1. For those that have shot both, is there a noticable difference in recoil between the .260 v.s. 7mm-08?

2. Would the recoil be more similar to the .270 or .243/6mm?

Recoil-wise, I'd rate the two about equal. Both are very soft "hitters". Obviously, variables such as rifle weight, stock design and ammo used will have an effect. If I had to choose one, I'd go with the 7mm-08 BUT both are delightful to shoot.

IF fired from rifles having the same weight, and using the same weight bullets at a similar muzzle velocity, the recoil of both would be about the same. This is true as they both use about the same weight of powder to give comparable MV's with identical bullet weights.

The recoil would be closer to that of a .270 using the same weight bullet, say 140 grainers in all three. The .270 would give somewhat more, because it needs more powder to give the same MV you can get with the smaller cases using less powder. The .243/6mm cartridges will give less recoil, because they fire lighter bullets.

The main variablesthat control recoil are: weight of the gun; weight of the bullet; weight of the powder charge; and MV of the bullet. The velocity of the escaping gas is also taken into consideration in the formula forcalculating recoil, but for smokeless powders this factor is usually the constant of 4700 FPS.....

Check out:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
According to those findings, the 7mm has slightly less recoil, while shooting a heavier projectile!
Deffinate beni!

Well, you must take into account the .260 figure comes from a 7.5 pound rifle, while the 7mm-08 figure uses an 8 pound firearm...

As I noted, IF both rifles weigh the same, fire the same weight bullet at the same MV, using about the same amount of powder, the recoil will also be the about the same.

If you fire one from a 7.5-pound rifle and the other from one weighing 8 pounds, you are now comparing apples & oranges.....

Agreed I was merely pointing out the weight difference to user "game4lunch". I don't consider either one a shoulder breaker- I am sure that either one would make a great rifle for medium sized game.