Yeah, I know, this is the rifle forum, but........if anybody here really wants to know if he/she can 'take' a heavy recoil caliber rechamber/stub, etc. of a Handi, consider this.
I just pulled out my 727 Ol' Ugly Overkill, the slug shooting 12ga. 'Topper based' thumper. I made up some slug loads, shot them, and got this thought (mind you, my slug loads dont even equal factory 2 3/4" Foster slugs). And Im no lightweight, I go 6'1" and about 210#. Oh, and out of a smoothbore like mine the recoil is less than a rifled slug gun.
Take a Topper weight 12 and shoot 2-3 boxes of factory slugs (10-15 shots) in one session out of it and tell us what ya think. I recommend ya do it offhand, but hey, if ya wanta bench it, go ahead, just remember I recommended offhand (and a recoil pad).