Weight lifting bullets

Now that I've got your attention. I want to work up a good accurate load for the Sportsman's Warehouse competition. I have a 300 Win Mag made by Stevens. It seems to be really good if I follow a few rules while shooting it, like let it cool between shots. Anyway, being that I can't afford to try every bullet, powder and load there is.
Should I start with a heavier or lighter or in between weight bullet?
Should I start with a faster or slower or in between power?
So far I've found that hotter loads seem to be more accurate, but still, the question is.
Should I start with a hotter or cooler or in between load?
That with with 180 grain Speer bullet and Re22 power.
I know it comes down to what the gun likes, I just need a place to start.
And a good bullet to use too. I understand that Sierra is good.
Dean
P.S. I know this gun is good. I dropped a bison on the run at about a hundred yards with one shot. The shell has a permanent place taped to my monitor.

My late friend had a .300mag he used for very large game and longer distances. His widow gave me his powder stash and loading notes. His rifle liked 180 Sierra GK's and 180 Nosler PAR's with both RE22 and IMR7828. The PAR's weren't as accurate as the GK's, they shot well enough for big game. I don't know if he was testing beyond 200yds, there is nothing in his notes about longer distances. I don't shoot magnum rifle cartridges, so all I can offer is his rifle's opinion. But it's your rifle's opinion that counts. Personally, you know I like Sierra bullets anyway, so I would try them first. I'd just use the RE22 you have and work up from a starting load at 100yds to see if it likes them. Considering the long cooling time necessary, I might even go with three shot groups initially. I'd try the 7828 if the best RE22 groups weren't as tight as I'd like.

the general guidlines for an accurate load are a good bbl, a good bullet, a good case.
then a powder that nearly or does fill the case to the velocity/pressure you want to use.
and consistent ignition.
work your cases over,get a bullet made consistently [sierra match kings are good ones]
use bench rest primers and weigh every powder load, cut primer pockets and neck size then find your rifles favorite bullet seating depth.
then you can mess with powder loads some for more refinement.

you can also do case alignment in your chamber and primer seating depth measurements.
check your run out on your cases and bullets and finally reconfigure your bullets ogive to fit your throat better.
just like neck turning except done to your bullet.
and using only new or once fired cases to insure the neck tension from shot to shot is consistent.

and finally, now that you have made ammo that is better then your rifle. you can get a custom built rifle to your specs.throat,leade, angle of lands. trigger specs etc...
did i mention de-burring and recutting primer flash holes.
or partial length neck sizing.
inside neck reaming or bushing dies for controlling neck tension?
bump dies,cylindrical dies for body sizing only?
and finally case annealing.
hope this helps.

runfiverun
Your,e a bench rest shooter, arn't you?

He's gotta be to be looking at each of these to effect his shots. Wish I was that good. !:)

Even if your particular gun/shooter combination won't necessarily see any changes from one of the listed steps, when you do enough of the little things right, even a 4MOA big game rifle will show some positive improvements.

If you start paying attention to keeping your hand motions with the press handle consistent, that alone can make a noticeable difference in your groups. Getting as close as you can to the same speed, same force each time you push it down and pull it back up. That's the one thing every loader can do without any special tools.

There are many different theories and methods just for case sizing alone, but with each, consistent operation of the press will often make more difference than the specific die and how it's used. When you get your hands on a really accurate rifle, then you can see how each operation can effect group size, ES, and SD. I think that a big difference comes from the greater awareness of how you perform each of the normal operations when you begin to incorporate any BR techniques into your loading routine. Kind of like the placebo effect. Of course the specific technique will have a measurable effect in and of itself, but when you get to the point where you're into the little details, you're being more careful about how you perform every operation just from experience. I'm not talking about how fast you can crank out however many rounds of blasting ammo, but rather trying to make each round the best it can be. Careful and consistent bench technique will yield more accurate and more consistent ammo. BR shooters work on a totally different level, but many of the tricks they use can be practical and effective for loaders/shooters of normal guns. We may not be able to measure many of the positive effects, but they teach us to be more aware that many small changes can add up to big differences.

actually, i shoot a lot of cast bullets.
i strive for higher velocities/with excellent accuracy with them 2300+ fps.
all things come into play with them even more so then with jacketed.
you have to do the whole thing by hand starting with making the boolits then the sizing or bumping sometimes just on the nose.
using the proper lube,not too slick or not slick enough. and where it is placed on the boolit.
seating the g/c's right, annealing them/or not, having consistent weights, sizes ,and alloys.
also holding the mold and alloy temp to a constant.
but if you concentrate on the things in my first post plus what versifier said you will see an improvement.
and yes you have to learn a lot of tricks to get things just right.
a patient wife helps too....

a couple of tricks that work with regular dies and presses.
don't tighten the die all the way in the press let it float.
use some dwell time on the up stroke. then lower the ram and rotate the round 180 and raise again.
concentrate on setting the bullet straight on the case neck and slowly raising the ram,you will feel the difference in the handle.
don't bounce the handle and go the full stroke both ways each time.
partial neck sizing can help you center the bullet to the rifles bbl.
and by placing the brass into the chamber the same way each time will keep all things equal.
now for a quick way to sort your good brass.
shoot it ,and sort it as you shoot. if you shoot 20 rounds and you get 16 x's those 16 are the ones you want to use for your targets.

Thanks. All will be considered. Well.............most of it. The rules call for factory rifle. No custom or modified allowed. I think the biggest problem to work on is the shooter. I think the rifle is better than me.
Thank you
Dean