Hand cannons don't have to be painful...
Depending on the design, caliber, barrel length, and other factors, you can run some truly powerful calibers through a handgun without breaking bones or spraining things. Elgin Gates built a .458 Win Magnum XP-100 that was actually manageable, barely, due to the porting of the barrel. The gun was a bit much for the steel silhouette targets, however. The gun worked well, as it was designed for a stout cartridge. Same goes for the Casulls in .454, as well as the big Rugers and Magnum Research BFR, they utilize the Colt SAA grip shape, allowing the gun to roll back in the hand during full recoil, woe betide you and your forehead if you have a death grip on the thing.
The bolt action XP-100, as well as the Weatherby and Savage bolt-action pistols, can generate some serious foot-pounds of muzzle energy with their rifle-caliber chamberings.
Then there's the Thompson Contender and Encore, and all their chamberings. I fired a 10" .45-70 Contender, and walked away without harm, hence my desire for the .45-70 BFR.
Now, if you like the 1911 Government Model, there was the Pachmayr Dominator (anybody got one for sale?), which was a bolt-action upper chambered in .223, as well as 7mm-08 and .308. Springfield, Inc. made their SASS conversion for the 1911 frame, again in rifle calibers. My favorite 1911 variant is the Wichita Silhouette. This one is right at the edge of comfort and manageability for me, it's chambered in 7mm Rimmed International, which was a predecessor to the 7-30 Waters. I load a 139gr Hornady spire point at just over 2000 fps out of the 10" barrel. The 200 meter steel rams drop with some loud authority.