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Rate of Fire: What Determines it and How to Change It (Ad-free)

🕑 Added 2025-01-17 12:00:11 +0000 UTC

Comments

Matthew Stanchfield

Yes, please. I have my own opinion of this (pretty much standard US Army), but I would like to hear your thoughts.

Jason

Great video. Yes, I'd like to hear about which rate-of-fire is best (or worse) for various applications.

Walter Cheatham

Okay, I should have done a little research first. It was a "Recoil Booster". Wikipedia has a page. Seems like Hiram Maxim invented it so his gun would function better with the 6MM Navy.

Walter Cheatham

A number of years ago, I read a book, with a simple title like "Machine Guns". I still have it but it's at our vacation home. I wish it was easily reachable. I believe it was talking about the MG-42. It mentioned a recoil enhancer. Not having a clue what that was I sent a letter to the American Rifleman. The reply included an illustration. It showed a flared muzzle moving in a fixed barrel shroud. So the muzzle blast acted on the barrel as a piston enhancing recoil and therefore rate of fire.

maxmfs

Yes, what are the general parameters of rates of fire depending on application, ammo type, ranges, etc.

Jack Wakeland

That’s my question, too. From my ME-201 Engineering Mechanics class in school (way back in 1979): the period of one cycle in a spring-mass system is two pi times the square root of the mass divided by the spring rate. This comes straight out of the math of a linear second-order differential equation. The spring-mass system is identical to a straight-blowback, constant recoil system, a system in which the receiver is so long that the bolt never hits the rear travel stop. All other machine gun mechanisms are variations of this design and the cyclic rate would differ from this basic rule of square root of mass divided by the spring rate, accordingly.

Gary W Hausler

What about strength of recoil springs?

Benjamin Helton

Well Ian, what rate of fire is best for what purposes?

Guido Schriewer

correct. insane amount of ammo and questionable rounds that hit. I'd prefer better control hits and little less keep heads down.

Steven E

I have attended two Big Sandy shoots and the high rate of fire from the miniguns have yet to shoot down one of the drones (model airplanes) however the slower machineguns are successful at downing them, I have downed two of them at each shoot using a MP-40 (550-650/min). High rate of fire is great for keeping your enemies heads down on the battlefield but requires an insane amount of ammo.

Terry

I miss Q&A’s…and the Scotch choices.

Guido Schriewer

yeah with the angry bees a180

Forgotten Weapons

Air defense MG use went away a few decades ago, but it might come back thanks to drones...

Retired No Bad Days

I have a related topic that you may want to do a video on. How are 9mm NATO rounds different from SAAMI 9mm rounds and why are barrels/pistols not stamped as "9mm NATO" . Also and most important what parts of a striker fire pistol ware out faster when using 9mm NATO ammo. I was very surprised when I started asking manufactures question about these issues.

Guido Schriewer

unless air defense (is that still a thing these days with fixed wing jets) absolutely a nice sloooow controlable 450-500/min! optimal for any mission IMO. they should have reduce the rate of MG3 (nin ecport,, ng42, 36,,,, subcompact subgun is one thing. mg42 is pretty insane.