Knowing the rifle weight and exact load/charge tell you a great deal ofimportant information. But the correct stock fit and proper shooting technique are often overlooked and can make a HUGE difference in the felt recoil a shooter experiences.

Having a heavy rifle with the latest recoil doo-dads doesn't entirely make up for poor form and/or a poor fit.

In a perfect world we would all have perfectly fitted stocks, shoot with perfect form and be using a lead-sleds weighted down with plenty of ballast. Then we could all shoot the mega-magnums for extended range sessions and really brag about how much of a bad-arse we were!!! If that is what we wanted that is.

I myself don't own any real shoulder pushers, my 30/06 and my 8mm/06 are the biggest centerfires I own. Besides those rifles my 3" magnum Mossberg 12 ga is probably my hardest recoiling gun when shootingheavy slugs.

To be frank though, I much prefer to spend extra time at the range with my 243, my 7 x 57, my 300 Savage,or any of my 6.5 X 55's over my 8mm/06, 30/06's or shotgun. They are all cupcakes to shoot but have more than respectable performance forall that I hunt right now.

I aspire somedayto step upto a either a375 H&H Mag, a 9.3 X 62, or a 338 Win Mag (cannot make up my mind!), all of which I have fired before (friends' guns that fit me reasonably well) and I determined I could handle those for short sessions - 5-15rounds or so. If and when I do buy such a gun, I will take care to gain advice on proper fit and recoil pad installation. And for range sessions with it I will likely employ some sort of vise/rest/sled.
I'm safe for now cuz my finances will have me waiting for such a rifle for a few years.