So far, here are a few loads and rifles that most likely will get a chance this coming deer season:

Pac Nor barreled Ruger 77 MK/II, McMillan stock
280 Remington
Nolser 140 Accubond
55.7 H-4350 (Max load)
2900+ FPS
Excellent accuracy, no pressure signs
Better accuracy, though not quite as fast as RL-19

Pac Nor barreled Ruger 77 MK/II, McMillan stock
7mm-08
Nosler 140 Accubond
43.5 Varget
2830 FPS
Excellent accuracy, no pressure signs
To be honest, based on my experience at the bench, long actions aren't necessary for most deer hunting situations.

Tikka T3X stainless
270 Winchester
Barnes 130 TSX
58.0 RL-22 (Max load)
3100 FPs
I may reduce this load to 57.5 or so after the season.
If I could only have one factory rifle, make mine a Tikka. I love them!

Tikka T3
6.5x55
Nosler 130 Accubond
44.5 H-4350 (very mild load, will likely work upward)
2650 FPS
Extremely accurate, but a little slow. Though not necessary, I may work with the Swede a little more before the season.

You’ve been busy! I need to go “knock the dust off” of a box of cartridges.....and check my zero! memtb

Why 2 custom Rugers in 2 very similar chamberings? Certainly nothing wrong with that, just curious. Great gun lineup, by the way.

I have 8 or 9 I’ve bought new scopes for. I need to take a day off, go to lease, spend the day shooting. I need to load some 300 Weatherby’s

I know they're not the most glamorous or popular, but for me, I just love the features of the older Ruger 77 MK/IIs. I have several in various short and long actions. Most are in McMillan stocks (love those as well).

Today, if I buy a rifle, I buy a Tikka T3X since the Ruger MK/IIs are no longer made. The ones I've owned or shot have been excellent!

Like I said, not a lot of difference in the short action 7mm-08 versus the long action 280. Just something a little different for me to "justify" another rifle. LOL

Truth be told, I also have a Kreiger barreled Ruger, also in 280 Remington. It has a 24" #4 contour barrel and is in an H.S. Precision stock. I've never shot this particular rifle, but I may do so soon. I do have a couple other brands....Winchester (70s), Remington (700), LaRue, White Oak Armory (SPRs), Smith & Wesson (SPORT II MAGPUL/MOE)

How many deer are you planning on killing?



P

Between chasing muley bucks, I will be busy culling whitetail does....my buddy gave me 30 tags (Hunters for the Hungry will be very happy).

McWhorter 7-08
140 AB
41.5 Varget
2820 fps

120 ballistic tip
45g Varget
3000 fps

120 ballistic tip
42g RL 15
2800 fps

Tikka T3X 6.5 CM

139 Scenar
43.5 RL 17
2760 fps

130 AB
42.3 H4350
2804 fps

I just loaded 50 for the 300 win mag. WW brass, CCI250, 71gr H4350, 180gr Speer Hotcore. And 50 for the 308, LC brass, Fed210, 42.5gr of IMR4064, 180gr Speer Hotcore. Bought 500 of the Speer 180's So they will get some use for a few years. Gives me plenty for practice and hunting.

.270 160NP over 56gr W780

.308. 165 NAB over 42gr RL15

.243 100SPH over 45gr RL 26

6 CM ??? maybe factory(!)

Hopefully, 8. Which is my average each year hunting two states.

I have a large family and we use the venison more than beef for hamburgers, chili, tacos, spaghetti and more.

6.5 creed
139 Scenar - 2850 FPS
43.5 H4350
CCI BR2 Primer
Norma Brass

Deer Elk Antelope Bear...

Backup Rifle
300 RUM
180 Nos Accubond - 3250 FPS
90.0 Retumbo
Fed 215
Norma Brass

Probably wont even come out of the case...lol

Sako A7-S ST Stock Fluted Barrel Courtesy of Sako76. Only ever seen 1 other one like it.
.300wsm
150 TTSX
60gr RL-15
Nosler Brass
3150fps
1/2 MOA @100yds

Tikka T3X Super Lite
7mm Rem Mag
140 TTSX
63.5gr 7828SSC
Nosler Brass
3000fps
1/2 MOA @100yds

Tikka T3 Lite
.270wsm
130gr GMX
58gr IMR-4350
Nosler Brass
3000fps
.80” @ 100yds
Haven’t shot an animal with this load yet.

110gr TTSX
57gr IMR-4350
Nosler Brass
Approx. 3300fps
5 shots same hole @ 100yds
Didn’t like the performance on game so looking for new loads for this gun

All rifles using WLRM primers

What did you see that you didn't like with the 110 TTSX out of the 270?

8x57is

200gr Hot Cor
53.1gr CFE223
Win LR primer
PRVI brass


Thinking about trying 180gr Nosler BT's and Reloader 17...

For my elk hunt this year:

Semi-custom pre-64 Model 70 .30-06

168-grain Berger Hunting VLD, 57.5 grains IMR 4451


Custom Interarms Mark X .338 Howell

185-grain TTSX, 56.0 grains RL-15


For deer:

Custom Mexican Mauser .257 AI

115-grain Partition, 46.0 grains H4831sc

Barret Fieldcraft 6.5X55
130 gr. Scirocco
45 gr. H4831
Rem. 9-1/2
I'm still working on this load with different powder/primer combos, but this is probably the load. Once I find the load that gets me under 1 MOA I'll stick with it.

Remington 700 CDL 7/08
140 gr. Accubond
Max charge Vargeet
CCI200
Very accurate combination

Winchester 70 Fwt. .257 Roberts
90 gr. Barnes X bullet
45.0 gr. IMR 4350
CCI 200
Super accurate combination but I need a new scope for this one

CZ 527 .223
55 gr. HP Hornady Steel case or
50 gr. Nosler BT handload
One hole gun when I do my part. My go to coon and mouflon rig

Bushmaster AR .223
70 grain Speer Gold Dot ammo
Shoots this ammo very well and I'm looking to test it out on some axis deer soon.

Blaser K95
.270WCF

140 Berger Classic
60.0 H4831SC
CCI BR2
2,985 fps

Excellent Accuracy!

Well leading up to the hunting season before last I had only ever lost 1 deer that I could confirm a hit on in the 19 previous years of deer hunting. That season I shot 7 deer and lost 2 of the 7. Of the other 5 they all ran upon the shot. 3 of those 5 I found absolutely zero blood between where they were shot and where they were found dead. 1 left a "decent" blood trail (good enough to follow without crawling on hands and knees to follow to the dead animal) and the other left a blood trail of small droplets about the size of pencil erasers for about 100yds until I found the animal. When cleaning the animals the chest cavities are full of blood and often the lungs were mush. After seeing what I saw by the end of the season I have to imagine the other 2 animals died as well but I just couldn't find them. After talking with my buddy (a much older gentleman who has been handloading for over 30 years) the only conclusion we could come up with is that maybe the petals are breaking off and only the shank of the bullet is passing through the animal leaving a smaller than pencil sized hole on both the entrance and exit sides therefore the animals are leaving little to no blood on the ground at all. That was the first and only year I shot those loads for hunting season. May try same exact load but change the projectile from TTSX to Accubond and see how that shoots.

Randall

Remington 700, Shilen barrel
264 Win
142 gr Nosler ABLR
62 gr R26
Winchester brass
3100fps, ES 11 fps
<.5 MOA at 100 yards

.30-30 and .303 Savage: 190gr. flat nosed cast bullet, soft and splattery, 28gr. 3031.
.30-06: 165 Sierra BTHP, 47gr. Varget
.300 Savage: 150 Sierra spitzer, 38gr. 4064
.22 Savage High Power: 70gr. Sisk, 25gr. H-4895
.223: 50gr. TSX, 26.8gr. CFE-223

I'll make the final decision as to which to take as I'm getting dressed to go hunting that morning, but those are the main go-to deer shillelaghs.

I hunt Pennsylvania and Maryland thick woods, so no need for a long range super Creedmoor-like killer diller whiz bang here.

Next week the load will be:
Thompson Triumph
.50 cal
cast 273 gr .40 cal bullet inside a blue MMP sabot
91 gr (by weight) BH209

Ready to go:

9.32X62
Varget
250 Accubond

7X57 Mauser
Hunter
120 Ballistic Tip

6.5X55
H4350
125 Nosler Partition

8X57 Mauser
R15
170 Hornady Round Nose

.308
CFE 223
168 Ballistic Tip

Plan on using this year:

.308 didn't get used last year so it needs to be shot this year
7X57, new - needs to get bloodied
9.3X62, just too much fun to flatten hogs with this puppy.

Anyone have good recipes for 130gr bullets out of a 270wsm?? I’ve tried a few different loads but cant get any to shoot like my 110gr TTSX’s do. The gun is a Tikka T3 Stainless Synthetic. I’ve got AB’s, TTSX’S, E-tip’s and GMX’s i can try. And i currently have IMR4350, 7828SSC, RL-15, RL-17, RL-22 and IMR4831 i can try. I’m not opposed to trying different powders. I have got them to shoot the 130’s decent (.80-1.0”) with 58gr of IMR4350 but the muzzle velocity isn’t very impressive (2950-3000fps). I feel like i should be able to get 3250-3300fps from the 130’s. The 110gr TTSX’s will shoot one ragged whole at 100yds. Thanks in advance.

Randall

Often I use something odd, but this year it will be a .30-'06 bolt action with a 3-9x40 scope. That's about as ordinary as it gets.

The rifle is a push fed model 70 with the Tupperware stock. It has a VX-II with a #1 reticle. I bought it (lightly) used and have put 2405 rounds through it over the years. Two days ago I went to check the zero with this years hunting load: 150 gr. Sierra SBT/59.0 gr. IMR4350/LC69 cases/WLR primers at 2902 fps. The first three-shot group at 200 yards was 2", .4" low and .4" left. I shot a second three-shot group at 100 yds. that was 23/32" 1.5" high and 1" left. I called this good enough and didn't adjust anything. The wind was gusty about 10 to 20, so I didn't make any windage adjustment.

Deer: 45-70 Marlin. 300gr Nosler Ballistic Tip Seconds/Starline Brass/CCI200/48gr H4198 @ ~1800fps. (Iowa only allows straight-walled cartridges in rifles).
44Mag S&W 629 5". 245gr Cast(RCBS)/Win Brass/WLP/23gr W296 @~1250fps.
Antelope: 270 Win Kimber Montana. 140gr Nosler Accubond/Hornady Brass/CCI200/58.5gr H4831SC @ ~2950fps. Took a buck at 262 yards.
338 Fed Kimber 84M Classic. Federal Factory Loads with 185gr Barnes TSX @ ~2650fps. Took a doe at 71 yards.

6.5 saum 143 eld x @ 3076 60.5g h1000. Heading out the door to test this at 600.

223 ackley 69g tmk @ 3250 benchmark

243 win 95 vld @ 3180 H4350. Sako L579 with 26” brux 8 twist. Main rifle.

6-06 70g varmegeddon @ 3600 H380. Dinged a coyote at about 250 yards running this morning with this one.

6-06 70g ballistic tip @ 3900 H414

For this year:

120 gr. Ballistic Tip
48.0 gr. Big Game
CCI 250
3080 fps.
Groups 5 shots in .74”

Or

139 gr. Hornady Interlock SP
45.5 gr. Big Game
CCI 250
2875 fps.
Groups 5 shots in .82”

Both in a semi custom Remington 700 BDL 7mm-08 using Lapua brass. At least that is my plan for today. After all, I am a bit of a rifle loony......

I am going old school, Marlin 30-30 for the opener
Plain old Winchester 150's

Nice, I'm going to do it all this year with a very special old Marlin 35 Remington a man I consider to be a father figure for the last 30+ years gave me out of the blue the other day, it fires the 220 gr Speer hot-cors at 2175 fps via 42 grs leverloution powder, it wears a 1.5-5 Leupold in Weaver rings and bases, baring heavy rains, that'll be the rifle I'm packing in the woods.

Gee so far....

I've only been toting an ADL in 243, with a load of a 90 gr Sierra Gamechanger bullet, in front of 30 grains of IMR 4198.....a kid's load but it still will do the job on a blacktail....

but I've only seen does while out hunting and the neighbors will freak out, if I drop one of the 7 or 8 bucks that have been hanging out part of the day around the house...regardless of how rural it is around here..

Sounds like a good excuse for a suppressor!!

I may use a factory round this season. I got a good deal on some 308 Winchester ammo from Norma, loaded with their 165 grain Oryx bonded bullet. My baseline rifle is a Rem 700 LVSF in a McMillan 700 Classic stock. Leupold M8 6x42 on top.

All I have ready:

Shilen DGR /Criterion/Timney/Grayboe (Good vibes here!)
7mm Remington Magnum, Hornady brass and 180 ELD-M, 76.0 RL26, CCI250. Got dope to 535 so far.

Kimber Montana (finally functionally feeding).
6.5 Creedmoor, Hornady 140 BTSP American Gunner. Dope to 535.

Rem 700/Timney/Bansner
243 with Remington brass, IMR 4451, WLR, 95 Nosler Ballistic Tips. Doped too far.


Just for giggles. That Hornady 180 ELD-M load drifts something like 17" less in 10 mph at just 350 yards than the 95 BT load. Skookum!

North Carolina hunt was done using a 50 caliber TC Renegade pushing a round ball with 100 grs. of FFFG. I was pleased with the blood trail though it only lasted 20 feet.

Oklahoma will be the first time I take my TC Contender carbine out with a 30-30AI barrel on it, load will be 36.5 grains of AA2520 under a Speer 150 gr. Hotcor flat nose.

My 257 Roberts will be using 115 gr. Partitions powered by 46.5 grains of Reloder 22. This will be my main Texas hunting rifle this year.

Backup rifle will be my old custom Springfield 30-06 using 180 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips powdered with a very slow lot of WC852. Won't list charge but it's enough to get me 2700 fps.

Late season doe hunts will be done with either the Renegade listed or my 50 caliber TC Firehawk loaded with saboted 300 gr. .429 Nosler HP's on top of 80 grains of 3F.

Night hog hunting will be done mostly with an AR in 6.5 Grendel using 129 gr. Hornady Spire points powered by AR Comp.

Opening day, 11.15 X 60R in a German double rifle from the 1870's.

As the season progresses;

8 X 56 M/S in a 1908 Mannlicher/Schoenauer

6.5 X 54 M/S in a 1903

8 X 57 with .318 bore in a 98 Mauser from about 1919

9 X 57 in a Sauer & Sohn 98 Mauser, pre WWI

10.5 X 47R in a Jost & Diehl combination from the 1880's

What I've come to call a "9 X 30US" in an unmarked, non-nitro proofed drilling

9.3 X 75R Nimrod in a Thieme & Schlegelmilch drilling

Maybe my 8 X 58RD, Husky roller

No order to it other than opening day. My mind might get changed as the season progresses and I might go more days or less. Sorta depends on how cooperative the deer are.