Today I got to shoot Leeroys M44 carbine down at URC. For all of the talk on various websites I actually found it fairly docile. Obviously there are the very large flashes from the muzzle but in terms of kick I thought that it was equal to my No4 and less than my K98. The recoil was more of a push than a thump, nice and progressive, which is strange because the same cartridge in a Dragonov is very snappy. So my thoughts are :
The ammo was milsurp, 50's vintage, it is underpowered
OR
Are all of those people moaning about nothing.
All that I know is that I want one!

The above post probably contains sarcasm or some other form of attempted wit, please don't take it to heart.