To me it comes down to what you like to shoot. I can't find any joy in shooting a rifle that hurts my shoulder so I don't bother with them. The only exception for me are my 45-70's. I enjoy shooting the old Black Powder loads and for this I will wear whatever recoil protection that I need. The 7 Mags and 300 Mags are not worth the effort for me. In my older days I will hunt mostly deer and smaller rifles work just as well or better for deer. If I do another Elk hunt I still have my 30-06 and 270-280 class rifles.