Without a doubt!

I'd rather have a light recoiling handy gun than a dumb 26" magnum to kill these super tough whitetails

I'm definitely NOT going to sell them...they will be given to my children. I've got other rifles to hunt deer with.

if you're just hunting with it you'll just be popping the one shot
anyway. (or you should be) one shot shouldn't kill you recoil pad
or not. if you're shooting a bunch zeroing or practicing or working
up loads, just get a PAST pad, or similar, or there are several vests
with padding such as browning offers with recoil absorbing pads inside.
that's one way to conquer the recoil without altering your rifle.
or there are the newer better recoil pads to choose from.

I hate breaks, but I cannot shoot my 7mag w/o break to the same degree of accuracy as my 220 Swift, 6mm, or 260's. With mags I consider them a necessary evil.

You could run 1 or 2 mercury recoil reducers inside the stock. I've done that with an ultralight o/u that I Preferred to use for sporting clays.

brAKE

I have read every post. I can not understand the "need" for a super mag to hunt deer or elk with or moose.

No "need" for it for deer for sure. Certainly not a "requirement" for elk or even moose, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I wouldn't consider carrying anything smaller than a 30-06 for elk - and actually use a .338 - which I believe is the perfect elk gun. I anchored a bull on ridge with it that saved us from what would have been a hellacious packing job had he gone 3 more steps. I get that there are two schools of thought on the subject though - and both have their adherents.

Honestly, what I can't understand is so many grown men who think a 7mag or a 300 Win Mag are such monsters. I get the OPs issue, of course. But as time has gone by, there has been a definite trend for guys on here to speak of anything much bigger than a 7mm-08 as cannons. They are not. At all. It's just that everybody wants their rifles to have the recoil of a pellet gun these days.

I can certainly see the utility of less recoil and brakes for guys that shoot a lot for recreation and long range. I don't really see the need for them for the average guy who is not in that category and just uses a rifle for hunting. JMHO.

I sold three rifles last year, got top dollar for them because they had muzzle breaks already installed.

Were they traditional wood stocked rifles like the OPs? Or newer synthetic rifles? I can only tell you that what I see is that brakes are decidedly not preferred on traditional rifles - especially older ones. Many do like them on the newer rifles - especially if used for longer range shooting.

Or could be the brake/anti recoil craze is coming on faster than I'm aware.

If you have an injury, keep the guns as is and buy you a 7-08 ect put a brake on it and it will feel like a pellet gun--or there are plenty now days that come with one that screws on and off...


Here is a 260 or a 6.5 that would fit the bill..


http://www.ruger.com/products/HawkeyeFTWHunter/models.html

Two were Remington 700 1960 era and one was a Winchester M70 pre 64 in the 264 WM. I believe the men wanted older rifles and did not want to go through the trouble of finding a decent 'smith or having to ship or wait for installation.

BTW, recoil and pain are individual perceptions.

Well, I can't speak directly to the Remingtons. But I am a pre-64 Model 70 collector. A brake on one of those makes it simply a "shooter" gun with a value at least 25-33% less than collector value. More if the gun is in new or like-new condition.

If you got anything approaching the price for an unaltered rifle, you had a buyer who wasn't very savvy.

Don't waste your time with him Mister Cole. He knows everything, and if you don't do it his way you are wrong. Putting him on "ignore" makes this place better. I hope you're having a good weekend, sir.

You are quite sensitive - perceive every post you are not 100% in agreement with as an affront. Got anything to add to the subject, or just feel like wearing your troll outfit today?

Perception....so you think recoil and pain are perception...hum....you obviously have no clue.

There was a time in the not too distant past when I could handle the recoil of both of these rifles without any pain etc. But today it's just too painful...and it's definitely NOT perceived pain...so I no longer shoot them.

I used Briley and never looked back; and I'm not selling my gun.

One thing you can try as well is some lighter ammo. If you don't reload, there are a few good factory loads in 7 mag and 300 mag. They not only cut the recoil in about half, the muzzle blast is a lot lighter as well.

http://www.hornady.com/store/CustomLite

https://www.remington.com/ammunition/centerfire-rifle/managed-recoil