I have an STW, but I'm quite fond of it. Definately one of my favorites.

Ruler M77 in 7MM Magnum. Must've been the stock design. Kicked the snot out of me. Traded it off, now have a 7MM Remington 700 in a B&C M40 stock, this kicks less than my 308 and shoots sub MOA.

Does your .308 weight 4 lbs? Your 7RM 20?

7mm. But that's just me. Ain't nothing wrong really with any particular caliber if it's used for its intended purpose.

Only exceptions maybe are anything above .416. IMO with today's ammo it makes no sense to shoot anything larger in a bolt gun. I can understand larger for a PH or in a double rifle.

Plus, I continually read horror stories about the kick of the big Weatherby magnums. Seems like useless punishment to me. IDK personally, as I will never own one.

And I hate muzzle brakes. If you have to have a brake then you need to step down in caliber IMO. Brakes suck.

I don't think the 257 weath-mag had that bad a kick. I would think the 300 and up would so I won't get one.

Mine kicks about like my .270 in a10 lb rifle

A .300 wby has a stout kick

7 Mag and .270 that I no longer have. Got rid of them and never looked back!

Bside,

No and no to your questions. 308 is Savage hog hunter and 7 Mag is Remington long range hunter.

My dad gave me an old 30-06 ADL with a synthetic stock.

I sighted it in with about 5-6 rounds and put her up for a year. Then forgot about how bad it was and took it back out to the range a year later. About 4-5 rounds and I just ended up giving it back to my dad.

Wasn't worth the recoil to me

I love the .257 Wby. Like you, the bad recoil stories I have heard were all on the .300 Wbys and up.

With a well designed stock that fits you right, even a .300 Bee shooting 180s shouldn't be that bad. I've shot .300s that weren't pleasant at all...I had a Black Shadow in .300 Win briefly, and twelve shots off bags was all I was willing to take. OTOH I've shot Vanguards and such in .300 Weatherby that I could shoot all day long. One of the most punishing rifles I ever owned was that %@*&$%* 700 Mountain Rifle in .280, of all things...it was just the way the stock DIDN'T work for me.

Worst kicking gun I've ever shot was a single barrel break over 12 gauge shooting 3" duck loads.

Second worse was a 6lb browning in .300 wsm

All the .300's kick without brakes. If it's a heavy gun it's not terrible but a .300 mag of the Winchester or weatherby persuasion are stout guns that bite on both ends

That said, they are meant to drive stout bullets into large game at long distances. Not plink around with at the range.

1. I have ownED several .30/06 rifles in various brands, just never could fall in like with that caliber. Some even shot with decent accuracy, but just could never keep them in the safe. I'll never own another one.

2. Had a 270WSM Tikka T3 lite. Plenty accurate and did a number on a handful of pigs, but it was overly expensive and with more recoil than the performance it produced. Traded it for a Tikka 7mm08 that is a fantastic rifle/caliber combo and couldn't be happier.

3. .22 Hornet in a Ruger 77 target rifle. Accurate to 100 yards and dropped like a scud missile beyond that. Very underwhelming in performance on predators and pigs and yet way too expensive to justify for squirrels and rabbits. Just a caliber that makes no sense to own for me personally, but I suppose if you could reload at cheaper than OTC factory ammo cost and had the need for a sub 100 yard round for a plethora of jackrabbits and grey fox, then it may be someone's cup of tea.

4. .375 Winchester. Still have this one for nostalgic purpose to my grandfather, but this straight walked ballistic turd is all mut completely impractical. Ammo is difficult to find and you will pay a high price when you do find it. It's another ballistic scud missile that makes the venerable .30-30 look like a long range laser beam. It packs a moderate punch with little recoil, so it has some use as a dense brush country whitetail, hogs, and black bear if I had the chance and location, but it won't be anything you would ideally grab for on shots 200 yards and up.

5. .30 Carbine - it is fun to shoot but I wouldn't say it has any practical purpose as it lacks power to be a serious hunting caliber and isn't cheap enough IMO to be a bulk ammo target round.

.340 Weatherby... I have never been able to get one to shoot at what I would consider to be "good" or "consistent". I enjoy the .338 caliber in other offerings but in the Weatherby case it just doesn't seem to "shoot". I've worked with one .340 of my own and one for a friend and neither rifle was worth keeping when balancing out the performance and accuracy vs the recoil.

New England arms single shot 10 gauge.

I shot 3 consecutive rounds of .300 wby mag out of a friends rifle at the range. It really wasn't all that bad. He was wearing one of those shoulder pads, I really didn't need one. But I'm not really recoil sensitive either.

7mm Magnum. The rifle did not fit well and when shooting it reminded me of something Big Foot Wallace said about a Mexican Escopeta he picked up and shot from his shoulder. He said that he supposed it kept on kicking him when he was down! It did not do a great job on the deer either. I was use to them dropping at the shot with my 308 and instead would see the bullets kick up dirt way down the sendero after passing through my deer and though they did drop soon enough, the performance was not spectacular for all the noise, recoil and waste of powder and money. It was a happy day when I sold that rifle.

Interesting thread... Quite a few 270WSM haters on here. It has grown to be one of my favorites. I will say that I had my doubts on the rifle/caliber when some factory 150gr Winchester PPs stomped me like a mule. Put a B&C stock on it and started reloading 130 grainers to 3250 FPS and started liking it more. Several seasons later, it has become one of my favorites. Three deer, three pigs (including one very large boar), and two coyotes have died instantly (straight down, dead before they hit the ground) with a single round through the shoulders. It is also VERY accurate and flat shooting out past my personal limits.

The 204 Ruger is one that I have given a couple of chances, but left disappointed. A pain to reload due to the small neck, and I have gotten marginal accuracy out of the two rifles I have tried with 32, 35, and 39/40 grainers. I haven't written it off yet, but it is on my "least favorites" list.

30/06

Toss up between 17 Remington and 204. I am an avid yote hunter and always looking for that perfect thumper. These two were the biggest disappointment. Harold Broughton re-barreled the 17 to 223 and I sold the 204 and got another Swift.

Never owned a gun I didn't like. I have also never sold a gun, own every one I was given or have bought. I try to do my research/homework before I buy and haven't been disappointed yet.

Only one I have considered selling is my 300 wby and that is because it hasn't fulfilled its intended purpose yet.

Man sorry about the .204 experience, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that round... the CZ we have is tack driving sob and will shoot everything you feed it. Hits like a ton of bricks. I do think we got a better than average barrel though just through pure luck

Rem 700BDL synthetic stock chambered in 300RUM. Sold it after hurling one box of ammo through it

I had a .44 magnum lever action rifle for about a month. I shot it a couple of times, but I was recovering from a shoulder injury and it really hurt to shoot it. I miss it, though. I'll probably get another one some day.

7mm Mag is the worst caliber I have ever owned. Had the perception of kicking harder than my 458 Lott. I have also personally witnessed more people wound animals with a 7 Mag than any other caliber. I think this is because of the flinch factor.