[NorthMountain]

Have to be careful that its a closed system and not a squishy one. :)

A closed system can be squishy; that's part of the reason I'd like to see the high speed video of a rifle being shot by a human AND a rifle shot while hanging freely. When we humans pick up a rifle and shoot it we're part of the squishy closed system. I'm not particularly large; I've seen video of "Kentucky Ballistics" (he's big ...) shooting ridiculously large rifles that I wouldn't want to mess with. Shoulder a rifle and you become part of "m2" (the mass of the rifle).

FWIW:

A friend bought a .44Mag revolver, S&W Model 29, and was initially frustrated with it. The factory scales are wood, checkered but still slick, and very chunky. He felt that the recoil was unmanageable; it rotated in his hand and the cylinder latch cut him every time he fired it. When he voiced his concern, someone recommended that he swap the factory scales for Pachmayr (rubber) scales, which are also much thinner. He did, and immediately was able to control the thing. "Perceived recoil" is a very complicated thing.

[Magnum44]

"Perceived recoil" is a very complicated thing.

But its easily measured by the bruise marks left. :)

[Myrddin]

My S&W 629 4 inch barrel has Hogue rubber grips. Very controllable with full house 44mag rounds. My only complaint is the Hogue tears a little skin at the base of my thumb. The N size frame is just a bit too big for my hand. I purchased a Model 69 4.25" barrel 44mag. Perfect fit for my hand and the recoil is fine even with less physical mass in the overall build. The S&W L frames with Hogue rubber grips are the best ergonomic fit for me.

The Ruger 454 Casull Super Redhawk with 7.5" barrel and standard Ruger grips is fine no matter how vicious the round. The Hornady 300 gr @ 1500 fps will rattle your nervous system after a box of 20 is finished.