When shooting anything bigger than my .45 longrifle - I always wear a magnum recoil pad under my jacket or coat. In the summer, it goes over my t-shirt - or under the jacket. Not always hot here in the summer - HA!
That way, recoil is NEVER part of the equation. When shooting off the bench - you KNOW if you flinched or not - you KNOW the instant the shot breaks if your eyes are closed.
With hooked butts, a wider piece of cosed cell foam (camp sleeping mat foam - blue or yellow, normally) can easily be placed between the rifle's butt and shoulder/arm cup. I'd lay serious coin that that's is exactly what Taylor will be doing with his new .62 Hawken. Wide flat butts that fit the pocket of the shoulder under the collar bone, are the most pleasant shooting butts. Many styles have them and are comfortable to shoot as long as they don't have too much drop at the heel and enough at the comb - Marshal, Jaeger, Early Penn rifles that follow their German Herigtage, & of course, the best shapes in sporting history, the English guns.
The bench must be used, or you will never be able to work up the rifle's best load - IF that is what you want, of course. This all depends entirely on what's acceptable to the owner/shooter. I still recall the young lad(younger that I at that time) who filed the rims off once fired .30/30 brass(range pickup)filled the empty cases with sand, than a beeswax plug. He then loaded and shot them in his Dixie or H&A flinter, remember those Hugh? Anyway - he could hit the paper at 25 yards almost 4 times out of 5 shots - wide-eye'd and claiming excellent accuracy - really excited about it - accuracy, it's all in the eye of the beholder.
