I am by no means a large person. I am 5'7" and weigh 160lbs. I however love to shoot my FAL from the prone position. My favorite shooting sport is service rifle (with the Garand). I don't see the recoil of these rifles as a big deal, after all I am not shooting a Sharps rifle prone. But then again I recently shot a Marlin 45-70 lever action and loved it.
I don't either, then again, I've shot a .30-'06 since I was 10 years old. I like recoil, AAMF, I've learned to enjoy recoil. However, pulling a 16yr. old Asian boy, weighing about 110 lbs, out of the rice paddies and giving him a .308 M-14 and expecting him not to flinch when he had never even shot a .22 in his life was asking the impossible (as was many city-bred American draftees). The M-14 drill for the small Asian frame was essentially to point, close eyes, hold the stock away from the shoulder and pull the trigger. Though I don't care any more for the AK/SKS's than I do the M-15/16's, the AK-47 was a superior weapon in .30 cal and moderate recoil for war in Asia. The .308 too much, the 5.65mm, too little. Another chapter for the lessons learned in war.