No magic. Simple physics. You burn the propellant and exactly as much energy goes forward as goes backward. When the energy is on a 1 oz bullet... you got an elephant stomper... but the recoil to the rear is the same "quantity" . Thus the 10 or 12 lb rifles... 160 times or more weight spread over a larger area (butt pad) and bearable... Sometimes modifying the "load" of the ammo makes a
felt" difference. Sometimes.
What can you do? You can "modify" the experience. If you have "taught shooters" one of the first things you notice, the newbie complains that the gun almost tore his/her shoulder off. Give them ear plugs and the recoil is not so bad... Almost pleasant... yeahhhhhh I almost doubted this until I did my first module on shotguns... Had to teach the secretarys who didn't really want to be there... oh well.
There is one "cheat" much used by the military. Mr. Brown at eabco.com has recoil reducers on his web site, one patterned after one used much on WW II tank barrels. Looks like a sheet of metal folded over with a hole in it. Basically, it is. Bottom line: they "catch" some of the muzzle gases as/after the bullet leaves and uses them to pull the gun forward. When you redirect the gases from just going forward, yes, it increases what you hear. Ear protection at the range. The price of the shot in the field. There is one that has no holes on the bottom so it won't kick up a dust cloud. They do make a difference and you have to decide what you will "pay" beyond just the $$.
From there the modification resembles the suspension of a vehicle. Winchester offerred on target shotguns a two piece stock of plastic (nylon???) that had springs in between. The recoil compressed the springs and the springs pushed you more slowly and... Look "Buck Rogers" (anyone remember him) and didn't sell. Most valuable now to collectors... ha, ha.
If you will study Brownells, this is one option, a weight on a spring in a tube that mounts in the butt or fore end and the recoil is delayed by the compressing of the spring and you don't feel it all at once. The "mercury recoil reducers" use the same principle by adding the liquid mercury and the flow of the liquid spreads out the recoil.
Beyond that, as suggested, if you add weight then the recoil is slower and more spread out. More mass to move to the rear by the energy available. Thus the target rifles in any caliber bedded into a railroad tie. Movement is imperceptible. But do you want to tote a railroad tie stock. Probably not.
Modern plastics (synthetic rubbers) also have this option--spreading the energy. You can have the pad on the gun or that pad you buy and wear like half a vest over your shooting shoulder, or both. But if you want the power, you have to deal with the energy. Luck.
