RE: .257 weatherby mag
No I am not saying it kicks pretty hard. It does recoil, but the recoil is very manageable in a heavy rifle like a Mark V. What I am saying is that if you are shooting a high volume of varmints(50 or more shots a day), that the recoil would get to you. And the higher velocities would be a little tough on barrels for high volume shooting. Sorry if I mislead.
If recoil was a problem I would go with a light recoiling 30 caliber, like a 300 Savage. IMO velocity does not make up for the lighter bullets. I have gotten in trouble for saying that before. But I really do believe it to be true. I am prejudiced against the quarter bores, too light for the big stuff and too big for the light stuff. Just an opinion. Tom.