The 30-06 can be downloaded
The 270 and 25-06 and 280 Rem. are less recoil but still not considered light recoil.
The 7mm-08 and 308 are about the same. Both have some recoil.
The 243, 257 Roberts, and 7x57 are great deer/antelope cartridges with mild recoil. The 6.5x55 and 260 rem are also very good cartridges.

I personally love the 280 Rem. because it has such a wide variety of bullet section. The 243 is a light recoiling cart. with good performance.

My favorite is the 7 mm Mau. It has served me well and has more case capacity than the 7-O8. But that depends on if your going to reload or buy factory loads.

The 7 mm Mauser is an oldie but goodie! I have often thought about getting one!

I have a Ruger 77 MKII in 7x57mm Mauser. Handloading is necessary for it to equal the 7mm-08, though, as ammo manufacturers keep pressure down for safety in the millions of old bolt actions in which it has been chambered. I've had good luck on deer with a Nosler 140 grain Partition @ 2800 fps. One shot = one deer. It kicks a little, but recoil is noticeably less than any of the five .30-06s I've owned. Good cartridge.

154gr [email protected] 2700 FPS in the hands of a good rifleman should be poison on elk or even moose.

I always wanted a 7x57 but never seemed to end up buying one. When I got more serious about it in later years, I was discouraged by one fact: The length of the cartridge puts it squarely between a short action and long action. Therefore, any modern 7x57 rifle will have it chambered in a long action. That's not a huge deal, just something to note.

I already have more rifles than I need and not enough shotguns, so it's a non-issue.

If you'd like a slightly less recoiling version of the 7x57, the .257 Roberts and 6mm Remington are essentially the same case necked down.

The 6mm does fit in a short action Remington 700 but good luck finding one.

This is true, but allows longer cartridge OAL so the bullet can be seated farther out for maximum powder space. This is an advantage with powders such as IMR 4350, max loads of which are compressed in the 7X57. Longer OAL also permits seating of the bullets closer to the lands for best accuracy.

Very good points...

After the 7 Mau the 257Roberts is my favorite. So it goes 222 Rem, 257Roberts,&7mm Mau, and finally 338-06 . All you need if you learn to shot and hunt. Who needs heavy recoil???

Might want to try a .22-06, just get you some sabots and top off your 06 with some good .22 bullets. You can zip them along at close to 4000 fps if you want or load them down if you want. And, you are carrying a gun you can slip a 150, 165 or 220 grain cartridge into if you feel the need. Been doing it for years. Sure is handy at saving fur if you stumble onto a song dog or Bobbi the cat.