I shoot a 1984 Tikka M55 Deluxe with a 1" Pachmayr pad on it. Running 180 Remington SP Core Lockt I've never noticed the recoil. It's my primary hunting rifle, I've tried all different types of loads through it over the years, and I keep coming back to the Remington rounds. The gun is more accurate than I'm capable of shooting. I've done three rounds touching at 100 yards, surprised even myself.