Many good comments and opinions in this thread.
My personal findings are:
First time I shot a centerfire hunting rifle was my friend's Ruger M77 tang-safety .30-06. OUCH! Must've been the factory stock.
Same day, a sporterized .30-06 Springfield with a metal buttplate. Hmmm. Not too bad!
Same day, my brand new 1989 Remington 700 BDL-AS 7mm Rem.Mag. WOW! I LIKE IT! The recoil was exactly what I wanted! It felt GOOD, no, GREAT!
Later I tried my other friend's same RUGER M77 in .338 Win.Mag. OUCH! It wasn't the recoil...as THAT actually UNDERwhelmed me. Now I knew it was the wood stock on those M77 tang-safety models.
Followed that with a 3" Magnum Slug by Winchester in my Beretta 1201FPG3 M&P semi-auto shotgun. YEAH! Now THERE'S some RECOIL~! Much more than the .338 WM.
Always wanting a .375 H&H, but never getting one, I traded off the Remington 700 BDL-DM .338 that I'd bought and was UNDERwhelmed with...for a Remington 700 BDL .375 ULTRA MAG.
HEY! This was like the Beretta shotgun with the slug...BAM!
Yes, Sir! I found my .375 with what I'm sure is a PAIN at BOTH ends! This rifle will let you know you fired a hard-kicking, fast-moving projectile.
I'd venture to say I'm one who actually ENJOYS recoil.
The .338 WM vs. the 7mm Rem.Mag. really puzzled me, as I didn't seem to notice a big difference.
There's a HUGE difference between those two and the .375 RUM, however.
ALL THAT SAID...the .338 Win.Mag. is one of the finest cartridges ever devised for hunting. I just don't like the idiot that introduced it to me. We're no longer friends, and that's pretty much why I gave it up, besides its UNDERwhelming recoil factor ( to me ).
I really should try the .375 H&H someday...I think I'm missing something of a legend there.
Good shopping & shooting!
