You've got a basic physics problem here. Any handgunthat's big enough to kill a large animal is either going to weigh a lot, have a lot of recoil, or both. (Plus, they're really, really noisy.)

I personally don't think a .44 magnum has punishing recoil, but it is considerable, and the .44 mags I've shot have been heavy.(Hold a brick at arm's length for a while, even using both hands,and see how steady your hold is.) It takes a lot of practice to reliably place a bullet in a small target at any kind of range.