Perceived recoil takes in so many factors that it is hard to quantify. Stock design, rifle weight, muzzle velocity and energy, quality of recoil pad and on and on and on..........However as the cartridge and caliber grows, so does the recoil impulse.......it's called physics. One's tolerance to the physics of this equation is directly dependent on the number of times and number of center fire rifles and cartridges one has shot up to this point. If one has only ever shot a .22 rimfire and is handed an 8 lb 30-06 with stout 180 gn loads they will most certainly be surprised and may find it particularly unpleasant. On the other hand, an experienced shooter of rifles and cartridges up to the 338 WM, when handed a 8-9 lb 375 H&H will likely have no negative response at all. After a couple months with the 375 and a few hundred rounds, if handed a 10 lb 416 Rigby will likely get the same response.........that's not bad, and so on up the scale.
My son shoots a 300 RUM a lot and also has a 375 Ruger which he loads to it's full potential, so when I handed him my Merkel .470 NE, at the range one afternoon, he fired one barrel, looked at me and smiled and then fired the second. Many people tried my 450 Ackley loaded with 500 gn Hornady softs or solids to 2550 fps, no one ever said "that's not too bad" and very, very few ever asked for a second chance at it. It was built on a Brno 602 in a custom walnut stock with almost no drop and an oversize butt cross section to help with the recoil dispersion, it also had the thickest recoil pad available, designed especially for heavy recoil..........and it was still ugly, even at 10+ lbs. It would remove your muffs and shooting glasses with every round, but I still managed several 3,4+5 shot sub moa groups with it. I don't know really how good it would shoot, but it would consistently make one ragged hole at 100 mtrs regardless of the number of rounds one sent down range. But it took all the concentration I could manage to shoot 5 rounds from the bench to develop loads and set the scope. I did learn that a small sand bag between the butt and my shoulder helped immensely from the bench. Offhand it was all rock and roll and not TOO bad for a few rounds. Not a rifle that one would ever worry about wearing out !!! I'm pretty sure retinas and rotator cuffs would give out before the throat on that girl. Point being that every factor regarding heavy recoil was positively addressed on that rifle, weight, stock design, recoil pad and it was still an ugly brute. I cannot imagine this cartridge in an under designed rifle, it may well be dangerous to fire.
Recoil is many different things to many different people and it can all be overcome through exposure........to a point. If you wish to desensitize yourself all it takes is a good rifle, in an appropriate cartridge and lots of practice. If you are never going to hunt outside NA then desensitization at a 458 Lott level is exclusively a personal desire, however if one wishes to hunt the biggest and most dangerous animals on the planet, then it is pretty much a necessity.
My son shoots a 300 RUM a lot and also has a 375 Ruger which he loads to it's full potential, so when I handed him my Merkel .470 NE, at the range one afternoon, he fired one barrel, looked at me and smiled and then fired the second. Many people tried my 450 Ackley loaded with 500 gn Hornady softs or solids to 2550 fps, no one ever said "that's not too bad" and very, very few ever asked for a second chance at it. It was built on a Brno 602 in a custom walnut stock with almost no drop and an oversize butt cross section to help with the recoil dispersion, it also had the thickest recoil pad available, designed especially for heavy recoil..........and it was still ugly, even at 10+ lbs. It would remove your muffs and shooting glasses with every round, but I still managed several 3,4+5 shot sub moa groups with it. I don't know really how good it would shoot, but it would consistently make one ragged hole at 100 mtrs regardless of the number of rounds one sent down range. But it took all the concentration I could manage to shoot 5 rounds from the bench to develop loads and set the scope. I did learn that a small sand bag between the butt and my shoulder helped immensely from the bench. Offhand it was all rock and roll and not TOO bad for a few rounds. Not a rifle that one would ever worry about wearing out !!! I'm pretty sure retinas and rotator cuffs would give out before the throat on that girl. Point being that every factor regarding heavy recoil was positively addressed on that rifle, weight, stock design, recoil pad and it was still an ugly brute. I cannot imagine this cartridge in an under designed rifle, it may well be dangerous to fire.
Recoil is many different things to many different people and it can all be overcome through exposure........to a point. If you wish to desensitize yourself all it takes is a good rifle, in an appropriate cartridge and lots of practice. If you are never going to hunt outside NA then desensitization at a 458 Lott level is exclusively a personal desire, however if one wishes to hunt the biggest and most dangerous animals on the planet, then it is pretty much a necessity.
