I only own one rifle like that, so I'll tell you my experience. It's a Mossberg ATR 100 in .30-06. It's pretty long range, nice and accurate even with the default scope, and you don't really have to worry about drop at most distances, since the cartridge packs a lot of momentum. Oh yeah, the shooting.

I got this rifle 10 years ago as a skinny teenager. For two years after that I had to shoot it with a paperback book against my shoulder because the recoil was such a bitch. This rifle kicks it's user like a mule, but it kicks the target like a war elephant. I once saw an interview with a WW2 vet who said of his Garand: "If you hit a man above the belt with it, he was dead when he hit the ground." I can believe it.

Once I took it out to a desert shooting spot and shot a bowling ball I found in the rubble. The ammo I was using was a jacketed hollow point that mushroomed rather than bloomed. That bowling ball exploded so violently that anyone watching the video with the sound off would have to conclude that it had been filled with a violent hatred at the idea of being a solid object. By the way, they've got colored layers inside, like big jawbreakers. The child in me was very pleased.

That's the main thing. The sheer power of a scoped bolt action rifle, along with it's good accuracy, make this a weapon that enables someone with basic rifle skills and the element of surprise/concealment to score instantly incapacitating wounds at good ranges, to say nothing of actual sniping.

Final thoughts: -It sounds awesome. No bang, just boom. Like a giant bass drum

-If it was good enough to fight nazis, it's good enough for me.

-Ammo isn't cheap, but the low rate of fire forces you to make every shot count

-Haha bolt action go chik-chok, chik-chak