I'm not going to hold myself out as having a large amount of experience with big bore cartridges, I'm just a little furthur down the road than you as far as over 30 cal offerrings.

I was intrigued enough to want one as well, and spent quite a bit of time looking at the options. Although not all Safari class (I was just looking at 'over 30 cal.') and my usage, if any more than just the shooting range, was going to be in NA. I was intrigued by many, and due mostly to purchase price, ended up with a 338 RUM. A local retailer started discounting the gun in lefty bolt, I'm a lefty, so it worked out well for both of us.

I spent the next several month's getting supplies, and reloading test rounds, and preparing for recoil - my personal goal was to try to manage recoil without a brake - technique, form, maybe a Sims - but see if I could avoid the brake.

One thing I did not do was lower the bullet weight to manage recoil - I kind of figured if I was going to shoot a bigger bore, why not put heavier lead out there as well. 225-250 grain seem to be common 338 caliber weights, I went with a 280 grain bullet (discontinued now).

My first trip to the range, I was (honestly) nervous going into the unknown, on the verge of being scared - 5000 ft lbs at the muzzle, 50-60 felt recoil..., but still confident because I spent quite a bit of time preparing to shoot a thumper. After the first shot - you couldn't have gotten the smile off my face.

Your right, it's not something you want to shoot 20 times a day - but the felt recoil was much more manageable than I was starting to fear. I do head James B's warnings, and do not want to hurt my shoulder years down the road - so I am really careful not to over do it.

I do not see the need for a brake, which is satisfying. I will re-fit the gun with Sims eventually.

35 Whelan, 45-70, 338 Win are all on my radar for future calibers. I'll never be in Africa. I think someone mentioned they did not know what you wanted to do with the gun, so it would be hard to suggest - that's pretty true.

Anyhow, thought I would share my experiences going into a larger bore offerring. It has been fun for me, while a 'different' set of challenges than the 243-30 cal options.