Yep guy was wrong.
Have had both. Never much cared for lever guns really.
But that .357 is just too fun to shoot. Don't have the 30-30
anymore.
30/30 is pretty tame. .357 is a real pussycat. Pretty
loud, but quieter than the 30/30. Felt to me maybe about
half the recoil When you plug the numbers into
a recoil calculator that is about what you get too.
150 gr. 30/30 at 2300 fps. near 10 ft/lbs.
145 gr. 357 at 1900 fps near 4 ft/lbs. Verified with a chronograph
and factory silvertips from Winchester.
Personally I find anything at 5 ft/lbs and less low enough
to shoot indefinitely. Above that certainly 10 ft/lbs or
higher might not seem like too much. But within a few
dozen rounds you will notice quite a difference.
http://benchrest.com/sst/
check out this page, good online recoil calculator. And others
too. One surprising difference is the 30/30 using around
30 grains of powder while the 357 gets by with only 6 or
so. And that extra powder leaving the barrel adds to the
recoil a fair bit.
BTW, a .223 55 gr. bullet in the same weight rifle has about
the same recoil as the 357 mag in a Marlin lever gun.