RE: Recoil cost me this year; please HELP
Pretty much everything that can be said has already been said. But I'll chip in anyways. I don't notice much of a difference in the recoil of the 30-06 and the 7mag. My Ruger M77 in 7mm Rem Mag doesn't kick bad at all, and I still have the factory solid rubber pad on there. It doesn't recoil any more than the Rem ADL 7mm Rem Mag I owned before I bought the Ruger.
I agree with the idea of buying a 7mm-08. Although the BAR he bought will do just fine too.