Thanks JPK,
for that reasoned treatise. Yes, you can toughen up to cold, I know.

Would Marylanders shooting slugs mostly be using one-ounce slugs (about 437 grains) at about 1500 fps? Even in light guns that would still constitute a slower push, I should think, than most elephant rifles. The worst part of shooting aimed shot patterns or slugs from a shotgun that I've noticed is a kind of vibration that may be a consequence of the thin barrels.

As has been discussed in other NE threads, I would be tempted to hunt big game with a .577 nitro-for-black express. Sir Samuel Baker's 650-grain bullets at about 1650fps would give that push, hopefully with the barrel mass cutting the vibrations.

My experience with big rifles is so far limited to a 425WR and a light .458WM, neither of which bothered me at the shoulder, though the .458 smacked the cheek a bit. My .338 is heavy and seems not to kick more than a .30/06 but I'm happy to say that when shooting at deer I don't feel any recoil and don't even notice the report. Hopefully my baby elephant gun will give me the same satisfactory results the calibre seems to have given Pondoro.

Cheers
- Paul