A Salt Lake company will manufacture a new line of firearms that have practically no recoil, says Windell Davidson, president and chairman of the board of Diamond D Firearms Inc.
Davidson, a Rawlins, Wyo., inventor and gunsmith, said he started working on his recoil-reduction process 10 years ago and has developed big game rifles of .30-06 and larger calibers that have recoil similar to .22-caliber rifles.His process involves putting mathematically engineered holes in the top of the barrel about an inch to 2 inches from the end of the muzzle and machining recessed chambers inside the end of the barrel. This process allows the gases that are created when a cartridge is fired to work in opposition to the normal recoil created by the bullet's energy.
"Newton's law says that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction," Davidson said. "This means that big-caliber rifles and shotguns slam back into your shoulder, often painfully. Big-bore pistols kick in your hand when they are fired, sometimes jumping upward so it takes additional time to get back on target."
He said his recoil reduction methods cause the normal barrel jump of big-bore firearms and the shoulder slam of big-caliber rifles and shotguns to practically disappear.
"Women and youths can now handle any big-caliber firearms with ease. And recoil-sensitive men will find hunting, target shooting and trap shooting a lot more fun now."
Davidson said his process has applications in military weapons and in other areas in industry. "We can greatly reduce the recoil of up to 16-inch cannons and other guns used on tanks, ships and airplanes."
Company officials said they will test some of their guns at Hercules Inc. to measure not only recoil, but bullet velocity and energy. "Our tests have shown no appreciable reduction in bullet speed or energy using our recoil reduction process," Davidson said.
"On the contrary, the reduction in recoil is a boon to target shooters. The elimination of recoil makes accurate shooting much easier."
He said he is making guns for international rifle competitors and while his process does not violate any competition rules, "I expect there will be some controversy over the use of my guns because they will enable those using them to fire heavy centerfire bullets easily."