Off topic a bit but I have always been puzzled by the notion that the 338WM kicks "too hard". I have a WIN Classic stainless with the synthetic stock and I have shot 225 and 250 grain bullets out of it at the range. Bench shooting always kicks more than actual shooting from other positions but I never found it unbearable to the point that it affected my shot placement. A bit more sudden than the 375H&H but not unbearable as many others seem to think. I am 5'10 and 185 so I am no giant either. Does anyone agree with me? I am beginning to worry that there is something wrong with me because I do not have an issue with the 338.
I've been somewhere about your size for a good part of my adult years, but today (just turned 85 today) I'm a bit lighter and shorter. In my sixties my favorite long-range rifle was a .340 Weatherby that I shot a bull moose with in the far north of our province (Ontario, Canada). I put over a thousand rounds from that rifle (a rechambered .338 Win Mag) with a 26" barrel. My load for moose was a 250gr Nos. Partition at 3000 fps. No trauma or felt pain, EVER! Recoil is mostly a matter of the psyche! Today, my favorite rifle is a Ruger #1 Tropical in .458 Win Mag. On my shelf I have 27 different weights and styles of .458" bullets. Since I'm no longer hunting in the "Far North" of our province, but closer to home in Central Ontario, my favorite big game rifles are the .458 Win and 9.3 x 62 Mauser. My .458 load currently for black bear is a 405gr at 2083 fps avg - the same as from a former 1895 Marlin. That's my load for next spring's bear hunt. The rifle with scope and 5 cartridges on the stock in a holder is 10.75 lbs. Recoil from that load is a mere 30 ft-lbs. In the Marlin it was 42 ft-lbs. 2 extra pounds weight in a rifle that';s well balanced (and shorter at 40") is FAR better than 25 lbs overweight! I regularly work out to keep in shape!
I've owned and handloaded most common cartridges from the .22 Hornet to the "mighty" .458 Winchester Magnum (I've owned 10 .45-70s and 3 .458 WMs). I've never lost or had to hunt for an animal hit by a .458" projectile.
Added for clarification: The above is not mere boasting... it's historical facts. The motive is to point out that any fit hunter/sportsman can "handle" the recoil of a .338 Win Mag without pain or discomfort. All that has to do with, firstly: the mind, secondly physical fitness, thirdly technique, fourthly the rifle's weight and profile, lastly the load and practice, practice, practice...
Bob
www.bigbores.ca 
