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This thread is for discussion about the handgun used by George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Anything related to firearms in this case should be posted here.
Many of you carry or are handgun experts. I'm curious about all the talk relating to the possibility of GZ's gun recoiling. Does that happen very often? I've done some web searches and can't find anything difinitive either way.
If there was recoil, wouldn't there have been GSR on GZ's face?
To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction: or the forces of two bodies on each other are always equal and are directed in opposite directions.
I'm not sure what you mean by recoiling. Every gun produces recoil when fired. It's physics. Every action has a equal reaction.
There could be Gun Shot Residue (GSR) on GZ's face but we know he was the shooter so I don't know if it matters if he did.
Newton's laws of motion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sorry Ranch, I meant some have suggested GZ's injuries might have been from recoil when he shot TM.
Your second comment may have answered my question. Would GZ have had GSR on his face even if he was injured by TM and shot his gun?
He would have had to hold his weapon less than 3 inches away from his nose for the injuries to occur. Not very likely given that he was TRAINED on how to use his weapon.
Sorry Ranch, I meant some have suggested GZ's injuries might have been from recoil when he shot TM.
Your second comment may have answered my question. Would GZ have had GSR on his face even if he was injured by TM and shot his gun?
AJ, I just want to get some facts straight in my head. While I can load and fire a handgun, I'm just doing what I was taught. I don't know from power, type of bullets, length of distance from target.
In the heat of the moment, when GZ shot his weapon, from the distance (or lack of) we've been given, would GZ have GSR on his face?
That's the difference from just loading and firing a weapon and being trained. When you are trained they teach you about recoil. They teach you the various moving and non-moving parts of the firearm. In fact, when I was learning how to shoot my (first weapon) Baretta 9mm they made sure to express greatly that I didn't lay my thumb on or near the slide because the gun could very well "chop it off" (their exact words to me). It's not very likely that Mr. Zimmerman would've forgotten something like that.
Thanks! My only experience with recoil was with a shotgun that left my shoulder looking like an Arizona sunrise for about 2 weeks. Handguns were different but I was closely supervised.
People who don't really know what they're doing should not handle guns of any type.
I'm nit-picking (mostly being silly in doing so) here but how do you learn what you're doing if you don't handle them?
AJ, I just want to get some facts straight in my head. While I can load and fire a handgun, I'm just doing what I was taught. I don't know from power, type of bullets, length of distance from target.
In the heat of the moment, when GZ shot his weapon, from the distance (or lack of) we've been given, would GZ have GSR on his face?
I would imagine that testing of GZ's gun would determine how far back GSR could travel. A semi-auto pistol like the Kel-Tec PF9 should produce little rearward GSR. When the gun is in locked into battery and ready to fire, it's sealed so the burning propellant pushes the bullet out the barrel. Gun designers don't want that stuff coming back into the shooters face. My guess is that the GSR wouldn't travel very far back beyond a persons wrist. JMO.I'm just asking this question because I know nothing about guns and shooting them. Would GZ have less GSR on him if his arm was extended and his elbow was locked???? jmo