Rifle cartridge kick more? Not necessarily! A rifle cartridge is bottle-necked and pressure comes from the shoulder, not the base like a magnum straight walled.
The 7.62x39, that would make a good 100 meter barrel, about it.
There were two divisons for TCs, Hunter's Pistol Silhouette was from 40 meters to 100. Unlimited was shot to 250 meters, aka 7mmTCU- which is a wildcatted .223. It has about the kick of factory 357, not quite as hot.
My favorite low recoil round is 22 Hornet, but I reload for that, nobody wants to spend $45/box!
Another is the 32-20 WCF that TC made tons of barrels for, it goes 100 meters real good and, of course I have a 32 Magnum. Also, a 9mm, that's my current pet project along with the TCU. A lot of the TC Chamberings are a lot of fun if you pour lead and reload. If not, the cowboy calibers will do the job.
For target shooting, we use 22 lr barrels, usually a 10" with a rifle scope mounted on top, I have both open sights and scopes. Hence, the 22 Hornet, smallest centerfire big bore. I have a 48th Edition Lyman Reloading manual that gives the formula for recoil, you can figure it in pounds down to decimal places. Nothing I've mentioned actually kicks as hard as a factory 357 when loaded right. And, I happen to like 357 Magnums!
The real accuracy is in the old silhouette classics, the 7mmTCU, the 6mm TCU, the 6mmPPC, the 256 Win Mag, the 221 Fireball, 218 bee, and others. I shot a 357 Mag in wood grips, hurts some. Factory ammo is going to limit what you do but don't be afraid of the overlooked rifle round, it's what TCs do best.
PS: check out Ed's TC at the top of the page here, he's a friend from the guns shows in this area. Were it me, 38 Special in the 357 mag and a rifle scope for 100 meters would be the way I'd target shoot that. Maybe use some 38 lead bullet cowboy ammo to save wear and tear on my barrel. It can be done.
