Excellent article, my friend.
The .30'06 Springfield and .375 H&H are truly amazing. I suppose that many are apprehensive about the recoil of the Holland & Holland, but in a heavier, longer barreled rifle, it is no big deal. I find that heavier bullets are a lot more pleasant to shoot in all of my firearms, perhaps counterintuitively, BTW. An Edwards Recoil Reducer in the stock should settle it down if need be, as would a heavier barrel contour, but I have found that concentration upon the target, and ignoring the "feel" of the shot helps me to disregard recoil before it takes place. My .30'06s used to impress me as stout kickers. I developed better field skills, and it seems very insignificant to me now.
I once had to make do with an old single barrel 28" Stevens 3" Magnum 12 ga. for a while, on some rural property which was covered with many acres of concealing brush, and crowded with rabbits. This attracted packs of rather brazen and large coyotes and other "varmints," the most troublesome being a LARGE bobcat right at my front door, which glared at me with total derision when I attempted to chase him away without brandishing a firearm, looking over his shoulder as he slowly walked away, and a family of 3 mountain lions, only 10 miles away from where several people were attacked in daylight recently, one terribly mauled. This became pause for thought on the way to the out-house in broad daylight, when the cats were seen, and especially in the middle of the night! Where I was, only the circling vultures would have indicated my demise.
The shotgun would not even shoot straight with 2 3/4" shells. I learned to shoot the magnums without flinching or negative expectation, from necessity. It taught me a very good lesson. I even had to hunt for food upon occasion, and learned to clip rabbits with the edge of buckshot patterns. When one must, one figures out how.
[Hey Squantos...(watch me throw a bomb and run)....how about the .270 Win. Ackley Improved..?!!!]
Oops.
*Ping*
One of my favorite rifles is a Ruger No. 1 chambered in .45-70; shooting that offhand with suitable loads has taught me that I probably don't want to go to anything more robust (like the .458 Win Mag) with a 7.5 pound rifle. I also have a bench rest rifle chambered in .300 Win Mag. Even with the 8 contour barrel, that can get pretty interesting off the bench.
Your story about the shotgun reminds me that the recoil from a 12 gauge shooting full magnum slugs is something to behold, especially in a 18 inch barreled pump.