.375 H&H Magnum in a Winchester Model 70. I would not care to shoot anything having greater recoil, for fear of a suffering a detached retina.

12 gauge slug usually does not feel to good...

Those danged little 7mms do have a FAST recoil; especially in an ultralight rifle. They are irritating to me for that reason too. I also think a .270 is irritating for the same reason. I really don't mind the bigger, slower recoiling rounds like my 11 pound .375 H&H and my 12 pound .300 Dakota. They move you backwards with a push but they don't cross your eyes like those rounds above. That is why I use a 25-06 for deer, antelope, varmints, etc. The WORST for me was when I shot a light single shot 3 1/2 inch 10 gauge with hot reloads. I still have quite a scar on my hand where the hammer went through it on one shot. That thing used to plaster me against the back of the goose blind. I finally shot a 50BMG a few weeks ago and even that was not as bad a feeling as a light weight 7mm mag but it weighed 15 pounds and had a muzzle break.

Big, I was faced once with a decision on which Rem 700 to purchase. Both at Scheels, both priced right and both in very sanitary condition, both scoped.

I chose the .30-06 over the 7mm-08 although the 7mm seemed to have only 5 or 6 rounds put through it as it was brand spanking new. I remember the initial sting and the 2 week pain following the discharge of a friend's 700 7mm-08 every time I swung a hammer at work.

The same rifle was still for sale a month later. The word is out...

Doesn't Beekeeper's wife shoot a small light rifle in 7-08?

Mine would be a 12 ga with 3" slugs

I once shot a .458 Win. mag. with a steel butt plate. Note that I said "once". I've never shot a .270 that didn't have excessive recoil, and shot a friend's .300 mag. that brought tears to both our eyes. Neither my .375 H&H Mag. nor my .338 Win. mag. are as brutal in the recoil as some .270s I have shot.

I agree with crm3006. Jack O'Connor used to describe the recoil of the .270 as "moderate" and "mild." I've always felt that its recoil was rather sharp and abrupt in comparison to the .30-06.
I'm afraid there are still too many gun-writers who are unwilling to admit that they are even a bit recoil-conscious, much less recoil-sensitive.

I've shot every caliber off the bench all the way up to 460 Weatherby Magnum, and a 3 1/2 12gauge just kicks the crap out of me!

My Rem 700 7mm mag has some serious thump going on, makes shooting my 270 or 270 WSM a pleasure!

I own both 270s and 7mags and to me 270 kicks like a mule where~as the 7mag kicks like 2 mules LOL

Mossberg 935 shooting 3.5 inch number 5 turkey load with ultra full choke. Kicks worse than buckshot. I read an article that F&S put out that said turkey load kicks a lot worse than buckshot.

My buddy's 460 Weatherby.
The nastiest was a 308 in that old WinLite that weighted about 5 lbs. w/steel butt plate.

I will give your friend $150 sight unseen for that terrible kicking 7mm-08 model 700. It is just physics and you will have a hard time convincing me that a 7 & 1/2 pound rifle of less than .338 win mag is a hard kicker. Poor stock design and fitting cause more felt recoil than the reality of it. I can't honestly say that I never even feel the recoil while firing at an animal when hunting. Some of the light 12 gauge side by sides will kick the snot out of you if you are expecting it but if you are firing at a rising rooster you don't even know it. You get home and get undressed to get in bed and there is a bruise from your chest clear out to your bicep. Is that enough to make you not go the next day? Never!

I shot a 10 gauge single shot one time that crossed my eyes pretty good. Never again will I shoot a 3 1/2 inch magnum in any shotgun. Way too much power for a light gun.

I am not surprised to hear that your Remington was unpleasant to shoot. The best rifle that I ever shot was a Winchester Model 70, the second best was a Ruger M-77. The absolute worst rifle that I ever shot was a Remington. The Ruger and the Remington were the same caliber, 7mm Mag, so the cartridge wasn't to blame. I believe that for some reason Remingtons do not fit some people and when it came time to buy a new rifle, it wasn't a Remington.

I feel the 3" slugs in a 12 ga and the 45-70 kick much harder than either of my 30-06s.

I went out back and fired 3 test loads in my 7mm Weatherby Magnum tonight and was not bothered in the least by the recoil. It's no cupcake with 72 grains of powder pushing 150 grain bullets, but no monster either. My buddy's 14 year old daughter that is not even 5 feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds soaking wet with a bar of Ivory soap in her pocket handles a Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08 without complaint. I don't know what to make of your situation.

A ruger #1 in .416 rigby was the worst. I was about 10 years old at the time. The range officers sure got a laugh out of that one.