I have a Burris 4x on mine, it has very good eye relief, is compact, and has bold cross-hairs. Personal preferrence.

As for the recoil, mine is amazingly light, probably the lightest recoil I have ever felt on anything that could kill a deer, I shoot 100 grains with a T-shirt on and I only weigh a tad bit over 150, I don't know why anyone would need any SIMS pads, etc.