I owned a .338 Win Mag and must admit recoil was too much for me. I never did comfortable shooting that thing....I've been kicked by racehorses that didn't hurt as much as that .338 Win Mag.

The thing I dislike most about hard-kicking rifles is they are very difficult to shoot from the most accurate field position: prone. You just can't always get enough of your shoulder/body behind it depending on where you're trying to quickly set up for the shot. The result is often a bloody face courtesy of the "magnum eyebrow." I sold that blunderbuss off and kept shooting elk with my .270 Wby Mag.

I just purchased a .338 Federal which will serve as my woods elk gun, and a .270 Win will be the long range rig.