When you are first sigthing in that big boy you are being attacked from two angles and it seems like bullies, alone neither one is very tough but together they are unstoppable. Most of the time if you take away one factor the other is manageable. In my case all I needed to do is get great ear protection and the kick suddenly didn't seem so bad because the sound was just a little pop rather than thundering boom that made my ears ring. Alot of ranges have raincovers or other factors that amplify sound anyway.

I did have a friend that ear protection wasn't enough so he bought a new recoil pad and with the ear protection that did the trick. He said the new pad installed easily on his new rifle and to him it felt like half the recoil. Practice that way in hunting stances. While hunting you'll never hear or feel a thing and you'll be deadly accurate.