Well, today I went out with my new old Model 1892 Browning carbine, chambered in .44 Magnum. Here's the gun:
Now I have some other pistol-caliber levers, namely a Rossi Puma '92 in .357, and a Winchester trapper in .45 Colt. So I was expecting relatively mild recoil.
WOW. This baby
stung with full power .44 mag loads. I was wearing just a light knit shirt (no padding to speak of), and I had to call it quits at about 15 rounds off the bench.
When I got home, I broke out an old BASIC program I put together about 20 years ago for calculating recoil. With the gun at 5.3 pounds and a muzzle velocity of about 1400 fps with a 240-grain bullet, the .44 mag develops 11.16 foot pounds of recoil energy at the butt. Just for comparison:
Same gun - '92 in .357 mag: 5.28 FPE
Model '94 in .45 Colt: 5.78 FPE
1903 Springfield in .30/06: 14.42 FPE
That means that effectively, the .44 mag '92 generates about
twice the recoil of its .357 magnum brother. A rough rule of thumb is that 15 FPE is about the "comfort limit" for most folks.
Now I'll have to admit, I'm getting older, and I'm more recoil shy than when I was younger. Of course, a lot depends on how you are dressed, and what the shape of the butt is.
Lesson learned: For adequate power in a '92 and much more comfort, I'll stick with .357 magnum. If I have to shoot that .44 Model 92 again, it'll be stoked with .44 Specials!
John