I just got a 25-06 and love it. It has much less recoil with 117 grain bullets than my 30-06 with 165s. Really, there is no punishing recoil at all. It is accurate and flat shooting. And with hornady SST interlock bullets it will kill deer and probably Elk too in dramatic fashion. I have had to be careful not to shoot the deer up because it hits them so hard. If you hit a meat area, it will get ruined.