Hmmm. Don't really know. I have a .375 H&H Md.70 that is fun to fire. That doesn't bother me. There's also a Ruger #1 in .416 Rigby - the more that I use it, the less it bothers me on subsequent use.
On the other hand - I suppose that weight has a lot to do with it - I tried 3" Magnum slugs (12ga.) out of a 7lb. double and it was not fun. Likewise, I had a 45-70 T/C Contender that was vicious (16"bbl). The only gun that has ever socked me with the scope is aT/C Encore with an SSK barrel, shooting 750gr. Browning .50cal bullets out of 50-70 cases - only 900fps, but the recoil pulse was so fast that I could not get out of the way. Had to put on a LR scope.
Pete