Heres my stiry on recoil on magnums;

At the time, I owned a fairly tame 270 that had the usual easy but sharp kick to it.
Went out with my friend to test out his Sako Finnbear 7mm mag.
That gun had a serious SHARP boot to it-to the point it made you not look forward to pulling the trigger. Not to be outdone, I went out and purchased a 300 Win Mag model 70 with Boss. Now that gun was a serious (best ive ever seen) tack driver. But Lord have mercy she barked. One time I forgot to put in ear plugs and I believe I did physical and permanent damge to ears. But of course the kick was very manageable. In fact it was way more gentle than the Sako. So, I traded it in for a win model 70 in 338 mag. Interestingly, the 338 was more pleasurable to shoot than that sako 7mm. Why? because the kick on the 338 was a slower velvety push. Whereas the 7mm had a very sharp recoil as mentioned above, where the barrel jumped sharply. And, the sako finnbear is not a light rifle either.
My theory is twofold: 1. Winchester Model 70's in classic sporter models are well designed to manage recoil. 2. Different caliber magnums produce different type of recoil-some sharp and fast, others long and smooth. If I didnt need one gun to handle everything, I would definitely have a 338 in reserve for big stuff. But, I had to sell it and get a 270 WSM which I have found effective for both deer and elk. Now I am in pursuit of a new (or used) pre-64 Win model 70 30-06 or, possibly a 300WSM though I'm a bit concerned about meat damage on deer with the 300wsm. Problem is: I like the 270WSM but the ammo choices are slim as well as hard to find in out of the way places. The 30-06, or even the 308 has so many bullet choices and are so easy to find almost anywhere. For a one gun man that is important.