I have a browning A-bolt 338 mag from about 1988 and have shot many deer and elk plus a lot of African animals with it. I also have a tikka T3 in .338 win mag that I have shot a lot of deer and elk and a couple moose with it. I shoot 225 accubond now but used to shoot 250 nosier partition. I like my .338 caliber better than my old 300 Winchester. I think recoil is about same but agree stock design makes a difference. Maybe I just hit animals a little better with .338 but they seem to die quicker.