These are excellent questions. It looks like you already shoot a 30-30 and are presumably able to handle that amount of recoil in a rifle. If that's so, see the recoil information below.

If you're trying to find a rifle with less recoil than your current 30-30, i.e. lower recoil like your M-I-L's shotgun, you may want to also consider some additional methods for reducing recoil besides shooting a smaller/ lighter recoiling caliber. My wife has an old neck injury and I've been working on a similar concept for her. So far, we're using a 243W for deer and antelope size animals and I'm seriously considering a 7mm-08 for her to try out for the bigger animals. We're still working through the different Limbsaver type and will probably have one of the Limbsaver recoil pads custom installed by a gunsmith for fit and finish.

Although Canada is pretty restrictive on semi-automatics, I did hunt with a Browning BAR 338WM in British Columbia for bear and moose. A semi-auto does use some of that recoil energy to cycle the rifle's action and thereby "lessens" the recoil to some degree. An AR style platform in some 30 caliber would be awesome but I know there's no way Canada would allow that.

Some people use some type of muzzle break or porting on their rifle to reduce recoil. Both of these systems have some type of slots or "ports" on the sides of the end of your rifle barrel and release some of the pressure of the rifle to the side and thus lessen the recoil somewhat. They also direct more of the muzzle blast sound to the sides and are not very popular with hunting guides and/or hunting partners.

Some people have a recoil pad installed on their rifle in place of the existing butt-plate. These pads are made of recoil absorbing materials and do reduce recoil quite a bit. Just by way of illustration, I happen to own a 1950ish Winchester 94 in 30-30 and have shot 150 and 170 grain bullets in it (the 170's definitely kick harder). It's a typical hard type butt-plate that transfers 100% of recoil energy to my shoulder. I recently bought a Marlin Guide gun in 45-70 and was surprised at how the length of pull was so much shorter (guess Marlin figures we'll all wear heavier clothing when shooting their Guide Guns). I bought a slip on Limbsaver pad with my rifle and it increased the length of pull to where it felt much more comfortable. I have shot the rifle with and without that Limbsaver pad and it's noticeably less felt recoil when I shoot with the pad on. In fact, it seems like it kicks less than the 30-30.

Recoil Information:
If you're looking for some kind of comparison of recoil energy levels amongst different popular calibers, you could obtain the below listed information at Chuck Hawks website or from other sources both on and off of the internet. According to the rifle recoil table at Chuck Hawks (see link below), your 30-30 generates something between 10.6 and 11 pounds of recoil energy, depending on whether you're shooting 150 grain bullets or 170 grain bullets.

In comparison, here are some recoil averages (per Chuck Hawks' website) for 7MM and 30 caliber cartridges:


7MM Calibers
7mm-08 12.1 to 12.6 ft/lbs of recoil
270 Win 16.5 to 17 ft/lbs of recoil
280 17 to 17.5 ft/lbs of recoil

30 Calibers
308 Winchester 15.8 to 17.6 ft/lbs of recoil
30-06 20.1 to 20.3 ft/lbs of recoil
300 Win Mag 23.5 to 25.9 ft/lbs of recoil
338 Win Mag 25.9 to 35.2 ft/lbs of recoil

For more recoil information, check out this website:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm


This is a lot of information to digest but hopefully it helps you make a more informed decision. A couple of last things I would also suggest are to consider combining one of the lighter recoiling calibers (perhaps the 7mm-08) with a recoil reducing pad to obtain the lightest amount of recoil in a gun that can take those animals at reasonable ranges. Even better would be if you have a family member or friend who has one of these rifles or if they have a friend who has a rifle you can shoot a few rounds through and get a better idea of what would work best for you. Good luck in quest. It's doable and you'll end up with a rifle that's just right for you.