This reminds me of when my dad first taught me to shoot a 12-gauge. I'd been shooting a 20 and he said a 12 "kicked like hell". Looking back I know my dad is extremely recoil sensitive (he thinks a .22 has recoil) but didn't know it then.

We set up a couple old oil cans, I held the bead of the side-by-side on the first one, flinched, and pulled the trigger. There was a huge BOOM, the oil can exploded, and I was rocked back on one foot. My shoulder hurt like hell (the next day, the Philips head screw in the steel buttplate was clearly visible in the bruise on my shoulder).

My dad laughed, told me to be a man and touch off the other barrel. Being 14 and not willing to be a wuss in front of my dad, I repeated the procedure....nothing. I opened the gun, and BOTH BARRELS HAD FIRED!!! The gun was broken inside and we got it fixed.

After that, nothing has impressed me with recoil since.