I've never shot a mag rifle load, but I've shot plenty of 12 ga magnum slug loads. I don't imagine that a 300 Win Mag generates a whole lot more recoil than that, but y'all will have to comment on that since I don't know.

I definitely feel the recoil when shooting at the range. It doesn't cause me to flinch, though, but after about 15 slugs, my shoulder definitely starts to hurt. Even the first one smarts a bit. But for every shot, I find myself concentrating on a smooth, consistent trigger pull, and being surprised when the gun goes "bang."

It is definitely an interesting phenomenon in the field. Your brain and muscle memory go into full auto mode, and you just don't think about it; it just happens. I never, ever feel the recoil in the field, and I never concentrate on my trigger pull, etc. The only thing I think about (after checking the background) is the front sight or crosshairs, and the small gap in the trees that's allowing me to make a clean shot.

I think that is why practice, practice, practice is SO important. You cannot afford to be thinking about your shooting technique in the field. Even if you can't make it to the range a lot (which I, for one, cannot), you can still do a whole heck of a lot of practice with trigger control and target acquisition in your living room. I like to use the window to acquire outside targets.