I like Leupold scopes on hard kicking rifles because they seem to have greater eye relief than other makes. The .338 is a hard kicker. With insufficient eye relief, there is great danger of being whacked in the forehead with the scope as it recoils. People have sustained concussions from this and being hit with the scope should be altogether avoided rather than simply being taken in stride.
I once had the great "pleasure" of shooting a custom .458 that belonged to the actor Steve Seagall. Seagall was the high bidder ($250,000 as I recall) on this Safari Club International rifle that represented the efforts of half dozen or so different gunsmithing artisans. It was a beautifully made piece. Unfortunately, it was a combined effort of many artisans and no one seemed to have clearly grasped the concept of a hard kicking big bore rifle.
Seagall's gunsmith, sitting at the bench next to me, was at the range sighting it in. He noted my interest and invited me to try it. My enthusiasm faded pretty fast when I sat down behind it. The stock on this glittering .458 show piece was the same size and design as you would find on a garden variety .270. The stock was too light, too thin, and way TOO short. The scope was a fancy European type with what I considered a dangerously short eye relief.
I'm over six fee tall and it was quite a feat....trying to press the butt of a too short stock securely agaisnt my shoulder and at the same time craning my head back as far as possible so as not to have the scope smash into my forehead when the rifle recoiled. One shot hit at 3:00 on the edge of the black. The second shot missed the target completely. I closed my eyes as I touched of the third one and to my surprise it was dead on. Amazing.
I said "Thanks," handed it back and counted my blessings that I didn't get whacked.
