Well... Depending on who you're describing to.
A 9mm pocket pistol and a Browning auto loader going to be much different.
Same with any of the .40's
Compare a .357mag through an SP101 snubbie and my Dan Wesson with 8" barrel. One is a snap of the wrist, and the other is, Hey, do that again.
Or a Taurus 4" Raging Bull in 44mag vs a 8" .500 SW.
.22= door ding
9mm, .38spl, .40sw in various gun sizes= fender bender
.357mag, 44spl, .45acp= car wreck at the intersection
.44mag, 45LC= Interstate accident
.460sw, 500sw, 445sm, 454C,= Train wreck, airline crash
What's that rule? Newton's third law states that every action has an equal but opposite reaction.
The heavier or the faster the bullet is moving out the barrel, the lighter the firearm, more felt recoil there will be with the shot.
Reduce velocity, reduce the weight of projectile, or add weight to the firearm, will reduce felt recoil.
Some autoloaders will feel like there's more recoil than if the same shot is from a single shot or revolver because of the reward motion of the slide.
-Steve
PAX, You've got it all wrong... It's SLAP and Backhand. Not snap and shove.