I have built and had built many big bores including Bullcoon's .50-140 #1 and a .500 A-Square #1. Currently I have a single shot in .577 NE 3" and a Jeffery double rifle in .577 BE 3 1/4" magnum. I also have a .600/577NE here that is going to WR1894. All of these big bores can be handled with practice, while I sure wouldn't recommend trying to learn on a .577. The Hannibal stock is excellent and recoil is straight back and spread over a wide area, it's one of the best stock designs for recoil I have ever tried.
Practice, practice, practice seems to be the answer to recoil control. It also seems like really big guys get hit harder than more average sized shooters, more resistance maybe? I am an average size guy and have learned to not let recoil affect my shooting rifle or handgun. Medium sized, solidly built shooters seem to fair best in my experience.
I think you can master about any gun if you are willing to shoot enough and you are determined. You do need to learn proper form and work up to the biggest guns. Reloaders have a huge advantage here, it would be really pushing it to think you could buy a .470 NE or similar and take on full house loads until you got good. Reduced loads are the place to start and work up.
I find big bore rifles especially old ones fascinating, I know others don't feel the same.