I posted this same message the other day on another forum and haven't got a lot of help yet over there; so I thought I would post here as well. Thanks in advance for any advice. I am open to all suggestions and opinions.

I just purchased a Steyr stainless/synthetic in .300 Win Mag. I am hoping to get 165gr XLC's to shoot accurately in this rifle to use on antelope, deer and elk.

Does anybody have any suggestions for a starting load to try? The load book I have does not list any loads for the newer coated bullets and it doesn't state what loads produced the best accuracy. The only powder I have on hand right now is H1000 and I am thinking that that powder may be a little slow for that light of a bullet. What are a couple of other powders that I should try?

Another question for you guys: has anybody tried the new 168gr XLC?

If I can't get the XLC to shoot accurately then I am thinking of trying the Swift Scirocco in 165gr for deer and antelope and the Swift A-frame for elk.

I have never used H1000, but Quickload says it would be pretty good if you like compressed loads. The following assumes std COL and 24 inch barrel.

80.4 gr. H1000, 4% compressed, 3088 fps.
75.4 gr RL-22, full case but not compressed, 3100 fps.
70.9 gr H4350, 93% full, 3086 fps

HTH,
Don

Thanks a lot Don for the info. I am fairly new to reloading. What is quickload? Does it estimate what pressures you will get? My barrel is 25.6 inches long, can the program estimate the velocity with that length of barrel?

My book shows the fastest load for the 165XBT as 74.5 gr of IMR4831 at 3179fps. I don't know what length barrel those figures are taken from. Also, how would the coated bullet affect the velocity?

You might try calling Barnes..They are good about faxing load data. I don't have info for the 165xlc with H-1000.
The data they sent me for the 165XLC called for a max of 78.0 of IMR 4831 at 3193fps. they started at 73.0
The fastest listing was RL-19, 81gr max at 3282.
In my T/C encore, the top loads were a little hot. There have also been some revisions in the data, so a double-check with them is advisable. The charges are a lot higher than with the non-coated bullets.

MFH