I've long since retired my Ruger American, I make my son shoot it when he's feeling over manly. My current go to in 450 BM is a Ruger No 1 and a Model 77 Scout. Recoil in both are quite mild even with 300 grain SST's or Speer 300grain deep curls. With the right platform/loads it's recoil isn't as bad as reputation makes it.