Well I said I'd post results from the range. I would have posted pics but the camera was left on the kitchen table...right where I'd remember it.
After several different test loads, I settled on the following:
Remington brass, Remington 9.5 primer, and a Sierra 165gr spitzer #2145 seated over 41.7gr or IMR 4064. If memory serves, the average velocity was right at 2350fps from a 24in barrel. The 1st 3 shots were a hair over 2" at 100 yds, and 5 shots took the group out to just over 3". I'm sure I could find something that would do better, but last time I checked, 3 inches was well inside "minute-of-deer"...
Next weekend is the opener so I'll post some photos of the trip. I'll be stalking the timber up in the Caribou Wilderness to the east of Lassen National Park in the C-4 zone. Being a designated wilderness area, there are no vehicles of any kind allowed. That ought to keep 95% of the hunters out and I should have most of the area to myself...except for the occasional hiker.
Some people just need a sympathetic pat on the head.....with a hammer. Repeatedly.