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Personal preference, Phil would have no problem with a 375

7 Wby, 7 SAUM, 7 WSM, 45-70 Rolling Block, 300 WSM are all still my favorites at 62.

I shoot 350g@ 2281fps and 460g @1812fps. HUGE difference in recoil in my Marlin 1895. I recommend you shoot those 430's with irons. Have only shot the 460s once with a scope - the recoil is enough to break orbital bones, around 52 ft-lbs. The 350's are my go-to elk load for the .45-70.

I must be the contrarian in the group as I keep going bigger as I get older. My last new rifle was a 9.3x62. I am now contemplating either a 444 or a 45-70. I must admit I do enjoy carrying lighter rifles such as my MS in 9x56. It is rather lively. The recoil hasn't really started bothering me as of yet. I do still bow hunt so that does help keep my shoulders in shape. Shoot what you enjoy for as long as you enjoy it. Approaching 64 I still have a few bigger calibers to try and hopefully the time to enjoy them.

Coyote Hunter, It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a scope eyebrow.....but, managed to, a couple of days ago.

I “ bumped-up” my load on the 45-70 by one grain, pushing it to around 1820 fps. Felt recoil is still comfortable (maybe it’s the pad), but, the rifle gets pretty active ...jumps off of the rest during recoil. I think that I may have been too relaxed. It appears that I allowed my head to move forward under recoil......thankfully the scope stopped it! The groups weren’t as good as the previous load. It looks like the 1790 fps load is the keeper! memtb

MS, not being critical.

You aren’t the only one. I’ve posted earlier and some others too.
My FAVs are in ascending order,
7 RM
300 WM
8 mini mini RM

I’m 70 yo.

Jerry

We can’t let the young pups have all the fun.

At almost 67, I agree. 30-06 in my Garand, 308 in the bolt action Savage and 243 in the 700 Remington. Every thing else is .223 or .22.

kwg

At 74 my favorite elk rifle is still my .300 Weatherby. Three years ago it was also my rifle of choice for my Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan. For deer or antelope I'll use my .257 Ackley. If I suspect rainy weather, for anything from deer to moose, I'll use my stainless Remington 700 in 7 mm Rem mag. And I'm still keeping my .375 RUM for a possible hunt for a Brown bear or one of Africa's bad guys.

Both my .300 Wby and .375 RUM are braked, have internal recoil reducers and Limbsaver pads. My .300 Wby doesn't kick any harder than my .308 Win.

yessiree bub !!

I also think they don't know what they're missing.

Jerry

attaboy buffy !! Good for ya !

Jerry

Haven’t viewed all of this discussion but I’m in the 70s and my last purchase was a Highwall of about 12#. .45-70. It does what needs doin’, and I like it as much as my 5-6# guns.

I am not a fan of recoil, so I've been shooting my 300 Savage with 125 Nosler BT and Varget @ about 2825 FPS out of my 99 FW. I also have a bolt gun, Savage Weather Worrier that Savage had run of a few years ago. Works great and amazingly accurate in the 99. I think the little Savage is a great Mule Deer and Antelope. When I say 300, I mean 300 Savage.

I also have had great luck loading down my other rifles. I mostly use the Nosler load data, using the "most accurate load" shown with the lowest powder charge.

270 Win 51.0 Hunter and 140 Nosler BT get about 2850 from my 22" barrel, 7X57 performance.

25 06 46 Gr and 115 Nosler BT gets about 2800 from my 24" barrel, 257 Roberts performance


'I'm working on reduced loads for my 308 using the 125 BT.

I use a 6.5 X 55 or a 243 these days and they are mild recoiling enough. No more .534's here, except or my 300 H&H. I really don't know why, but I love that rifle, but only shoot or hunt it anymore.

I haven't shot my .338WM in over a decade. It recoils less than the other Tanger in '06, with the short bbl.

Too busy shooting '06s, and the .260... and acquired a M70XTR in 7mm last year.

I took it, my '94 in 30-30, the .260, and a 30-06 out hunting this year - the XTR and the .260 won the lottery on fired opportunities.

Just checked zero on 8 mini mini Rem Mag & 7 mm R Mag.

READY for season.

Jerry

An old friend of mine, when I wore a young mans clothes, used a 250 Savage in a 99. He never needed more power or another shot for the most part. Now I'm within a couple of years of his age then. Be Well, RZ.

An ADDENDUM ...

My 41 yo Son was with me.
He stood behind me as I shot both rifles.
He had fingers IN his ears.


I just now asked (axed) him if he could tell the difference with ears PLUGGED ?

He said, “ I could FEEL the diff in concussion “.... edit. (fat fingers)


NO joke.

Jerry

Well I am “only” 54 years old and I find myself going back to wood and blue rifles other than a Steyr Mannlicher Model M Professional .30-06 with a 6x Kahles scope for nasty weather hunts. I mostly use a Shiloh Sharps or a Winchester 71

Recoil has never been a problem for me, but, past 70 now and I am liking my 6.5 Swede these days.
I only shoot handloads, just a little more horsepower than factory.

I have a 6.5 Grendel that's a joy to shoot. May designate it as my "oldster" rifle.