a rotational torque around the mass center and make the gun pitch upwards after each shot — a phenomenon known as muzzle rise. This is more prominent in shorter-barreled weapons such as handguns due to less frontal weight available to counter the upward lifting of the muzzle, and how high the bore axis sits above the gripping hand will also affect the degree of muzzle rise. A lower bore axis will align more of the recoil directly into the hand, creating less couple torque and thus less muzzle rise. Among other things that affect muzzle rise and felt recoil is the weight of the pistol frame and tuning of recoil springs. The presence of a buttstock in a long gun will also help negate the effect of muzzle rise by shifting the pivot of the muzzle rise back towards the butt end, thus utilizing the entire gun's weight with a longer lever to counter the rise. Bore axis in pistols Handguns lack a buttstock to aid in recoil control, so design elements that reduce felt recoil or muzzle flip are considered highly desirable and numerous manufacturers claim their handgun design has a low bore axis, although few offer measurements to prove this claim. While a lower bore axis does typically yield reduced felt recoil and muzzle flip, shooters intent on reducing these features as much as possible (such as competitive sport shooters) will typically seek out handguns with heavy steel frames, as increasing the weight of the gun's non-reciprocating mass (the frame) yields greater reductions in felt recoil and muzzle flip than any difference in bore axis height can typically achieve. Handguns such as the CZ-75, which combine a heavy steel frame with a low bore axis (relative to other hammer-fired guns) achieve twofold reductions to felt recoil and muzzle flip, and are popular choices in many competitive shooting disciplines. Striker-fired handgun designs are typically able to achieve a lower bore axis than their hammer-fired counterparts since strikers travel straight forward, rather than up and forward like a typical hammer mechanism. See also Boresight (firearm) References External links GunTweaks.com - Pistol Bore Axis: Comparison and Explanation The Truth About Guns - The Truth About Muzzle Flip and Bore Height Firearm terminology