total momentum of the firearm and projectile is the same as before, namely zero. Stating this mathematically: p f + p p = 0 {\displaystyle p_{\text{f}}+p_{\text{p}}=0} where p f {\displaystyle p_{\text{f}}}
11122-527: The firing rate. The modern quick-firing guns was made possible by the invention of a much more efficient device: the hydro-pneumatic recoil system. First developed by Wladimir Baranovsky in 1872–5 and adopted by the Russian army, then later in France, in the 75mm field gun of 1897 , it is still the main device used by big guns nowadays. In this system, the barrel is mounted on rails on which it can recoil to
11256-434: The forward momentum gained by the projectile and exhaust gases ( ejectae ) will be mathematically balanced out by an equal and opposite momentum exerted back upon the gun. Any launching system (weapon or not) generates recoil. However recoil only constitutes a problem in the field of artillery and firearms due to the magnitude of the forces at play. Gun chamber pressures and projectile acceleration forces are tremendous, on
11390-420: The gas expansion. By using internal baffles , the gas is made to travel through a convoluted path before eventually released outside at the front of the suppressor, thus dissipating its energy over a larger area and a longer time. This reduces both the intensity of the blast (thus lower loudness ) and the recoil generated (as for the same impulse , force is inversely proportional to time). For small arms,
11524-461: The grip is subsequently squeezed. Finally, if both the grip is squeezed and the trigger pulled simultaneously, the pistol will fire. Another, unusual variant was found in the Ortgies semi-automatic pistols. To disengage the safety, a user would squeeze a lever until flush with the rear of the grip. The lever then would latch in the disengaged position until the user released it again by pressing
11658-410: The gun backwards, but may also cause it to rotate about its center of mass or recoil mount. This is particularly true of older firearms, such as the classic Kentucky rifle , where the butt stock angles down significantly lower than the barrel, providing a pivot point about which the muzzle may rise during recoil. Modern firearms, such as the M16 rifle , employ stock designs that are in direct line with
11792-488: The gun during or after the unloading process. With a magazine disconnect depressing the trigger into a bullet trap or other safe direction, such as downrange, will not clear the round in the chamber because the trigger is disabled. When an empty magazine is inserted the firing system becomes reactivated, even though the trigger has been previously depressed. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute stated that an "obvious concern with magazine disconnect features
11926-401: The gun equal to the backward momentum supplied by the recoil force, in order to bring the gun to a halt. There are two special cases of counter recoil force: Free-recoil , in which the time duration of the counter-recoil force is very much larger than the duration of the recoil force, and zero-recoil, in which the counter-recoil force matches the recoil force in magnitude and duration. Except for
12060-486: The gun has not only been fully and completely cycled, but the trigger is released and squeezed again. This defines the behavior of semi-automatic firearms which require a separate trigger pull to fire each successive cartridge and ready the next, and this is the preferred mechanism of disengaging the trigger on repeating-action firearms. Older pump-action shotguns such as the Winchester Model 12 did not have such
12194-443: The gun rearward during firing with just the same force it is accelerating the projectile forward. This moves the gun rearward and generates the recoil momentum. This recoil momentum is the product of the mass and the acceleration of the projectile and propellant gasses combined, reversed: the projectile moves forward, the recoil is rearward. The heavier and the faster the projectile, the more recoil will be generated. The gun acquires
12328-406: The gun was first released. The Generation II versions with multiple design changes including a new 9mm variant were confirmed at SHOT Show 2015, though the .22LR version had yet to materialize and was thought to have been canceled up until SHOT Show 2020, when they announced its release. Vectors chambered in .45 ACP are designed to accept standard Glock 21 pistol magazines. A special "MagEx 30" kit
12462-584: The gun with the manual safety in the safe position. The safety must be OFF to clear the weapon. In the M&;P design, the slide can be manually actuated and a chambered round ejected with the manual safety in safe position. One possible benefit of the slide-safety lock may be that, upon holstering, the slide cannot be snagged and hung up out of battery. Manual Safeties are the oldest forms of "active" safety mechanism and are widely used; however, many "double-action" firearms such as revolvers do not have manual safeties as
12596-611: The handler may decock the firearm by pushing down on the safety lever from the "Fire" setting, or engage the safety (even on a cocked firearm) by pushing the lever upwards. A simpler "two-way" system was popularized by the Walther PP and is also commonly seen on the Beretta 92 : engaging the safety also decocks the firearm. The SIG Sauer line of pistols, such as the SIG P226 , frequently feature decocking levers. The earliest use of
12730-428: The high pressure gas remaining in the barrel after projectile exit is vented rearward though a nozzle at the back of the chamber, creating a large counter-recoiling force sufficient to eliminate the need for heavy recoil mitigating buffers on the mount (although at the cost of a reduced muzzle velocity of the projectile). The same physics principles affecting recoil in mounted guns also applies to hand-held guns. However,
12864-406: The image, excessive recoil can create serious range safety concerns, if the shooter cannot adequately restrain the firearm in a down-range direction. Perception of recoil is related to the deceleration the body provides against a recoiling gun, deceleration being a force that slows the velocity of the recoiling mass. Force applied over a distance is energy. The force that the body feels, therefore,
12998-418: The interlock helps prevent misfires due to a cartridge not being fully in battery when its primer is struck by the pin (known as firing "out of battery"). Passing handguns or rifles to another person with the action open (known as "show clear") is recommended by elementary gun safety . A magazine disconnect feature does not allow a user to fire the gun when the magazine is withdrawn (even partially) by means of
13132-481: The jerking motion is almost certain to disturb the alignment of the gun and may result in a miss. The shooter may also be physically injured by firing a weapon generating recoil in excess of what the body can safely absorb or restrain; perhaps getting hit in the eye by the rifle scope, hit in the forehead by a handgun as the elbow bends under the force, or soft tissue damage to the shoulder, wrist and hand; and these results vary for individuals. In addition, as pictured in
13266-423: The late 1990s and early 2000s include a mandatory integral locking mechanisms that must be deactivated by a unique key before the gun can be fired. These integral locking mechanisms are intended as child-safety devices during unattended storage of the firearm—not as safety mechanisms while carrying. Other devices in this category are trigger locks , bore locks, and gun safes. The most common form of safety mechanism
13400-399: The longer, harder trigger pull to cock and fire double-action provides adequate trigger safety, while keeping the firearm in a more ready state. A grip safety is a lever or other device situated on the grip of a firearm which must be actuated by the operator's hand, as a natural consequence of holding the firearm in a firing position, in order for the firearm to fire. It is usually similar to
13534-536: The lower receiver groups are changed. The "Enhanced" versions of the Gen II CRB and SBR are also available with collapsing M4-style stock adaptors instead of the standard folding stock (with a Magpul UBR stock included) and a rectangular barrel shroud for the CRB, though these accessories can also be purchased separately. KRISS announced development of a semi-automatic pistol called the " KRISS KARD " in 2010, using
13668-417: The magazine but forgets that a round has been chambered. Also, if losing possession of the firearm is imminent, the operator can render the firearm useless by removing the magazine. Firearms expert Massad Ayoob found instances where during a struggle, police officers carrying a pistol with a magazine disconnect were able to prevent being shot with their own guns by ejecting the magazine. One disadvantage of
13802-399: The magazine disconnect is that it may add tension to components of the trigger mechanism, making the trigger pull uneven or heavy. A safety argument against a magazine disconnect is that if a round is left in a chamber due to extractor failure or other reason the firearm will revert to being live unexpectedly when an empty magazine is reinserted. This is a danger because the user may dry fire
13936-425: The momentum acquired by the gun is dissipated by a forward-acting counter-recoil force applied to the gun over a period of time during and after the projectile exits the muzzle. In hand-held small arms , the shooter will apply this force using their own body, resulting in a noticeable impulse commonly referred to as a "kick". In heavier mounted guns, such as heavy machine guns or artillery pieces , recoil momentum
14070-426: The mount (or to the ground on which the gun has been placed). In a soft-recoil system , the spring (or air cylinder) that returns the barrel to the forward position starts out in a nearly fully compressed state, then the gun's barrel is released free to fly forward in the moment before firing; the charge is then ignited just as the barrel reaches the fully forward position. Since the barrel is still moving forward when
14204-403: The opposite way from a hammer block. The transfer bar has the spur that would otherwise be on the hammer, or encloses a firing pin similar to autoloading designs. The hammer itself cannot contact a loaded cartridge, but must instead strike the transfer bar, which then contacts the cartridge primer with the spur or pin. The transfer bar is normally positioned out of line with the hammer's travel, but
14338-399: The order of tens to hundreds mega pascal and tens of thousands of times the acceleration of gravity ( g's ), both necessary to launch the projectile at useful velocity during the very short time (typically only a few milliseconds) it is travelling inside the barrel. Meanwhile, the same pressures acting on the base of the projectile are acting on the rear face of the gun chamber, accelerating
14472-516: The peak force that is conveyed to whatever the gun is mounted on. Old-fashioned cannons without a recoil system roll several meters backwards when fired; systems were used to somewhat limit this movement (ropes, friction including brakes on wheels, slopes so that the recoil would force the gun uphill,...), but utterly preventing any movement would just have resulted in the mount breaking. As a result, guns had to be put back into firing position and carefully aimed again after each shot, dramatically slowing
14606-431: The production models. Civilian models are limited to semi-automatic only. The Vector is split into two major assemblies in a similar manner to the AR-15 rifle, secured together with four push pins. Due to the weapon's unusual layout, the lower contains the action, charging handle, magazine well and barrel, while the upper contains the ejection port, rail system, pistol grip and fire control components, as well as
14740-434: The projectile and affect its flight dynamics ), creating a phenomenon known as the muzzle blast . The forward vector of this blast creates a jet propulsion effect that exerts back upon the barrel, and creates an additional momentum on top of the backward momentum generated by the projectile before it exits the gun . The overall recoil applied to the firearm is equal and opposite to the total forward momentum of not only
14874-504: The projectile, but also the ejected gas. Likewise, the recoil energy given to the firearm is affected by the ejected gas. By conservation of mass , the mass of the ejected gas will be equal to the original mass of the propellant (assuming complete burning). As a rough approximation, the ejected gas can be considered to have an effective exit velocity of α V 0 {\displaystyle \alpha V_{0}} where V 0 {\displaystyle V_{0}}
15008-399: The rear, and the recoil is taken up by a cylinder which is similar in operation to an automotive gas-charged shock absorber , and is commonly visible as a cylinder shorter and smaller than the barrel mounted parallel to it. The cylinder contains a charge of compressed air that will act as a spring, as well as hydraulic oil; in operation, the barrel's energy is taken up in compressing the air as
15142-461: The rear, balancing the recoil. They are used often as light anti-tank weapons. The Swedish-made Carl Gustav 84mm recoilless gun is such a weapon. In machine guns following Hiram Maxim 's design – e.g. the Vickers machine gun – the recoil of the barrel is used to drive the feed mechanism. Safety (firearms) In firearms , a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent
15276-451: The recoil force on the firearm: ∫ 0 t r F r ( t ) d t = m f v f = − m p v p {\displaystyle \int _{0}^{t_{\text{r}}}F_{\text{r}}(t)\,dt=m_{\text{f}}v_{\text{f}}=-m_{\text{p}}v_{\text{p}}} where: Assuming the forces are somewhat evenly spread out over their respective durations,
15410-410: The recoil process generally lasts much longer than the time needed to move the ejecta down the barrel. An example of near zero-recoil would be a gun securely clamped to a massive or well-anchored table, or supported from behind by a massive wall. However, employing zero-recoil systems is often neither practical nor safe for the structure of the gun, as the recoil momentum must be absorbed directly through
15544-408: The recoil: imparting momentum to the projectile requires imparting opposite momentum to the gun. A change in momentum of a mass requires applying a force (this is Newton's laws of motion ). In a firearm forces wildly change, so what matters is impulse : the change of momentum is equal to the impulse. The rapid change of velocity ( acceleration ) of the gun is a shock and will countered as if by
15678-531: The recoiling cannon to a stop. Recoil buffering allows the maximum counter-recoil force to be lowered so that strength limitations of the gun mount are not exceeded. Modern cannons also employ muzzle brakes very effectively to redirect some of the propellant gasses rearward after projectile exit. This provides a counter-recoiling force to the barrel, allowing the buffering system and gun mount to be more efficiently designed at even lower weight. Propellant gases are even more tapped in recoilless guns , where much of
15812-402: The safety. Most traditional semi-automatic double-action/single action (DA/SA) pistols are designed to be carried with the hammer down (uncocked) on a chambered round, with or without a manual safety engaged. The pistol is considered safe in this state as the "double-action" pull that both cocks and fires the firearm is both longer and heavier than the "single-action" pull that simply releases
15946-512: The same. Increasing the firearm weight also lowers recoil, again all else being the same. The following are base examples calculated through the Handloads.com free online calculator, and bullet and firearm data from respective reloading manuals (of medium/common loads) and manufacturer specs: In addition to the overall mass of the gun, reciprocating parts of the gun will affect how the shooter perceives recoil. While these parts are not part of
16080-429: The shooter's body assumes the role of gun mount, and must similarly dissipate the gun's recoiling momentum over a longer period of time than the bullet travel-time in the barrel, in order not to injure the shooter. Hands, arms and shoulders have considerable strength and elasticity for this purpose, up to certain practical limits. Nevertheless, "perceived" recoil limits vary from shooter to shooter, depending on body size,
16214-400: The sides, increasing the lateral blast intensity (hence louder to the sides) but reducing the thrust from the forward-projection (thus less recoil). Similarly, recoil compensators divert the gas ejecta mostly upwards to counteract the muzzle rise . However, suppressors work on a different principle, not by vectoring the gas expansion laterally but instead by modulating the forward speed of
16348-468: The stock for configurations that have one. This modular design allows for toolless caliber conversions by swapping out only the lower. The Vector's safety is ambidextrous (as well as the fire mode selector on the auto trigger pack) while the ejection port, charging handle, bolt release catch and magazine release are not, and are only available in a right-handed configuration. Calibers such as .22 LR , .40 S&W and 9×19mm Parabellum were mentioned when
16482-410: The striker, and the mechanism is designed to have insufficient force to ignite the primer of an active cartridge from this state even if the sear lock and firing pin block both fail. Rifles come with various safeties. Some use a cross-bolt safety button, others a wing safety at the rear, or even a "half-cock" notch (such as found on older lever-action rifles). The Winchester Model 94 originally utilized
16616-569: The time period during which it acts will yield the momentum supplied by that force. The counter-recoil force must supply enough momentum to the firearm to bring it to a halt. This means that: ∫ 0 t cr F cr ( t ) d t = − m f v f = m p v p {\displaystyle \int _{0}^{t_{\text{cr}}}F_{\text{cr}}(t)\,dt=-m_{\text{f}}v_{\text{f}}=m_{\text{p}}v_{\text{p}}} where: A similar equation can be written for
16750-430: The total momentum of the system (ammunition, gun and shooter/shooting platform)) equals zero just as it did before the trigger was pulled. From a practical engineering perspective, therefore, through the mathematical application of conservation of momentum, it is possible to calculate a first approximation of a gun's recoil momentum and kinetic energy simply based on estimates of the projectile speed (and mass) coming out
16884-423: The trigger is depressed. Third, as with most pistols, a firing pin block actuated by the same extension bar prevents the pin coming into contact with the primer unless the trigger is pulled to clear the block. Although not generally considered a safety feature, the resting state of the gun (excluding a dry/misfire) has the striker in a "half-cocked" state; pulling the trigger will fully cock the weapon before releasing
17018-454: The trigger pull or prevent the firing pin from detonating the cartridge or both. Firearms with the ability to allow the user to select various fire modes may have separate switches for safety and for mode selection (e.g. Thompson submachine gun ) or may have the safety integrated with the mode selector as a fire selector with positions from safe to semi-automatic to full-automatic fire (e.g. M16 rifle ). Some firearms manufactured after
17152-399: The trigger, and then slowly lowering the hammer on the firing pin. Hammer-fired semi-auto pistols have a beaver tail to protect the shooter's hand from the slide, which makes it more difficult to securely and firmly grasp the hammer with the thumb than a double action/single action revolver, thus making an accidental discharge more likely. Striker-fired pistols, on the other hand, do not have
17286-454: The use of recoil padding , individual pain tolerance, the weight of the firearm, and whether recoil buffering systems and muzzle devices ( muzzle brake or suppressor ) are employed. For this reason, establishing recoil safety standards for small arms remains challenging, in spite of the straightforward physics involved. There are two conservation laws at work when a gun is fired: conservation of momentum and conservation of energy . Recoil
17420-608: The usual system. However, the need to reliably achieve ignition at a single precise instant is a major practical difficulty with this system; and unlike the usual hydro-pneumatic system, soft-recoil systems do not easily deal with hangfires or misfires . One of the early guns to use this system was the French 65 mm mle.1906 ; it was also used by the World War II British PIAT man-portable anti-tank weapon. Recoilless rifles and rocket launchers exhaust gas to
17554-414: The vector sum, magnitude and direction, of the momentum of all the bodies involved does not change; that is, momentum of the system is conserved. This conservation of momentum is why gun recoil occurs in the opposite direction of bullet projection—the mass times velocity of the projectile (gas included) in the positive direction equals the mass times velocity of the gun in the negative direction. In summation,
17688-421: The very small distance of elastic deformation of the materials the gun and mount are made from, perhaps exceeding their strength limits. For example, placing the butt of a large caliber gun directly against a wall and pulling the trigger risks cracking both the gun stock and the surface of the wall. The recoil of a firearm, whether large or small, is a result of the law of conservation of momentum. Assuming that
17822-414: The way in which the shooter perceives the recoil, or kick , can have a significant impact on the shooter's experience and performance. For example, a gun that is said to "kick like a mule " is going to be approached with trepidation, and the shooter may anticipate the recoil and flinch in anticipation as the shot is released. This leads to the shooter jerking the trigger, rather than pulling it smoothly, and
17956-527: Was available to convert a factory 13-round .45 ACP Glock magazine to an extended high-capacity version, but was later marketed as a "25+" round kit. Vectors chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum use standard Glock 17 magazines. In 2019, KRISS released the "MagEx2" which extends the capacity of a factory standard Glock Magazine. The MagEx 2 is available in 9mm for an overall capacity of 40 rounds, 33 rounds of 10mm and 30 rounds of .45 ACP. The KRISS Vector has undergone two generations of modification. The Gen I version
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