Hey military guys, M203 recoil?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hey military guys, M203 recoil?

Posted: 4/27/2002 12:57:59 PM EDT

What does the recoil of an M203 w/ 40x53mm HEPD rounds compare to? I realize the velocity of the 40mm is extremely low, but it fires quite a large projectile nonetheless.

Posted: 4/27/2002 1:00:53 PM EDT

[#1]

There is hardly any recoil at all with the 203 even with the HE round.

Posted: 4/27/2002 1:04:26 PM EDT

[#2]

HE is sort of like a 300WM. A M79 kicks a little harder.

TP hardly kicks at all, real fun.

A 50 or 100 round session will wear your shoulder out, especially if your shooting from the move.

Posted: 4/27/2002 2:13:06 PM EDT

[#3]

orange powder rounds are cake. HEDP has quite a bit of thump, i spent my youth as a bird murderer(trap shooter) and was quite accostomed to 100-200 rds of 12gau in a day. the first time i fired a lot of 203 i shot about 20powder and 10 HEDP and had a pretty good bruise going and was sore for a day or two. after we got LBV the padding helped a lot and i could shoot more

Posted: 4/27/2002 2:51:27 PM EDT

[#4]

12 ga. 3" mag.

Posted: 4/27/2002 3:28:23 PM EDT

[#5]

Yeah, I'd say 12 ga Mag or 10 ga. shotgun, sorta. It's a close approximation for the HE. There's recoil, but it is a different kind of "shove" as compared to a shotgun.

Posted: 4/27/2002 6:48:44 PM EDT

[#6]

I guess it also depends on how your holding it. I agree that the recoil is minor... but when I was in basic... my first round out...
the but plate slipped out of the "pocket" as I pulled the trigger... gave me a pretty good wack on the collar bone... arghhhh it hurt.. and black and blue for a week..

Posted: 4/27/2002 7:03:43 PM EDT

[#7]

I gotta agree with Docpig, barely any recoil at all, and one of the coolest sounds when fired of anything out there. Nothing like doing a live fire and seeing the grenadier shoot a bounding teammmate in the ass with a TPT round . That had to hurt.

Posted: 4/27/2002 8:19:01 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
HE is sort of like a 300WM.

TP hardly kicks at all, real fun.

I fired a few TP rounds in basic training and can't recall much recoil. This was many years ago, but it didn't seem to me the rounds looked like they would have travelled more than 200 yards or so, max. Yet I recall the M203 effective (or was it maximum?) range is something like 400 meters or more, firing HE.

Anybody with actual experience know if there is a difference in range beween TP and HE rounds? It sure seems like they'd have to follow the same trajectory if the TP rounds were to serve any purpose; how can there be significant difference in recoil if they both are pushing the same diameter and shape projectiles along the same trajectory?

Part of my job in the Army was repairing M203's, but I never had another chance to shoot one again after basic. [>(]

Posted: 4/27/2002 9:26:48 PM EDT

[#9]

The max range for a 203 is given as 400 meters in the manual and 350 max EFFECTIVE for an area target(vehicle, team sized element, etc.) and 150 meters effective for a point target( window, bunker aperture, etc).
The TPT and HE would have to have the same trajectory or the sight wouldn't be on for one of the rounds. When we qual. with the 203 (2x a year) it is zeroed at 200 for the TPT and when we fire HE at the 200 line for "familiarization" the leaf sight is still right on.

Posted: 4/27/2002 11:05:50 PM EDT

[#10]

Ok, first thank you for the responses. There seems to be no middle ground here. Some say it kicks like a bitch...others say hardly at all. From what I've seen, the 40mm TP rounds are fired with a .38cal blank. Is this what you guys used in the military? If so, I can see why the TP rounds don't kick. BUT, even if those HEDP rounds move at only 450fps or so, I imagine they pack a thump.

Posted: 4/27/2002 11:37:12 PM EDT

[#11]

i remember the HEDP rounds having a signifigant kick. along the lines of a 12gau 3-1/2 mag load in a field gun with no pad. 10+ rounds and youre feeling it. you can shoot TPs all day long.

Posted: 4/27/2002 11:44:03 PM EDT

[#12]

The rounds only have a muzzle velocity of 250 fps or so. You can easily track the round with your eyes, if it was fired at you at long range you could probably get out of its way pretty easily. The HE has a casualty radius of 5 meters.
The TPT and HE rounds weigh roughly the same, the steel driving band of the TPT puts the weight up there with the HE.
The 40 mm rounds use whats called a high-low pressure system. The initial charge (the blank) ignites in a hi pressure chamber(30,000-40,000 psi) and bleeds into a low pressure chamber(3,000 psi) which gives the round a steady push out the tube.
The M4 with a 203 weighs right about 11 lbs. loaded. So an 11 lb. weapon firing a slug (even if it is a heavy one) at 250 fps just doesn't kick much. Hope this helps.

Posted: 4/27/2002 11:52:38 PM EDT

[#13]

The 203 kicks but it really is a slow kick about like what these other guys said 3 inch 12 gauge.
It is a hoot to shoot though,its a neat little weapon.

Posted: 4/28/2002 8:43:39 AM EDT

[#14]

Fired many a round from them at Wildflicken during our annual training in W. Germany (I made three). Can't recall much of a recoil. Kind of effortless. Recall dropping one on an old armored hulk, and damn if it didn't go right down the turret! Lost dinner on the Platoon for not doing it a second time, but hey I got a tall beer out of it!!

Now, what left an impression on me was the 90mm recoiless rifle. Had to leave your mouth open to equalize pressure when you fired. Blew the hell out of the hulks, but you spit dirt for some time thereafter. Was not too kind on ones ears either!

Posted: 4/29/2002 10:50:03 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
The TPT and HE rounds weigh roughly the same, the steel driving band of the TPT puts the weight up there with the HE.

Steel driving band? Are TPT the same as training rounds? Maybe I'm just using the wrong terminology here; I thought the training rounds had a blue 100% plastic projectile shell filled with that powdery stuff. And anyway, how can you fire steel driving bands down aluminum barrels?

This seeming discrepancy between the training and HE rounds as far as kick still puzzles me. If the training round projectile was lighter it could start out at the same velocity with less kick, but then it would slow down much faster due to air resistance and trajectories would not be the same at long ranges, making practice shooting rather unhelpful. This just don't make sense to me.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hey military guys, M203 recoil?

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