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Ed Matunas' book Rifles for Large Game (I think that is the title) published by Lyman Products lists a felt-recoil formula for rifles. I know of no reason why the formula wouldn't apply to handguns (physics is physics). The formula relies on a complex interaction of the weight of the firearm, the weight and muzzle velocity of the bullet, and the weight of the powder, as well as some constants about the acceleration of a mass from inertial rest, etc., etc. The actual formula ends up with ft-lbs of felt recoil. It is all a little bit over this history teacher's head (I just plug the numbers into a calculator and nod my head when it spits out a result)....
I think you could probably short-form it for comparison of different firearms and cartridges: take the weight of the bullet in grains, multiply that by the muzzle velocity, then divide the resulting product by the handgun's weight in ounces. Units don't matter; you will end up with a number which you can use to compare with other handguns and cartridges to get a relative measure of how much more or less one will recoil than the other.
After all, the same .357 load kicks more in a J-frame snubby than in an L-frame. Good luck, and good shooting!
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