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I'll be 60 in 6 months. When I was younger I wasn't much bothered by recoil and owned all sorts of rifles up through the 375 H&H. Now I find rifles in the 308/270 recoil level is the upper limit of fun. That doesn't mean I can't still shoot heavy recoiling cartridges well, just that I find no fun in doing so, and absolutely do better, more consistent shooting with lighter recoil. And if I have learned anything over the last 30+ years, it's that on game, "cartridges are more alike than different."

My 308 Kimber MT is going to get re-barreled to 6.5 CM.

Whoa! Say it ain't so, Brad. That's heresy coming from you.

😆

Of the firearms that I own or have owned, the hardest to least recoil, for me, as follows:

.416 Wby., Mk.V- Factory loads will rattle your teeth! It went down the road.
Mossberg 935, 3.5" with turkey loads- checking zero is no fun at all.
Ruger Hawkeye African, .375 Ruger- kind of the upper limit of tolerable for me.
Freedom Arms M83, .454 Casull, full-power loads are really hard on the wrists.
Ruger SBH and SRH, .480 Ruger- recoil is stout, but tolerable, noticeably easier on the wrists than the .454.
Browning X-Bolt, .30-06- very tolerable, with 165 gr. loads.
My .280's and .270 WSM I find easy to shoot, very manageable recoil.
.257 Wby, Mk.V- this rifle is a pussycat to shoot. Guess which of these gets used the most for deer, antelope, etc.?

Ha!

But realistically, just a slightly different shaped brass cylinder.

And, my Classic Stainless SA M70 will stay a 308...

For most of my purposes I quit loading my 308s full throttle. Because of visibility and/or terrain the shots where I deer hunt top out at 300 yards or so. So rather than 46 grains of Varget under a 165/168 grain bullet you'll most likely find me using one of several mid speed propellants to duplicate the speed range of the old LC M852 match round. Current issue 165 grain SSTs, 165/168 grain Ballistic Tips and 168 grain Berger VLDs launched at 2550-2600 fps all do the trick quite nicely.

I have no problem shooting my .50-90 Shiloh off the bench with some stout loads but after 10 shots from the bench with my Winchester 71 .348 with factory steel butt plate and 250 gr loads you start to feel it. Off hand no problem

Hardest hitter in my box is a Mossberg 500 slug gun. Before New York opened the southern tier to rifles, I hated checking zero.
BRUTAL!! 3 max on the bench.
I got to the point of letting some else sight it in, me taking their word for it. That thing kills outa one end, wounds on the other!

I can comfortably shoot my 375 Ruger often 20 rounds in a session in an unbraked 700, I hunt bear with it so it does not have a brake. I bought a 416 Taylor in a Mauser 98 from a gunsmith. The owner never picked the 416 up after being rebarrled for 3 years I bought it for the cost of the Douglas blank, looking back not a good deal. I took the 416 to the range once and it will remain in my safe, maybe leave it out so if someone breaks in they take it.

But when I shoot any of my 223's I leave the range thinking that was a lot of fun, I would not shoot my 375 Ruger for fun. I shoot my 300-375 Ruger which is well braked often when I shoot at 1000 yards it is fun to shoot although I don't think I would like the muzzle blast enough to shoot it more than 40-50 rounds in a session. I never intend hunting with the 300-375 so I put a brake on it. I built up a couple of 338 Lapuas which were also well-braked and they allowed you to self spot shots from 600 yards out so the recoil was not bad. I found the muzzle blast of the 338 Lapua to be fatiguing after about 20 rounds but the recoil was not an issue.

All of this on a shoulder that has been rebuilt 3 times (non related to shooting) so your mileage may vary.

This is where I'm at. I'm 54 and still having lingering issues from a concussion. Though my Kimber MT is staying a 7mm-08.

I’ve shot a lot of stuff 378 Weatherby was a rough one but the scariest was a 338 federal ruger frontier rifle. Little 16” bastard just punched no give in the laminate stock.

A 16” 45-70 Marlin lever gun with the high power buffalo bore stuff didn’t kick so much but even with ear plugs and muffs it made me dizzy. Guess it was the muzzle blast/concussion.

I’ve got a 30-06 Kimber montana that is a scope murderer. It’s killed 3 leupolds so far but the 300 WSM Montana doesn’t feel as bad for some reason. It wears a nightforce so I don’t think I’ll have any issues any time soon.

I mostly shoot a bow now. Nice thing about a bow is the bigger badder arrow you load it up with the less vibration/ hand shock you get

I’ll throw my two cents in. Like many I believe stock design is key. I’ve had several 30-06’ rifles that were uncomfortable as hell to shoot. One being a CLR and an old school M700 ADL that had a hard plastic butt plate. I have had a Ruger No. 1 in 45-70 that I loaded rather heavy and it never bothered me. I currently run a Ruger 77 build in 35 Whelen with a stout load (59.5 grains) of RL15 and 250’s. It wears a Hogue stock with a good pad. It’s a pleasure to shoot and bumps about the same as my 270. My 35 Whelen is my go to but, if I had to do a commercial off the shelf do everything from vermin to elk I’d do a 6.5 Creedmoor in a 700 Mountain SS. Why beat yourself up. Or I’d just run my 270 and never look back.

I had a Steven’s single shot 12 gauge with a hard plastic buttplate. It had I think a 32” barrel. Fired three 3” slugs out of it and called it quits it hurt so bad. Never noticed it though when shooting a slug through a deer the following week.

An M1A with steel butt plate throwing milspec 7.62 hurts up against my bony shoulder. I’m not even good for a magazine.

My 300 H&H Browning Medallion is pleasant with Hornady 180 grain factory loads... the rifle weighs almost 9lb scoped

Try taking headache medication before going to the range, it works much better than waiting until you already have a headache.

I am 69 years old and have had two vertebra fused in my neck. I have a lightweight 338-06, a 35 whelen and a couple of 375 H&H's and I still shoot them on occasion but they hurt my neck and back. I have always loved the "boom" and "jolt" a rifle gave upon firing but as age has crept in I find the 30-06 and down cartridges more comfortable to shoot a lot.

Two or three shots of the big boys is all I want today.

I've settled in with the 7mm-08, 6.5x55, 260, and 243. Don't see enough difference to warrant bigger recoil chamberings. Shoulder, neck issues don't bide well with recoil.

g

Depends on weight of a rifle and scope and pad.

I am not scared to shoot a braked magnum. You can say they screw up your hearing but if it forces you to wear hearing protection you are better off for it.

I'm pretty recoil tolerant (still). No big issues with shooting a 450NE of the bench...yet

How many rounds in a session?

I’ve actually become more insensitive to recoil as I age. Big stuff doesn’t bother me at all. Now, I hate noise and excessive muzzle blast bothers me.

I’ve had two shoulder surgeries, but I can still shoot my .338 WM just fine. Now my .300 WM or my Tikka T3 Lite in .300 WSM, they both kick more than my .338WM, but both guns are lighter than the .338 as well. The older I get though, the more I enjoy shooting my ARs and my .260 Rem in a Savage 11. I hardly notice the kick at all in those guns. I even shoot my .308 more in the past year or so it seems.