I did a survey at an SCI SHOT show once and the .338 handloaded with 250gn Nosler was far and away the most preferred combo with international hunters. What was interesting was hunters are similar to benchrest shooters, in that if they hear of a combo that works, they tend to follow that line.
The downside, or enlightening side, is that these same people who settle on a combo exclusively, tend not to experiment and are seldom open to other options.
As an example, one member was a bear hunter. didn't matter what kind of bear, if he was hunting overseas, he was hunting bear. His combo was a .338 handloaded with 230gn Failsafe's. He was happy with that.
Regarding the .338 for general use, no-one likes recoil and the fact is that "everyone" will shoot better and more confidently if the recoil is reduced as much as possible. One way it can be done is with lighter bullets. Because of the demands of mondern hunters, bullets have improved to the point where they are trustworthy, particularly in .338 caliber.
I know I handloaded some 200gn Nosler BT's for a hunter going after Reds and he reported excessive bullet blow up. but that was around 20 years ago and modern BT's are not the same bullet, just as the bad experiences from the mid 80's with Bt's when first introduced, are no longer representative of what is available today.
The .338 with any Nosler Partition is a good elk combo for any hunter who can handle it. Fact is, it is adequate for any non dangerous game on the planet, no point picking out a single species.
John
