A recoilless rifle (RCLR) or recoilless gun is a type of lightweight tube artillery that is designed to allow some of the propellant gases to escape out the rear of the weapon at the moment of ignition, creating forward thrust that counteracts some of the weapon's recoil.lder recoilless rifles are still used by the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service as a system for avalanche control. The Washington State Department of Transportation uses a 105 mm recoilless rifle for avalanche control on Interstate 90.