Many folks in Africa had great luck with the 7x57 and 173gr bullets at ~2300fps. You could make up some mild loads that launch a 175gr Partition at 2300-2400fps and have less than 14lbs of recoil in a 7 pound rifle (which is only 3 lbs or so more than a .257 Roberts with 100gr bullets). It would give you a +/- 3" point blank range of ~240 yards and you'd have enough velocity for proper expansion out to 300 yards.
That load would be a fine choice for big game if recoil is a concern.
