The Remington Copper Solids (1 oz. 2 3/4) sabot slugs I used in my 870 Express with a rifled barrel indicate 2040 ft. lbs of energy at the muzzle. As a relatively new shooter, the recoil of this gun is a little disturbing.

My buddy has a Savage bolt action (also scoped) in 0.270. After shooting both guns at the range this weekend, both my buddy and I agree the Savage does not kick as hard as the 870. Although I'm not sure what brand/bullet he was using, published numbers I found for this caliber are in the 2500-3000 ft. lb range.

If the 0.270 ammo has roughly 35% more energy at the muzzle than the sabots, why do the sabots kick harder?