Quote Originally Posted by Mattrick View Post

You do know that guns are constantly upgraded and a similar model from twenty+ years ago and would probably have a lot more recoil. Recoild also depends on experience with a gun and strength. A gun will move around a lot more for someone who is not apt for firing them. They now have a portable howitzer with zero recoil, computer chips etc.

A guy I worked with shooting an M-16 one weekend (saw video of it) and his face was all bruised from the gun bouncing back and hitting him in the face.
The M-16 is called a recoilless rifle for a reason. It was designed to have hardly any recoil. It hasn't changed between now and then and certainly not in 1986-1987 when King was writing Drawing of the Three. Also the recoil of any gun does NOT depend on the experience with the gun. How you handle the recoil does. I've shot a lot of guns and several different AR-15s various years apart in manufacture and their recoil doesn't change.
King has never known guns or made any attempt to. Him making some guy firing an M-16 out like he was firing an Thompson gun which from all accounts DOES have a big recoil especially the 45 cal ones, was just another example of it.