"Not saying the 30-30 is a hard kicker but I never thought of it as low recoil myself"
Agreed, perceived recoil has lots to do with stock style and fit. Sadly, many new/young hunters are given rifles that don't fit at all and beat the hell out of them. A good friend started his son with an HR single shot in 243, light weight, HEAVY trigger and kicked like hell! My first gun was a Win 370 youth 20 ga when I was 8, beat the sh**t out of me!
