When preparing for my first African hunt, I loaded my 8 3/4 pound .505 wildcat bolt gun with cast bullets and light loads (535 grain bullets at around 1200 fps.) I would take the rifle and a pocket full of ammunition with me walking around the farm, practicing mounting the gun, releasing the safety, and firing the shot at assorted stumps and rocks. The recoil was no more than that of a heavy waterfowl load in a 12 guage.

During load development and chronographing I shot the rifle off the bench using a homemade "lead sled" which added about 25 pounds to the actual weight of the rifle and reduced the recoil to a powerful shove. In Africa, I confirmed my zero by shooting over the hood of the hunting car with a folded up towel under the shoulder of my jacket.

As a result, when the time came to shoot at game there was no recoil anticipation and no felt recoil. I attribute the latter to the same phenomenon I have experienced in the duck blind, shooting 3 1/2" Magnum shells at passing ducks. Concentrating on hitting a rapidly moving target instead of anticipating the recoil cancelled out the effect on my shoulder. I feel as though in such circumstances the body is not braced against the recoil and as a result absorbs the energy in such a way as to negate the effect.

As 9.3 points out, stance has a great deal to so with how recoil is absorbed. Leaning into the rifle puts the body in a position far more capable of dealing with the force of the recoil than standing upright. This is the stance used by most trap shooters and its effect, particularly in shooting doubles, is obvious.

Incidentally, another part of my African preparation involved shooting skeet with a bolt action shotgun. If you can consistantly hit doubles with such a gun, starting from the low gun position, you have the makings of an excellant instinctive rifle shooter.

I also shot skeet with my .458 Krieghoff double rifle, using .410 shells. The plastic wad column protected the bore, but the fired cases were no longer useable.