it never bothered me shooting my m94 in 30-30. on a bench or standing or sitting, heck i was even laying down shooting the 30-30. when i was 12yo my deer gun was a Savage pump gun in 20ga. the next year, i using a borrowed Win m94 in 32 Special. then i got a Win m94(1972) in 30-30 from my grandpap at Christmas. i killed ALOT of deer with it. foxes, feral dogs/cats, groundhogs, skunks, racoons....and a whole bunch of other stuff was shot by my 30-30. i think i was 5' when i was 12yo. when i turned 16yo, i was 5'9"(i stayed there now). my growth spurt was when i turned 15yo and i shot up 7 or 8".
i "think" the 30-30 was a good choice for me. at the time, i didn't reload, so factory ammo (which was cheap) was it for me. i saved my brass because someday, someone will load it for me. i didn't know it, but someone is me
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the recoil of the m94 is like a scoped Rem m700 BDL in 243 Win, or a gentle nudge on your shoulder. i have shot 375 H&H, 416 Rem and Rigby, 458 Win mag, 460 Weatherby mag and others, but in no way will i shoot a 338 Rem Ultra Mag again!!! back before my stroke, my friend (RIP) had a Rem m700 laminate in 338 RUM. he came over one day to shoot it. being a gun nut, i HAD to shoot it. now, I had to sit to make use of my sandbags. i lined up the shot and gently pulled the trigger......the shot landed in the exact middle of a 1" steel target (4"x 4" x 1") at 100 yards. unfortunately, i did not see it. the recoil was fierce. it actually made me afraid to shoot it AGAIN. my shoulder agreed with me, the pain in my shoulder was enuff for me. as a matter of fact, it turned black and blue almost instantly!!! it took me about a week to put the pain down to acceptable levels. the 338 RUM and the m700 made me cry!!! i'll take a 460 Weatherby every day and twicet on Sunday before i even think of the 338 RUM.
the only thing i can think of is the stock and sitting down to shoot it. this was in '02 or '03 (?) and it was the first run of the 338 RUM, so i don't know if they changed the stock or recoil pad or whatever. i probably should have stood and leaned it up against the pole. that probably would make the recoil pulse (or punch/slap...) bearable.
i'll take a m94 TE over a m336 any day. i don't own a m336, but i have handled them. the Winchester is lighter than the Marlin, mostly because the Marlin has a scope. i like my levers un-scoped. my eyes ain't what they used to be, but put an aperture sight on the m94 and it is better than it was.