I decided not to replace my 338 Win Magnum. Instead I put a NOS 8mm 8x57 barrel on an old Mauser and a scope on it. Under 400m it will do most of what a 338WM will do on game not the paper trap people seem to love to play with today! You can load anything from 150gr bullets to 200gr bullets and you have cheap brass and plenty of bullets. I like to shoot 180-200 grain bullets. You get crazy long barrel life as well!
I also own a 30-06, 308 Win and 300WM. Again ignoring the paper race or paper trap and only looking on real world performance the 30-06 is a great cartridge and you can load anything from 110gr. to 230gr. I prefer 165gr. to about 220gr. bullets. A 165gr bullet and 220gr. bullet will allow you hunt anything in N. America. The old school 220gr. round noise is easily as deadly as a 338WM at typical hunting distances.
You can not go wrong with either really. Both of them will give good barrel life, great performance on anything large in N. America and S. America, more accuracy with reloading than any hunter will ever need. Brass is cheaper for the 8x57 and it is not normally sold out.
I would suggest that anyone that thinks the the 8x57 or 30-06 "sucks" has next to no experience hunting with them for decades or they are the sort that puts more emphasis on numbers on paper than meat in the freezer. I am guessing they would tell you that you can hunt Elk at 1500m with a 6.5CM! LOL That and the 6.5PRC is the ultimate hunting cartridge for N. America! LOL.....
Both provide a lot of lethality in a package that uses very little powder compared to how deadly they are!
