Wanted to give you guys an update on how this turned out...
I ended up getting a Tikka T3x Superlite in 300 Win. Mag. and mounting it up with a Bushnell 4.5-18x44 LRHSi (mil reticle). After some shenanigans with the scope (detailed
here), I got it all straight and took it to the range this past Sunday for some test-firing.
Ammunition: Barnes VOR-TX 180gr TTSX-BT (300 Win. Mag.)
After bore-sighting, confirming a coarse zero on steel at 100yds (people were shooting and there was some delay before I was able to go put paper targets up), refining zero on paper, I shot the following three rounds of Barnes VOR-TX 180gr TTSX-BT at 100yds (yes, I know this isn't up to my usual standard of 10rds, but I was running low on time at this point and had to make do - plus, factory 300wm ammo is
expeeeeeensive):
(target is covered with a 1" grid)
I then fired another group of three using Hornady Precision Hunter 200gr ELD-X - which didn't perform as well as the Barnes either time I've tried it in this particular rifle - switched to a target I'd put up at 300yds, and fired the following three rounds (again, 1" grid on target):
Consistent with my experience using the exact same model rifle chambered in 308 (detailed
in this thread - check out the
Tikka 1,
Tikka 2, and
Tikka 3 links if you are interested in how that rifle performed with various types of ammunition), as you can see above, the rifle performed relatively well.
As mentioned before, this rifle did not perform as well with the Hornady Precision Hunter ammunition as it did with the Barnes VOR-TX; I don't have a photograph, but the 3rd group I fired with the HPH was ~1.5". So, not awful, but the Barnes has consistently been better than the Hornady both times I've had this rifle out to shoot so far. The opposite was true with the 308 Win. version of this rifle; the Hornady Precision Hunter with the 178gr ELD-X was far and away better than any VOR-TX I attempted to group with.
