Recoil

Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it is fired. Recoil causes the user's aim to shift as the gun pushes back at the user. In the Battlefield series, recoil is a major aspect of weapon property.

Battlefield 1942 & Vietnam
All infantry weapons have recoil. Recoil will push cross hairs upwards as they grow larger, decreasing accuracy, with continuous fire (this is caused by spread increase per shot). Bolt-action rifles have recoil, however their low fire rate easily allow a player to aim back at their target after fire. Burst firing will reduce recoil, but cross hairs take a moment to stabilize back to their initial size.

Battlefield 2
All weapons have recoil. Recoil will increase the crosshair size during unsighted firing, decreasing accuracy with continuous fire, as well as pushing the weapon up and potentially off-target. Burst firing reduces recoil, as does using iron sights and staying in a more stable stance - crouching or prone.

Battlefield 2142
Machine guns in this game start with wide deviation, which tightens the longer the weapon is fired.

Battlefield: Bad Company
All weapons except rocket launchers and grenade launchers are absolutely void of any recoil or deviation.

Battlefield 1943
All infantry weapons have an upwards kick with each shot, unlike in Battlefield: Bad Company.

Battlefield 3
Suppression is added to the game. When suppressed, players experience increased recoil and decreased accuracy. The SUPR specialization increases the effect on targets, while the COVR specialization reduces the effect on the player. All weapons can inflict suppression.

Battlefield 4
Suppression is visibly reduced from Battlefield 3. While all weapons can cause a slight effect, machine guns, sniper rifles and vehicle weapons cause much more.