Whitetail, have you tried the new Managed Recoil loads from Remington or the similar low-recoil loads from Federal? I have a .30-06 and have been using them in my rifle so that my daughter can shoot it. With the Remingtons, the recoil is about the same as a .243 and Remington uses a 125 gr. bullet designed for ranges up to 200 yards. So if you're not shooting long range, you might want to take a look at them. I haven't tried the Federal offering yet. The Federals use a 170 grain bullet instead of Remington's 125gr, so the ballistics are different. At least if you go this route, you can still use your current rifle.