I love those Federal Powershoks for shooting at the range! They're not too expensive either. Funny thing is, from what I noticed shooting with my .308, the Powershoks recoil more than the Hornady SST's.

Pretty much everything that can be said has already been said. But I'll chip in anyways. I don't notice much of a difference in the recoil of the 30-06 and the 7mag. My Ruger M77 in 7mm Rem Mag doesn't kick bad at all, and I still have the factory solid rubber pad on there. It doesn't recoil any more than the Rem ADL 7mm Rem Mag I owned before I bought the Ruger.

I agree with the idea of buying a 7mm-08. Although the BAR he bought will do just fine too.

Everyone has mentioned, 1. better recoil pad - this will help 2. scope with more eye relief -will also help. that being said, i would trade it in for a 7mm08. What's my reason? i think once you have a flinch with that gun you may always have it. Its going to be pychological. even if you get it to recoil less it may still be there. I think you need to start fresh.

for example, i have a win m70 30.06. I took it to the range and it recoiled quite a bit for my taste after about 40 rounds. I put a pakmyer recoil pad on the gun and now it feels like a .223 to be honest. But even after that i would find myself flinching a bit.

i purchased a 7mm-08 savage and started to shoot that. Low recoil and i never developed a flinch with this gun. Even thou perceived recoil is less with my 30.06, the 7mm-08 is percieved as less.

you don't need a 7mm mag for deer.

IMO the 7mm-08 or 270 is right at the extreme upper end of guns for deer hunting. The wife never has any trouble taking her deer with her 250 Savage. No recoil what-so-ever. Make it easy on yourself. Find a gun that you can enjoy 50 shots off the bench with. 250, 260 7mm-08 25-06.