I have a 62 jaeger, it is easy on you with that wide butt up to 90gr or so, but when you get over that it will rock you.
"Assuming same powder and same gun.."
Using your parameters, the only difference between the .50 and .54 is the weight of the ball
I've never really felt any real "kick" with any black powder gun... except once when I accidentally doubled my shot charge in a 20 gauge gun.... Ouch!
Felt recoil is based on weight of rifle, weight of projectile & velocity.
you won't feel a thing when a deer is in front of you.
I see a lot of variables and differences in opinion. I think that you have to shoot the gun to get a real idea on how much one kicks over the other. I have shot some guns of the same caliber, but one kicks more than the other. Stock drop, butt shape may have something to do with it as well as all the other things mentioned already. I see one guy saying his 10 ga really kicks and I believe it although a lightweight Pedersoli is going to kick a lot more than some heavier gun. I have one 10 ga. that I love shooting but a lightweight Pedersoli 12 I have makes my shoulder hurt a lot more. I'd say, try it if you can before you buy one. Just my 2 cents.I shoot a 32, 36, 40, 45, 54 and 10 gauge. My favorite is the 54 with 90 grains of 2f and a round ball. People that I shoot with, hear the 54 go off and from the sound, believe that it kicks like a mule. I let them think so but in reality, I prefer the 54's recoil. It doesn't kick hard, it just feels like a rifle should. The 10 gauge side by side's stock bites into my face. I can still shoot it, but it's not all that comfortable.
I would hazard that the recoil "torque" the Brit was referring to was more likely from rearward motion, not actual twist, as the rifle would be about 300 times the mass of a ball...Actually "felt recoil" is a matter of perception...,
How a person feels recoil also includes:
Stock shape, if the stock is a very poor fit to the shooter, the shooter perceives more recoil,
Butt plate construction, a thin metal butt plate with squared edges will give a person more "felt" recoil than one that is wide with rounded edges,
Shooter's position, a prone position will cause a shooter to "feel" the recoil more than sitting or standing, if the shooter doesn't have that rifle tight against the shoulder or lifts the head from the stock, again the feel of the recoil will be more.
Powder, the feel of the recoil is more when the powder burns quick, so equal amounts of 3Fg vs. 1Fg the 3Fg. will give a perception of more recoil.
Twist Rate, the twist rate of 1:48 compared to slow twists, will amplify the feel of recoil (especially in a poorly shaped stock) as it causes uncomfortable torque to be imparted to the shooter, or as one British author put it in 1807 regarding American rifles, ...a "disagreeable" recoil.
As for the physics as others have mentioned, there is more mass going from the shooter, then there is more push against the shooter. The mass difference is pretty negligible.
LD
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