Recoil is pretty heavy, but it's manageable. I posted a vid in that "ninja" post in the general section. I can get good doubles with it without a problem, but my Glock is also a "C", or compensated, so I'm sure that helps. It's stiffer than a .40, but not by much. I have a Kahr 98 Elite in .40 and it's smooth as butter, but that's because of the hogue grips I think. I used to have an XD in .40 and it felt like a mule kicking you in the palm of the hand compared to the Glock in .357. I think different designs as well as shooter ability really comes into account with different calibers. I'd recommend either a Glock or a Sig in .357Sig. Sig's just shoot like snot on wet glass for the most part (that's a good thing, think slick), but they have a tendancy to be ex-freeking-spensive. I reload .45, .40, 9mm, and several rifle rounds, so I shoot them all alot, but I carry the .357 so I shoot it the most. Other nice thing is, Glocks are good carry guns from an athstetic point of view. I'm not so worried about banging up my Glock like I would be if I carried my Kimber Raptor, or the Kahr.
Zhur