Thanks for all the input. Im still not sure what im going to do. There are so many calibers out there and all of them have positives and negatives. The reason I was looking at the 338 federal is because my shots will not exceed 250 yards and im 5' 11'' 155 lbs and the 338 winchester will knock the crap out of me. I shot my step dads 375 H&H 3 times and it left me bruised for a week. The 338 looks like a good compromise for large caliber with out the large recoil. My elk hunt isnt till december so I have some time to make a decision. The one thing that really worries me is will I be able to find ammo in 20 - 30 years???