With regard to the muzzl ebrake the definately work. My friend has a 30-06 browning with the bos M.B. on it and while sighting it in for him during the summer with a t-shirt on the recoil was minimal. HOWEVER, while i was at the range everone around me was questioning what in the world i was shooting because of how loud it was. They never suspected that it was on a 30-06.

I would go with a good recoil pad. I bought the simms for my 308 and it works great, cuts the recoil done tremendously, doesn't affect accuracy (except maybe keeps you from flinching as much after repeated shots), doesn't look ungly and you won't have to worry about hearing loss (and only runs about $25.00 i think.)

I would try the recoil pad first before you spend more money. Takes about five minutes to put on.