I always respond to recoil sensitive people the same way. WAR EAR PROTECTION!!!!! All guns kick a little but they're nothing to fear. It's the "BANG"! that makes us shy of the gun not the recoil. For PA and a possible moose hunt for someone who may look at the size of the ammo before shooting it......go with a .308 Mild in the kick dept. and the shell looks little too. The BIG plus is that the .308 is a 30-06 but just slowed down a little bit. Load him up with 165 gr. for whitetail and 180 gr for the moose. You'll never go wrong with the .308 My buddy has downed several elk with the .308 with one shot. (So he says) : )