As to recoil, I wouldn’t worry about either. Do two things when at the range: (1) put a removable bipod on the rifle; and (2) wear one of those leather, padded shoulder shooting pads. You never will have the slightest bruising, and the weight and padding will make any rifle much more comfortable to shoot.
I was going to bring up the removable shoulder pad for recoil management. I have used a Bob Allen shoulder pad harness for about 20yrs. In addition on really hard kickers at the range I'll even roll up a small towel and add/tuck it between the butt and my shoulder. When shooting at game I rarely notice recoil, it's a non-issue.
One way to check for flinch at the range is to have someone unload the rifle unknowingly to the shooter and let them shoot on an empty chamber. If they have developed a flinch it will be obvious. I never let my son shoot too long if he's shooting a hard kicker, and always make him wear the shoulder pad harness. And 1" Decelerators help too.
Keep in mind alot of ultralight rifles in non-magnum cartridges kick hard. My 6lb 30/06 with certain loads will kick as hard as my 8lb+ 300WM. Lighter bullets help too which is why I shoot 150gr GMXs. You can check recoil ft lbs using one of the many online recoil calculators.
Not a fan of muzzle brakes either btdt.
