I wonder if you're not shooting downloaded rounds then, most of the factory loads I have shot were pretty pleasent to shoot, not overwhelming at all. Now, as far as handloads go, the .500 can be loaded WAY hotter than most factory loads you will come across. I think that is where the reputation of mauling your wrist and occasionally getting hit in the face with the gun comes from. There is a local fella around here who collects brass all day at the local ranges, and he carries a beauty of a 1911 as well as his .500, and he's let me fire a couple handloads. I tell you, a couple was all I could handle, and I'm not recoil sensitive.