As for recoil of those heavies being no worse than a 12 gauge with slugs, well, I rest my case. Who in their right mind has fun spending multiple range sessions firing multiple boxes of slugs to gain a modicum of skill with the gun, and whom of those folks can look me in the eye and honestly swear he hasn't developed a flinch to one degree or another, bruised the dickens out his shoulder, and/or contributed mightily toward eventual arthritis/nerve damage? Those who can may be tough SOB's, but they're still foolish IMO.
Here! Here! Folks keep saying they don't care. The truth is they just ain't thinking ahead. I was an Ohio Buckeye hunter for my first twenty seasons or so. There is truth in what you're saying.
My shoulder probably went from practicing for bow hunting, but shoulder busting shotguns and rifles did not help it any. I'm on the south side of Sixty, and I'm already having to ration my bench time. I had to give up archery in 2007 due to a bum shoulder.
I'm working my way back down from early life as a recoil hound. Right now 30-06 from a well-fitted rifle is about as much as I want to handle. I've re-purposed my 35 Whelen for cast lead and it shoots well now at 35 Rem levels.
Honestly, I should have seen this coming. At 42, I touched off a 3" load of #4's at an Ohio gobbler in April, and I was still feeling it in my shoulder on Labor Day. If I don't watch myself, I'm feeling sighting-in in September clear until the Super Bowl. I've got a twinge now from my reloading session last weekend. The question in my mind is not about immediate pain or even the stiffness I might feel for the next week. The problem now is the cumulative effect.
