to ipscshooter:

if I buy factory ammo, Black Hills is my choince followed closely by Dakota Arms. The last box I bought was 82.50 + tax. I am able to reload for about 20 a box. Though, starting out, that is a little low. I was lucky enough to have about 300-400 pieces of once fired Lapua Brass given to me. New brass is pretty pricy.
If you have other questions please feel free to shoot me an email. Id be happy to discuss this beast.

If you are shooting out to 325 yards or so, the 338 Federal is plenty of gun and a very good choice. Most hunters shouldn't be shooting at elk past 350 yards anyway.

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???

I guess I'm a large diameter non-magnum fan at heart. Don't forget the 35 Whelen if your shots will be 300 yards or less. After this hunting season I'm going to have my 1500 re-barreled to 35 Whelen.