Like many others here, and agree to disagree, i havent fired one of these, but as a long time user of the .300 Wby, .300 Win mag, .375 H&H and .416 Taylor, i have never used a brake. I agree that recoil is indeed subjective, i myself posted where i thought my 20 gauge 3 inch slugs had more bite than my 12 gauge counterparts. Ive just always accepted recoil, i figure if im getting a large caliber, thats just part of the package. I was seriously mistaken the first time i took the .416 to the range. I fired my grouping and was pleased, the rangemaster asked what i was shooting and could he give it a go? Sure, he fired, smiled, and said that it was so smooth. It has a heavy barrel, it is very heavy forward, and i feel its more like my muzzleloader, a push instead of kick. Id like to try a 6.5 to see, but now im more focused on a .240 Wby to round my options out. But, i DO like big and different, so im thinking. The one time i felt wicked recoil was when i was in my 20's, i was at the range and there was this really old man there, he had a nice leather take down case and was putting a rifle together, i was in awe. It was an old double rifle in .450 NE. He took one shot with it, i went over and talked to him, he said he was too old to shoot it and this was his last shot with it, he was passing it down. He asked me if i wanted a try and i said sure, it was a work of art, the wood was beautiful and it was pristine, he gave me 2 rounds, i fired the 2 shots and felt like my cheek was going to fall off, i realized it had no recoil pad and it was incredible. He asked if i liked it and of course i did, i know ill never be able to own one, but im glad to have had the chance to fire one, it was awesome and my shoulder was purple for days and i loved it!