I wonder what some of these guys would have thought about muzzlebrakes: Jack O'Connor, Pete Brown, Townsend Whelen, Peter Hathaway-Capstick, John Taylor, Jim Corbett...
Only a partial list, but you get the idea.
I don't/won't use a muzzlebrake. If a gun has too much recoil (for me), out the door it goes and I look for another. I won't/wouldn't hunt with someone who has one on their rifle. Being in their vicinity when they took a shot would suck all the joy out of the hunt.
As far as using one on a youngster's first gun, I'd much rather get him shooting reduced loads while teaching him to shoot than introduce him to a muzzlebrake.