bobnob the 338 is a great BG cartridge.
There's a common and persistent myth perpetuated here,and elsewhere, that no one can shoot 300 and 338 magnums well,and that the users are testosterone over-loaded egocentrics. This is mostly baloney.
Like anything else, if someone take an intelligent approach to managing recoil from these cartridges,they can be shot accurately,and well, by anyone who puts his mind to it,barring some physical impairment.
Our group back here had lots of 300 and 338 magnum shooters;they were all hand loaders,shot lots of cartridges extensively, and "lived" at the range We shot a LOT at a local range that allowed us to shoot to 600 yards,hand loaded to keep the cost of magnum ammunition down,and used those and other calibers on lots of hunts....I can't recall a single animal lost to wounding or poor marksmanship.
The "secret" to becoming proficient with these cartridges(if there is one),is familiarity obtained through frequent shooting but in small doses.....these aren't cartridges for running 100 rounds in an afternoon. I always found my "limit" to be about 20 rounds in a day.You need to stop when it ceases being "fun" to avoid developing bad habits.
When you sense fatigue,just stop shooting for the day,and pick up the smaller stuff to reinforce good shooting habits.
I noticed in a fair amount of hopping around and hunting and shooting, that the guys for whom the 300's and 338 magnums presented the biggest challenges were factory load shooters who shot very little of ANYTHING during the off season.
I recall one elk hunt where I had to sight in 2 300 magnums and a 338 for group from the midwest....these guys were all so terrified of their rifles,that they had not even checked zero before leaving home.No one is going to be any good, with anything, with that approach and leads to the myths stated above.
Expensive factory ammo precluded enough practice. The recoil was bothersome and they lacked the exposure and recoil tolerance to ever become any "good".It takes some work and dedication...the best, by far, were the hand loaders who spent a lot of time with all kinds of rifles,and whose annual round counts numbered in the thousands with all kinds of rifles and calibers.
For these folks, managing magnum chamberings presented little problem.
