I hunted in a club with a guy that had a .308 and he had many deer to run off as if not hit. I don't have the slightest idea what cartridge he was shooting. I figure some factory ammo. I have used a 300 WinMag for a good many years now and the gun basically has shot Federal Premiums factory loads with outstanding accuracy and results on deer. I had shot some Winchesters very briefly and they would tear a lot up of meat. I had to shoot head or neck shots. I ended up giving those bullets away. I am not a big person at 5'7" at about 180lbs. and I do not notice the recoil at the range and certainly not in the field. It kicks nowhere near as bad as a 10 ga. NEF using Nitro Company's custom shells that I used for 5-6 years turkey hunting. It does get heavy though.