I found a way to deal with recoil. I was a Magnum Nut when I was younger so I soon ended up with a 416 Rem Mag. Them deer and stuff are pretty tough. Well one day when I was feeling pretty tough I took the 416 to the range and run about 40 rounds through it off the bench. After that my 338 and 300 Weatherby felt like a 243 and a 223. It was several years before the recoil of any of the little magnums concerned me at all. Recoil really is relative. If you have been pounded on by Mike Tyson then Pee Wee Hermin won' t hurt you much. Good Luck with your Hunt. Find someone with a 378 or 460 Weatherby and run a few rounds through them. Then you will really love that 338. I sold my 416 to a Gal who went to Africa and shot a lion and a cape buffalo with it, also a lepard I think. Her and her husband go to Africa one year then Brisish Columbia the next. He has a 375 H&H in some version of the model 70. I have shot that gun quite a bit. That gun however is extremly light wt for that big caliber. He has a 2X Leupold scope on it a 2x5 or something like that You can pick up the target really fast.