My hunting buddy and I both have Browning X-Bolts, the only difference (other than caliber) is that mine is a stainless stalker and his has a blued barrel. My X-Bolt is in 300 WM and his is a 338 WM. If recoil is a concern, I've shot his 338 WM from the bench on several occasions and I see little difference in recoil. The 300 WM recoil is bit more sharper, where the 338 is a hard push, comparable to my heavier 9.3x62. While I really like my 300 WM, given the range you mention, I would probably go with a 30-06, or step up to a 338 WM.
