I could see hunting a std rifle in something like a 300 or 338, otherwise fwts for me when I am covering some ground!
I always thought that as well, until I got my brown precision poundR on my 338WM. That rifle weighs 7 pounds on the nose and it's a joy to carry and not really that bad to shoot either. Ergonomics plays a big role in how they mitigate recoil. As far as featherweight recoil, the 308's, 270's and 30-06s have been puzzy cats to shoot. Even the ones with the original aluminum butt plate.