I have a number of rifles but only have two that I consider to be pure deer/elk hunting rifles. One is a custom Kimber 8400 Talkeetna chambered in .375 H&H Mag which I've used the past two of three seasons with good success. The other is a custom Kimber 8400 WSM (300 WSM) converted to .308 Win. I plan to use the .308 Win this year for deer and possibly elk. The barrel has a 1:10 twist and I have a 5+1 configuration with the internal box magazine.
My plan over the next few weeks is to work up a 180gr TTSX load for it. Barnes lists the minimum effective velocity to be 1,500 fps for that bullet and looking in QuickLOAD I should be able to get a MV of around 2,560 fps without too much trouble. With a BC of .484 and hunting up here in MT at a minimum elevation of 3,200 ft and most likely closer to 4,500 ft, and also adding 200 fps safety margin i.e. a minimum velocity of 1,700 fps, the bullet should be effective out to 600 yards. The bullet doesn't slow to 1,500 fps until 750 yards. I'm excited about this combination and hope to have a nice deer and elk to show for it in November.
Here's the rifle that I probably won't have time to get dipped before hunting season to match my Talkeenta but that's definitely something I want to do. I haven't done much with it other than shoot some Federal Trophy Copper 165gr which did really well with groups around 0.6 moa.
My plan over the next few weeks is to work up a 180gr TTSX load for it. Barnes lists the minimum effective velocity to be 1,500 fps for that bullet and looking in QuickLOAD I should be able to get a MV of around 2,560 fps without too much trouble. With a BC of .484 and hunting up here in MT at a minimum elevation of 3,200 ft and most likely closer to 4,500 ft, and also adding 200 fps safety margin i.e. a minimum velocity of 1,700 fps, the bullet should be effective out to 600 yards. The bullet doesn't slow to 1,500 fps until 750 yards. I'm excited about this combination and hope to have a nice deer and elk to show for it in November.
Here's the rifle that I probably won't have time to get dipped before hunting season to match my Talkeenta but that's definitely something I want to do. I haven't done much with it other than shoot some Federal Trophy Copper 165gr which did really well with groups around 0.6 moa.