I read the same article while on the toilet. How I restrained myself from depositing it in the porcelain throne with the rest of the crap, I'll never know

Recoil is not a problem for me with the loads I used. As long as that's the case, the more power the better.

WOW I thought the '06 was not a hard kicking caliber. I sat down and shot 40 rounds through my '06 with bullets ranging from 150-180 off of a bench and my shoulder is fine. I think compared to the hard kicking rifles the 30-06 is a soft kicker, when compared to the 300 ultra mag and everything magnum we have out there now. Also I have a 7mm08 it is in a very trim light weight rifle so with 140 gr. bullets it kicks every bit as hard as an '06 with 150's JMO.

I'm sort of new to hunting and shooting. I just purchased a Remington 700 XCR in .30-06.The riflealone weights 7.3 lbs.. It comes with a factory limbsaver recoil pad. I shot it for the first time the other day and I felt little or no recoil at all. I'm am average size 5'-10" 170 lbs. I don't understand the posts about the .30-06 being a hard recoiling round. I'm wondering if these guys haveultra-light weight rifles and no recoil pads.

A whole bunch of things come into play with felt recoil. Things such as total weight, stock configuration, powder charge, bullet weight, etc. can affect it. The same factory loading shot in two different guns can quite often feel very different. Other things, such as the shooter's ability to handle recoil and their own physical structure play a part in this too, as well as the amount of serious shooting they have done, and the style they use off the bench. If you can't crawl into a gun comfortably, and have to be in an uncomfortable position to shoot, I'll guarantee you are gonna get belted.

Your right... recoil has to do with the gun and the bullet and grains. I have had my gun(30-06) for years now and I don't even feel the recoil anymore. Then again I stopped shooting 50 rounds at a time. If you like a round.. stick with it, don't let the recoil stop you from shooting it unless you just can't do it physically. Find the gun(30-06), then find the round that's good for you(grains), and the rest will fall into place.(0.50groups)

Good Hunting
Tom

I have no problem with the recoil of the 7mm-08 and 270 with 130 grain bullets. Much more recoil than that just takes the joy of shooting away. I shoot mostly for fun. Over the years I have seen my wife take a bunch of nice big mulies with her 250 Savage which has next to nil for recoil. Never seen one get away from her. There is no reason for a deer hunter to put up with much recoil. I would not hesitate to take on every species except grizzly and polar bears with a 270 with good 130 grain bullet or the 6.5x55 with 140 grain bullets. The big bears have also been handled by the 270 and even smaller cartridges. However I like the 45-70 for those guys.

Alright alright, I havent really posted in a while and i figured this is a worthy cause. To start off, my go-to rifle is a rem 700 ADL in 30-06. It gets taken out if the wyoming wind is too strong or I just dont have a good feeling with my other rifles. It is the holy grail of hunting rifles. I got it during the first year of marrige when a semi auto 270 was failing me miserably. BUT, I must give a small (very small) bit of credence to this writer for G&A. Yes, in the form it came in back then, there were NO recoil pads, only steel butt plates. So, I do agree that the recoil could have been a bit severe. In the form we see it now? The 30-06 is a supreme rifle for the big game hunter. They gotta write articles about something you know. But if you look at the development of rounds in the last 15 years, most of them are based off cartridge designs that give less recoil per performance. Just a though. EJ

I did the same thing. Really had to focus to NOT flinch with my 06. When I got my son a .243 for his 12th birthday, I liked it so much that I got myself one. And, as if by magic, no more flinch... and the deer are just as dead...

As an all purpose gun for shooting coyotes to elk, the 30/06 excels. Especially for someone who can afford only one gun. But everything has a price, and the price you pay is recoil.
If all you want is a deer rifle, a .243, 30/30, 7mm/08 or several other calibers do the job.
I put a Sims Recoil Pad on my 30/06 & it has really made a huge difference, for an old guy like me. I enjoy shooting it more & would have no problem hunting with it.