How Does it Work: Long Recoil 

I love these short videos explaining design concepts.

This was just an excuse to pull out the Chauchat, wasn't it Ian?

Long Recoil was used in shotguns because, at the time, black powder shotgun shells were still dominant, though smokeless powder was starting to overtake it. For self-loading rifles, the extra time that long recoil guns stayed locked was critical. Case metallurgy was extremely primitive and catastrophic case failure was common. The extra time that the action was locked together reduced pressure greatly and greatly reduced the chance of case failure. Machineguns of the era were usually short recoil type designs and relied on large reciprocating masses to delay the unlocking of the action. Long recoil gave the same delaying effect, but with reduced weight.

You know its a good video when literally within the 1st second, the explanation has already begun. No bullshit, no rambling, just the deliverance of information.

I think the lynx 50 bmg bullpup is one of the few modern firearms that still uses this long recoil system, which is pretty neat imo.

I have an old 70's Browning auto-5 and boy is it the most satisfying "clink-kachunk" on the planet when shooting clays. Big fan of it. Also, the shotgun seems to be all to excited about being fed ammo. If the bolt is locked open and you load a shell into the magazine tube, it'll immediately rip it out and slam it into the chamber. I've never had a firearm this eager for skeet before...

Quite simply excellent explanation.

Long Recoil: More fun to watch than it is to shoot

When I was young and learning how guns worked I took apart my dad's Browning auto 5. Not knowing how it worked and how it was different from other semi-autos I was familiar with I got my thumb bit by the bolt when it released forward. Those guns have really strong recoil springs and that ejector is pretty darn sharp let me tell you.

Nothing better than wake up in the morning, and watch Forgotten Weapons

I think these videos explaining the basic concepts are a great idea. I know a number of people who are history buffs but not shooters. I think these videos will make it much easier for them to understand what you are talking about in your other videos.

This is one reason why I like this channel, am not a gun nut, have very limited interest or experience, but like hearing about the engineering or the stories behind them.

Cool! I have read explanations of long recoil systems many times, but this short video clarified it way more than anything else ever did.

Again a very concise and informative presentation. Well done, Sir.

1:43 "On most guns the empty cartridge case is ejected when the BOLT is recoiling backwards"

In gunsmithing school right now, and after reading about this system, having no prior knowledge of it, I couldn't for the life of me picture how this worked. THANK YOU!

Ian , what about doing a series in the diver and submarine weapons,? example: mark 1 US MARINES underwater revolver , girojet flechete harpoon , the russian divers AKs ,the german HK M11 pistol ,etc. lots of forgotten stuff there!!!

Ian, the bullet going forward does not make the barrel go back. On the contrary, the friction will pull the barrel forward - that's how forward stroke systems work. The pressure on the back of the case makes it go back - and the breach face with it - and the barrel, if it's locked into the slide.

I love it on the FN Browning Auto 5.

So nice to see this notification while I am bored in my english class

Long recoil is my porn name... Because people jolt backward in horror.

A Winchester Model 1911!! Winchester's attempt at engineering around the patents of John Moses Browning and his A5 / Remington 11. Being very forgotten, it deserves a show of its own: almost no screws in assembly like a Mauser C-96, fascinating cocking method, fragile fore-end and all. My brother had one for a while, (had to make a new and "beefier" fore-end). He traded that 1911 to a serious Winchester collector and then moved up to an A5; an early engraved, cased, trap / skeet combo with the fore-and-aft safety in the front of the trigger-guard. Long gone now.

Remington Model 8 represent

One day, Ian will write a marvelous book about gun mechanic that will be the definitive reference on the subject.

Those clips inbetween your explenation help alot to answer imminent questions. Good Job!

These short explanation videos are fantastic. I mean, I've already learned a hell of a lot about all kinds of firearms since joining the channel and visiting the site, but I'm still lacking knowledge about many concepts that people who actually own and shoot weapons would probably consider to be very basic stuff. Please sir, may we have some more? Thanks Ian, great work!

very cool concept, i henjoyed the frommer stop bit

Love the kerchunk when I shoot my Remington Model 11

Woo! One of my most cherished firearms is my grandfather's old goose gun - a FN manufactured Auto-5 3" Magnum. I actually feel less recoil "shock" on firing from it since if the springs and friction rings are set up properly it's not slamming into the back of the receiver, it's more of a shove than a punch as the system transfers the recoil over it's full travel.

Another brilliantly simple explanation 👍

I love your shows and I think these small mechanics videos will be a lot of help to people. I have used them already to show people how the mechanism works.

These short sections are great. Thanks Ian!

Just have to say I’m enjoying this new series a lot.

When my father taught gunsmithing he kept a Former Stop pistol for a very long time to explain long recoil function as you have here.

Great job describing, and illustrating, the long recoil action. It was very interesting. More videos like this please.

I'm loving this informative, punchy and intelligent commentary on firearm operation systems, keep it up 🤔👍

Worth it for the high speed. My father has a 16ga savage that is a humpback clone. It is actually quite nice to shoot.

Thank you , Ian .

I really like these videos explaining certain aspects of firearms, hopefully we'll see more of these over time

This type of video is fantastic. Love it

The long awaited long recoil operating system video.

I'm good at explaining but it's nice to have a video backup seeing as most people learn by seeing

Ian, thanks to your videos I'm finally able to make sense of these different operating systems. Thank you very much for the insight

Fascinating! Love the channel.

Thanks for the knowledge Sir

Very interesting demonstration!

Thanks for this interesting series of videos.

We had a Savage 720 light weight 12 GA that was brutal to fire. It eventually broke at the back of the receiver. I don't miss that gun!

Thank you for these videos.

Great! I like videos like this one very much. It is the mechanics of firearms that fascinate me, not the destructive capabilities of the bullets.

The Gast principle uses two long recoil guns, side by side, with the barrels of each linked together and firing alternately. Other than the original WW1 Gast gun only a couple of Soviet autocannons have used this principle though.

Very good, but technically speaking the recoil doesn't directly push the barrel back. It pushes the bolt back, and the bolt pulls the barrel with it since they're locked together at that point. If anything, the force of firing tends to act forward upon the barrel (see blow-forward systems)

Hey thanks for doing this video I have always wondered how this works

I am curious about the viability of a long recoil action rifle in a modern military environment. As in a long recoil action LMG designed to fire very hot loads of ammunition (full case of .30-06 type pressure) ? Secondly, because one of the faults of the long recoil system is the recoil impluse it self, would the counter balance system used on the ak-100s solve the problem? I'm 13 and really interested in firearm engineering, so this really stood out in my head. Keep up the amazing work and i hope you grow your collection of extremely cool and rare firearms

Thanks Ian! I was always curious about this system and you explained it perfectly.

There’s something about that ol’ Remmy Model 8. It’s just so damn cool. Also very interesting to see that AK-style safety all the way back then.

Good lord. I’ve never seen a rifle with that set up

Amazing video man thank you!

Another well done video.

My family has a Rem. Mod 8 in .32 Rem. It has one of the most disturbing recoil impulses of any rifle I have ever shot.

These are great tutorials, to understand the small important things that make guns work. Looking forward to see more!

Hope all these short videos about "How do the guns work" can be found in some kind of YT playlist. :)

Cool. I learned something new. Thanks.

Educational and cool. Thanks man.

Awesome video, could you do a quick video on telescoping bolts? I havent found much on them except for a few obscure references.

The Long Recoil Browning A5 and it's clone the Franchi 48 can even be run reliably with Black Powder loads if the friction rings are removed. I wonder if this is an inherent capability of long recoil systems in general.

I find these really helpful. Just a thought why not do a series on cleaning, maintaining and displaying C&R vintage firearms? As a relatively new collector I don't seem to be able to find much reliable advise out there? Thanks for the show.

Hear me out. Buffer spring that would soften the recoil completely, so that there is no abrupt stop.

Love this videos. Please do inertial operation!

Such a good video that there is no dislike short and simple👍🏻👍🏻

Very interesting, thank you.

Thanks for explanation !!!

Man I love these old firearms! Being a Brit however most people think you’re a lunatic when you try bringing up the subject of guns 😂

very informative, Thank you gun jesus

Now that silencers are more popular than ever, perhaps long recoil will make a comeback. The long travel rearward with the barrel and bolt locked together, cartridge fixed in place, means much lower pressures when it finally unlocks, as much more of the gas will be forced forward through the silencer at the muzzle. This would make for quieter operation, especially with subsonics, making it more like a manual action. In some cartridges, like .22LR, manual actions are generally noticeably quieter than self-loading actions, but long recoil could prove to be an exception. Modern technology would enable these guns to be more accurate than the long recoil guns of the past. Using modern recoil reduction methods would also reduce felt recoil. Muzzle devices can help, like the silencer I mentioned, but a recoil buffer spring (probably in the stock) would decelerate the barrel and bolt as they travel rearward for less jolting recoil. Those are simple solutions. Upping the budget, a Russian-style BARS (Balanced Automatic Recoil System) could greatly reduced felt recoil. Of course, for a very light recoiling round like .22LR no recoil reduction method may be necessary. Even without one, an integrally silenced long recoil .22LR could potentially be amazing, being a semi-auto (or automatic) offering a level of noise comparable to a manual action. If I was developing an integrally suppressed .22LR I'd definitely try it. Delaying the unlocking as long as possible in a semi-auto would reduce sound volume and gas blowback into the face of the shooter. In a semi-auto, perhaps other methods might work even better. I imagine a trigger that fires on pull, and unlocks the bolt to chamber a new round on release. It could work with any action. More recoil than some other actions, for sure, but it would be as quiet as a manual action since the human finger can be made to move more slowly than any firearm's mechanical automatic self-loading operation. Shooting it would be just like normal, press and release. It might feel a little jumpy or jerky since it moves twice, but that would make it as quiet as a manual action (arguably it would be a manual action, operated by the trigger release) yet firing as fast as a semi-auto.

Thank you sir

Sub machine guns get their name from sub sonic cartridges. the blow back system they use does not work with high velocity ammunition. The rate of fire is governed by the distance the bolt has to travel to eject and chamber a cartridge. Fixed firing pins are mainly used and the primer caps are hardened to take the impact that can occur when the new cartridge is fed from the magazine. I know people will argue the point ,but this is fact.

so how does the ejector work? The case is not moving at that point, which means there needs to be another moving ejector part to kick it out.

Excellent Video, Ian! Can you do a similar video of the Blow-Forward action? I know you did the two 1908 pistols (Japan & Schwarzlose), but I think they could both be pretty nicely combined overall to better illustrate such an unusual design...

These are very well done, but I would personally like it if you somehow labeled the various firearms shown.

Does that weak ejection lead to more malfunctions?

Seems logical to combine long recoil with a air compression buffering system to spread the recoil out. Of course it would provide less cushioning as the air pressure decreased at higher altitudes. One could make it adjustable to account for altitude.

Have you considered adding some links to videos that show guns using the mechanism you describe in the video?

It’s almost therapeutic to watch in slow motion

I am quite sure You have the most informative Smithing videos. But I wonder at the accuracy of a non stationary Barrel.

Thanks

I am basikng my paintball marker design on this system. Still need to figure out the right sizes for pressures, but it most likely will work.

Great video

Can't wait until blow forward

can't wait for the short documentary mini-series on roller-delayed blowback

All praise Ian “Gun Jesus” McCollum

And gun jesus did tell of the early works of the disciples, that they were good and praiseworthy but finnicky...but the disciples did learn in time and it was good... Amen

Although Ian didn’t mention it , I was/am under the impression that long recoil systems are at their best with automatic anti-aircraft artillary, in the 25-57mm range. The guns are ground based so the recoil, which is its biggest drawback, isn’t felt by the gunners

No wonder Chauchats are a real pain to use and require a good bit of training. Not only are they open bolt, they're also long-recoil. Props to the soldiers who had to endure with those unwieldy things.

Interesting to know that it do exist - the questions that I'd like to see answered is then; Is this bad for the accuracy, and is this giving a different muzzle velocity over more conventional solutions?

My first gun was a Remington Sportsman 48 in 16 gauge, long recoil is definitely no slouch

great video

A Winchester 1911 shotgun? Neat. A bit dangerous but neat to see.

Thanks!

I would love to just sit down with Ian and just talk about guns... uh one day!!