ORIGINAL: speyrjb

Shooting a shotgun and shooting a rifle are two different things.

A shotgun you can point and shoot, holding on to the gun tight and it doesn't matter as much if you flinch or jerk the trigger or whatnot. You are able to fully anticipate when the shotgun will fire.

A rifle you are holding alot more steady and more losely, squeezing the trigger instead of pulling it, and when the gun goes off it should be a surprise.

That being said, because of how relaxed you must be to make a good shot with a rifle is the reason the recoil on a rifle is felt so much more. So even if the energy of the actual recoil is less, you will feel it more than your 12ga.

JMHO.