I shot one a couple of weeks ago that an older gentleman had purchased. It was a stainless/synthetic combination with a Leupold 4 or 4.5x to 14x on it. He only had some factory 220's for it but I found it did not kick as bad as I thought it was going to. I had been shooting my .35 Whelen and that might account for the lack of perceived recoil. I only shot two rounds with it but it put them into about 1/2 inch group.
I would not think that the 8mm short mag would kick any more then would the 300WSM. I never did notice any difference in the feel of a rifle in 30-06 compared to the same model in 8x57 Mauser. It will be interesting to see what gains are claimed by the newer 325WSM.