ORIGINAL: ipscshooter
ORIGINAL: bigbulls
A 30-06 firing a 165 grain bulletwill have about 70% more recoil than the 7mm-08 firing a 140 grain bullet assuming they are fired out of the same rifle.... IE: both shot out of a Remington 700 CDL.
I'm not sure the difference would be quite that dramatic. There's some good info here:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
Lonewolf: If you want nice mild recoil in a rifle that packs enough punch for deer, the .243 Win. fits the bill perfectly. 1/3 less recoil than a 7mm-08, and, at least in my experience, performs just as well on deer as my now retired 30-06 used to...
Ditto on this link. There are different factors that do affect recoil such as rifle weight, stock design, etc. but you're probably looking at getting the same rifle (weight, stock, etc.) and just deciding on caliber at this point. My buddy has shot the .243 for years on deer and swears by it. Even shooting a 100 grain bullet, the .243 is about 1/3 less recoil than the 7mm-08. Good luck with the surgery and your caliber selection.