Keep in mind too that a lot of factory threaded rifles (e.g. both Tikka & Sako) come with a 20" barrel as standard nowadays. This is to keep the total length of the rifle down once a moderator is fitted.
In .270 form and using factory ammo i've found this short a barrel to be pretty unpleasant to shoot unmoderated.
I was told by my local RFD that a Tikka or Sako with a 22" unthreaded barrel is now considered to be a "special order" item though, and attracts a long wait for delivery. The extra 2" on the barrel really makes a difference in terms of felt recoil if not using a moderator though. It feels much the same to my shoulder as any other midsize centrefire.
Howa sensibly offer a 22" factory threaded barrel as standard - best of both worlds.
I've got to echo this, and also point out that anyone who says that the (unmoderated) recoil of a .270 is the same as a .243 hasn't done enough shooting with each.
The truth is that rifle makers are following the market where moderators have become the logical add-on. Sako M85 & Tikka T3 'long action' rifles can be ordered with 51cm or 57cm barrels. A lot of new entrants to stalking believe that a moderator is the next essential accessory to follow the right (
germanic) 'scope & mounts, so go for the short barrel to reduce length & weight . It seems logical to them. They've heard tales or had experience of shooters firing a 20" barrelled .270 without a mod, and have failed to identify the real cause which is the truncated barrel. In truth even with muffs on the flash & din of a short .270 is horrendous. A .243 stutzen though a bit more bearable is no fun either. A moderator is needed to remedy the deficiencies in the equipment, so the two parts become fused into a standard rig which become inseparable.
If you go back, the OP is asking opinions on the
naked recoil from a .270. In a standard length barrel (same rifle make & model of course) it's virtually indistinguishable from a .308, a noticeable bit more than a 6.5x55, and a good bit more than a .243. I'm a lightweight, and that's my honest observation from using all these calibres now - with full-power loads - in exactly the same rifles. No moderator - no hearing protection either - so the true characteristics aren't muffled, masked, or disguised in any way.
The same old posts have surfaced on the need for a moderator, but that wasn't the OP's query. I think the blast effect of a .270 is high so it increases 'perceived recoil' more than most people realise BUT after a while you get used to this. This is just a short term thing, and isn't enough justification to spend another £400 on fitting a moderator, providing you choose a rifle in .270 with a 'proper' length barrel.