gerrygoat,
I dunno if a muzzle brake might be considered (or even be legal), but it might help. I am not crazy about them myself, but my wife started suffering from recoil headaches s few years ago. Before then she had no problem using a light .30-06 with stout 180-grain handloads, but that definitely changed.
Since then we have experimented enough with both rifles and shotgun to know what her limits are--around 100-grain bullets in a light .243 Winchester or .257 Roberts, or loads of similar recoil in a light 28-gauge double or heavier semiauto. To tell the truth, she isn't all that handicapped with those limits, having taken cow elk and Canada geese handily since.
But Eileen also has a very nice .308 Winchester on a Kimber 84 action with a custom-fit fancy walnut stock that weighs only 6-3/4 pounds with a 3.5-10x40 Leupold. We experimented with various lighter loads but didn't find a satisfactory solution, for various reasons. She wanted to keep using the rifle, because it fits her so well, and she's found a little more punch helpful on some animals. And aside from the possibility of a really big bull elk, we have plenty of grizzlies around here these days that might get aggressive while hunting other stuff.
So she is getting the .308 fitted with a muzzle brake. She'll hunt with electronic muffs so she can hear, but won't have to worry about headaches. We considered a suppressor (now legal in Montana for big game) but she doesn't want to pack that much more weight, and likes the balance of the rifle just the way it is. A thin brake won't change that.
Not saying a braked .308 (or whatever) is the solution for everybody, but over the past few years I've
