Boy, it ain't got nuthin to do with how BIG you are! As a matter of fact, you are probably better off than alot of much bigger guys when it comes to shooting big guns! Your body will "give" and ride with the recoil, rather than smashing your shoulder between the gun and the rest of your body!

Take a look at old Elmer Keith! He was a wiry little guy, didn't weigh much, but hecould shoot the biggest rifles ever built to be fired from the shoulder with no problems at all! I've run across small-frame, fragile-looking women who could shoot a .470 Nitro Express accurately without flinching.

Now, I'll admit that in order to be able to stand heavy recoil, you have to get used to it by shooting heavy recoiling guns, and perhaps adopt a mental attitude that lets you "hold through" the recoil until the bullet gets downrange. I personally had to do a lot of shooting with the .375 H&H before I got to where I could stop my desire to flinch, and hit targets with it. But now, I can handle a .416 Rigby with no problems as well as an 8-pound, .73 caliber flintlock rifle firing a 600-grain bullet with 150 grains of powder behind it.

Start with a .308 or .30/'06 with 180-grain bullets. When you get so you can shoot that, then try a .338 Win. When you can shoot it well, try the .375 H&H or equivalent. Once you can really shoot the .375, you are ready to take on ANYTHING on this planet-just use the right bullets!