Muzzle Rise or Climb
The interchangeable terms muzzle rise, muzzle flip, or muzzle climb refer to the tendency of a firearm's front end (the muzzle end of the barrel) to rise up after firing.
The muzzle rises primarily because for most firearms, the centerline of the barrel is above the center of contact between the shooter and the firearms' grips and stock. The forces from the bullet being fired and the propellant gases exiting the muzzle act directly down the centerline of the barrel. If that line of force is above the center of the contact points, this creates a moment or torque rotational force, causing the firearm to rotate and the muzzle end to rise upwards. The M1946 Sieg automatic rifle had an unusual muzzle brake that made the rifle climb downwards, but enabled the user to fire it with one hand in full automatic.
Firearms with less height from the grip line to the barrel centerline tend to experience less muzzle rise.
Read more about this topic: Muzzle Brake
Famous quotes containing the words muzzle, rise and/or climb:
“As well have a talon as a finger, a muzzle as a mouth,
as well have a hollow as a heart.”
—Robert Earl Hayden (1913–1980)
“I held it truth, with him who sings
To one clear harp in diverse tones,
That men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.”
—Douglass Cross (b. 1920)