soarkrebel: 1865 has correctly interpreted my thought. I'm not saying the .338 would be preferable out of the lot of rifles I mentioned. Actually, I definitely prefer my .243 or .25-06 to my .30-06 for deer/antelope hunting. They are entirely adequate to the task, and why hammer yourself with heavier recoil than necessary? On the other hand, I have stayed home on days of steady rain during deer season because I'm not about to put these rifles through a wash cycle. I have thought about buying a crummy cheap rifle, perhaps with iron sights, for just such rainy day duty -- 8 mm mauser, .303 british, some other military surplus rifle -- but haven't found the rifle yet. On the other hand, I have been musing over the idea of acquiring a .338 winchester mag and while I prefer the aesthetic virtues of wood, am considering the practical advantages of synthetic stocks and stainless steel action/barrel. Were I to acquire such a .338 with synthetic stock and stainless steel action/barrel, what would be wrong with using the .338 on rainy days rather than staying home?

Maybe I have mistaken the original post. Also, if in fact the .338 would destroy substantially more meat than more traditional deer cartridges, I probably would not use it for that purpose, because I sure don't like damaging and throwing away deer meat.