Have a chance to buy a Winchester with Leupold scope and never owned this caliber before and wondering what's the good and bad of this caliber? Also what game have you taken with it? Also what grain and bullet you use?
Ive had an equal number of 338 WM's and 300 WSM's... I think 5 of each. I have never seen any difference on big game between the two, and have killed mature (6pt) bull elk with both.
If you want something truly more than the 300 WSM, go with the 375 H&H and be done with it. The 375 can be built as light as the 338, and like the 338 WM, works well with a 22" barrel (most of my 338 WM's and both my 375's were cut to 22").
I've always viewed the 338 WM as a 30-06 on steroids... ie, it pushes bullets of similar SD/BC to nearly identical velocities/trajectories, and both are perfectly at home with 22" barrels. The 338 WM smacks big stuff a bit harder than the 30-06, and perhaps stuff dies 10yards sooner, but a 338 WM really isn't "necessary". Except of course unless you think it is.
Owning and loading for firearms is a hobby and you might as well do what all the rest of us have done, which is experiment with as many different rounds as possible. What you'll find is cartridges are more alike than different, and at the end of the day might come full circle as I did, right back to moderate stuff like the 308 and 270 Win. Both kick a little and kill a lot.
Good luck on your quest
