bcsteve said:
I bet it doesn't feel like a maiden's caress when you pull the trigger!!! Get a recoil pad for this thing!

OUCH!!!
It shoves pretty good -but it doesn't hurt unless you don't pull the butt into your shoulder.
Besides, recoil pads and dragon calls on rifles are for girlz.
Seriously, it fits... which makes all the difference in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the biggest factors with recoil are proper stock fitting and how you hold the rifle. The .358 was the only one that Husqvarna didn't put open sights on; the others have them. A couple of shots with the .308 and "mild" ammunition, using the iron sights, left me begging for mercy - the stock dimensions which are perfect for that scope just beat the holy crap out of my face when I scrunch down to peer through the irons.
I've never quite understood the fear of recoil relating to larger rifles in North America. I knew a lot of people who grew up in rural South Africa at one time, and many of them learned to shoot with a .375 H&H or similar rifle and never thought much of it one way or another. In Canada, I've watched guys who would put a whole box of heavy magnum shells through a light 12 gauge back when you could still use lead shot, then talk about how hard "magnum" (or whatever) rifles kick. Do the math on the recoil, and you'll find a lot of those light Winchesters, Ithicas, etc were putting out even more recoil than this .358 Norma does.
Anyways, if the recoil did bother me, the branded Husqvarna buttplate would come off and a recoil pad would go on. But it doesn't. I did, however, have the stocks fitted to me by going to Martin Hagn and have some stockwork done to adjust dimensions.
I am not an iron man, incidentally - my brother's idea of an elk rifle is one of Mr. Ruger's single shots in .416 Rigby, using 110 grains of RL22 (I think) to drive a 325 gr. bullet at just about 2900 fps. That thing HURTS... even though it seems to fit just fine.