No offense taken or perceived. I do appreciate others experience and input!

I’m away from my computer and a keyboard for a few days so each post is going to be brief.
Some of the recent success with a couple of the loads was with the 135gr and 150gr bullets.
You will note, none of the above loads are near the maximum possible. I’ve gotten away from full velocity loads, one basis for not playing with less than 125gr bullets in a 30cal.

The above 135gr load with the 16” barrel rifle at 100 yards on a 100 pound deer impacted broadside just below the backbone just rear of the shoulder. Exit wound was the size of a golf ball, shrapnel found in the spine and skin. No bullet to access, only shredded jacket. But a dead deer! As my very happy grandson said “I killed him right where he stood!”

The 150gr load with the 7 1/2” barrel pistol at 75 yards on a 100 pound deer impacted just behind the shoulder just missing the heart, exiting at the liver with a golf ball size wound. The exit was so close to the stomach cavity that it did rupture the membrane separating the stomach area from the lung area, allowing the wound to close from internals attempting escape. Recovery of deer was less than 25 yards from impact location. But a dead deer!

I prefer a full mushroom effect and full energy transfer (if possible) with all my loads. I’ve lost a few deer from too much velocity in a 30’06 and 150gr Nosler, they exploded on impact. Others had poor penetration and massive trauma, I was not impressed, went back to Remington PSPCL but I now am having to swap again due to their unavailability.
The few deer and hogs I’ve killed with the 125gr Sierra HP used in a 30-30win made me wonder why they worked. Being still unsure of this bullet at 30-30 velocities, I’ve not found interest in trying them with the 300aac but might. Past 150gr Nosler experience made me wonder if the 125gr Nosler “might” perform well at 300aac velocities. But I’ve not had a need to migrate away from the 135gr Sierra HP, which is now considered a varmint bullet.

The cast powdercoated tests were more of a fallback mechanism in case (once again) my preferred bullet availability becomes diminished.

I’ve killed many deer with the .223rem and suitable 55gr bullets but was not at all happy wit the exit wound. Neck shots became the norm. My preferred 55gr bullet is once again out of production so I had to replace it with a 65gr but have not hunted with it in the 3 years since arriving at a good load. Same thing happened with my 7mm Rem Mag as far as finding a suitable bullet only to be discontinued later.

So I’ve had a little experience with my prejudgment of the 300aac as far as hunting.
But then again this is based on our small deer, around here 125 pound live weight is considered pretty good, 175 pounds is considered a monster.