I've noticed that some days I can't shoot for schitt even with small cartridges, and that some days I have little-to-no recoil tolerance. Other days, I don't ever find a level of recoil that truly bothers me. I've also noticed that when I double up hearing protection, it's easier to shoot better on days where I seem to struggle to shoot well.
I agree that stock fit makes a huge difference, along with noise reduction. I've shot some hot stuff in a short, very light 300 SAUM that doesn't bother me at all, even though I notice how hard it "kicks". +P Whelen stuff doesn't bother me either, but that's really a function of gun weight, as that rifle weighs close to 11 pounds all up with full mag. Still, it's a function of "some days are better than others", at least for me.
