I firmly believe 21" is 3" too short for a .338 mag. I doubt a 21" .338 Win. Mag. would beat a .338/06 with that same 21" bl. length by more than 100fps. The animal certainly won't know the difference.

If you need a short barrel, by all means get a 9.3x62 with a short barrel. Mine is 22" long and feels compact, very short short - yet is high on ballistics - 2,675fps with 270gr., 2,520fps wiht 286gr.

It is virtually a 9.3/06IMP. better yet, for more bullet availability, go .375/06IMP or .375 Scovil - pretty much the same thing, ballistically.