Abstract: A shock-absorbing recoil mechanism for a semiautomatic firearm includes a pair of rigid plates positioned on opposite sides of a resilient sheet of energy-dissipating material. The plates and sheet are positioned in the U-shaped cavity of the firearm frame against reduced diameter shoulders formed toward the rear end thereof. The slide, when moving to its recoil position, thus contacts the forward plate instead of the shoulder in order to reduce the peak value of the recoil force applied to the frame by the slide. The shock-absorbing assembly may be combined with the recoil spring by utilizing a spring guide rod which projects through the plates and resilient material. The recoil spring surrounds the guide rod and projects forwardly against a cap mounted in the forward end of the slide.