"Tied between a Ruger #1 Tropical in 375 H&H and a lightweight sporter some guy at the range had in 300 Weatherby.
The Ruger had both; a short, quick BIG jab. I took it out to the range once, fired it from standing for 5 or 6 rounds and put it up for sale the next day.
Funny thing is I've fired other 375s and while they definitely kicked, they were nowhere near as unpleasant as the Ruger. Must be something to do with the stock fit or weight."
Interesting. I shoot the #1 Tropicals in .375 H&H, .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby and while I find the .375 to not be a problem, the .404 and .416 usually are limited to only 5 rounds at the range, partly due to recoil and mostly due to cost.
Frankly, I don't shoot them much anymore as my 78 year old arthritic shoulder starts complaining much earlier than it use to.
The rifle I do find extremely painful to shoot is a Winchester M70 Stainless Classic in a synthetic stock (factory issue) that flat out beats me to death. The recoil is very sharp and sudden and it literally snaps my head back and forth.
I can actually hear a "click" that seems to be inside my head when I shoot it and get the feeling it's my brain rattling around inside my head. I end up with one very violent headache within a couple of shots. I've loaded the stock up with two pounds of lead plus a bipod bringing the weight up to 12 pounds and that tamed that beast down quite nicely. Adding a muzzle brake didn't help at all.
Paul B.