I like heavy...ish guns, i specifically like long barrels. My light rifles weigh about 8 1/4-9lbs scoped, my heavier guns 10-11lbs.
I live at 300ft above sea level, and sometimes hunt @8500-9k ft (bout 45min drive). I REALLY feel the heavy guns after day of hiking around at that altitude, but i feel my fat ...uhh..rear end, alot more.
Ill put up with the weight as it helps absorb some of the shakiness being exhausted or badly out of breath can cause.
In field use, or even from most field positions (besides prone), recoil dosent bother me untill we get into the bigger magnums. Sound does, so does muzzle flash when its getting dark. Thus again im happy with long sporter weight barrels.
Off the bench .243, and 6.5 class recoil im comfortable with a 6-6.5lb gun.
.308ish 6.5-7lb
.30-06-7mm stw 8-9lbs
300s i want a 10lb or heavier gun. This is my comfortable recoil limit. Im happy to shoot 20rnds, 30 takes concentration, more and i need to take breaks with other rifles to "unflinch" myself.
Squishy pads make a huge difference for me, as its the sharpness of the recoil that really causes me problems.