Bill Jordan wrote that it's the most powerful round that the average man can master.
And that was back when the average man was way more manly than today.
It wasn't all that long ago when most people simply did not have the large amount of disposable income that so many do today. They simply could not afford to shoot ANYWHERE NEAR as much as many people do today. Many people could not, and did not, practice shooting all that much, even if they wanted to, and it takes practice to get used to heavier recoiling guns.
This is why it was common to describe the kick of a .45acp as being "like a mule!" .357 magnum was considered brutal (hey, it still ain't all that pleasant...). Gun people today do a LOT more shooting, and get used to much more powerful guns.
