The other way without a chrony is to load 3 shot groups increasing powder levels until you find the one that is most accurate. A lot of guns have a slower and a faster group to decide between. You do need to know the range of powder to begin with and the basic fundamentals of reading pressure signs.
I use the steno pad but after thumbing through it enough, the pages become loose and dirty. I do my data by gun and caliber, each gun gets its own data section. Some are on page 4 already. Sheesh, you would think I could find a load quicker than that but there are so many "shiny bullets" to try...
I think your fiend nailed it. Bedding them with epoxy or resin usually makes them a little more stable. Some barrels shoot better free floated (not touching anything) and others prefer a pressure point towards the front keeping them in a rigid state. They are like people and each one can be...
Just received my new to me Hoyt Alphamax 2 today. Set it up and it shoots great. 12-14 yrs old but they dont really wear out, just replace the strings and cables occasionally. Pretty good bow for $160 The accessories did cost more than that to set it up but I could have taken them off my other...
If you check the bay occasionally, you can find some awesome deals on blades. Last purchase for me was around a dozen 125 gr replacement blade packs and a whole lot of other stuff for around $80. Should not run out for a few years.
Lighter for monos as they require more velocity to perform decently.
165 Speer hotcor is accurate and deadly.
Shot a couple mule deer bucks with 225 ELDM's, nothing but soup left in the cavity. Dead right there. Accuracy is final.
IMR4350 has fed a ton of 300WM over the years. Not a bad place to start. Someone with more knowledge than me can tell you if you have to shoot reduced loading because of the gas system or if the gas system just eats some of the potential. To me, the thought of a 300wm semi is intimidating.
I traded a TC contender in 30/30 for a Martin shiny green target bow all decked out one time. Still regret it to this day. I did take my Hoyt Maxxis 31 in for a new set of cables and a string today. Not to terribly expensive to keep a fine piece of equipment working well. Dead is dead, right?