338 winny with 250's can't be beat... bigger hole, more blood, easier to find, and deader animal. It's plenty flat, and it won't do a butcher job on smaller game at closer ranges. In my humble opinion, the 7mm mags, 270 mags, and 300 mags all do more meat damage than the 338 win mag. It's just as good for white tail deer as it is for kudu or grizzly. Good shopping and good hunting.

oh yeah, forgot to mention that I have both a 300 weatherby and a 338 win mag. I use the 300 weatherby for plinking, and I use the 338 fro hunting. The 338 has more killing power, but can be used on smaller game, in my opinion, than the 300 weatherby. Trade in the 22LR and use you 300 for the gophers.