How much recoil are you trying to control with your dominant hand? That is, in my experience, the job of the hand gripping the forestock.
My personal opinion, is that recoil happens and should be absorbed at the shoulder..... if you have to change your shooting stance, hand position, habits then you can expect to pay the price in accuracy...... if a rifle is "too much" for you then you should hunt with one that isn't and change your strategy...... (not directed at you bum, just a general response).. there is nothing "manly" about hunting a rifle you can't handle, nor is there anything "manly" about using a sub par cartridge beyond its intended range.... what is "manly" is hunting within your capability and ensuring you harvest your animal cleanly whether it's a groundhog or a trophy elk.......
some like the idea of having a bolt stop on a straight pull ... still wondering why the r8 came on the market? the heym sr30 is very good on that matter and very easy to operate but a bolt can be fast.
i ve done my first triplet on wild boar with a regular bolt heym sr20 the guys around thought i was using a semi auto rifle ....
A straight action bolt scares the #### out of me as an engineer...... and I am not "dissing" rifles that have one as poorly engineered, but if the charge is overloaded and the bolt stop fails, where is that bolt going to go?.... Of course I have seen no reports of this happening and I may be being a Nancy here........ but I would rather be a Nancy than gain .15 seconds reloading a rifle for a second shot.....
I can tell you that I have never fired anything that cycles faster than a Steyr M95... handy, quick cycling little rifles (that pack a punch)!
Good feedback Kurgan, but what I would submit is "what is the true importance of being able to cycle a second round a split second earlier?".... versus reliability, familiarity etc.... (not directed at you, but in general)......
Hands down, if having a second shot at hand is the most important thing to you, then you can't beat a semi...... arguing bolt versus lever speed is like splitting hairs.....
Having a rifle in a chambering you want for the game you are shooting at, at the range you wish to be able to shoot it at is far more important than how fast you can chamber and fire round two......