I'll take the .444 or the .45-70. I can mostly hunt anything anywhere for similar recoil.
Mike, I've never shot a 7 Mag that recoiled like a .444. It'd take me a while to count up the different 7s I've had plus those I've shot of others.
As to weight ? ? that's a whole diff story. I remember holding/carrying/ and shooting a Marlin 444, don't remember now who owned it. Heavy is an understatement.
Sometime before '94 I went to a LGS with the intent to get a Rem 700 S S Laminate (grey/black) stock in 7 Mag. When I picked it up, immediately I was SO disappointed. The gun alone was WAY TOO heavy.
At present I have a Tikka T 3X Lite SS in 7 R Mag. With identical scopes it weighs 3 OUNCES more than my Tikka T 3 Lite SS 270 Win.
