I no longer think it is 28% higher energy... stupid Joules to Ft*Lbs conversion ;)

Yet another illustration of the difference between assumptions based on numbers on a page as opposed to experiencing things in the field for yourself. Hunt with a 22 centerfire long enough and it will teach you 2 things:

1) A 22caliber centerfire can easily kill a deer.
2) A 22 caliber centerfire is not a good choice for deer.

I CAN drive a nail with a wrench, but that doesn't make it a hammer.

What flavor of engineer are you?

Electrical

I'm a Chem E, had a physics minor among other things. Done a lot of shooting/hunting in my life, a bit of ballistic product engineering & development in the past (some private/commercial, some military), and a lot of mathematical/physical analysis and modeling of ballistics. If you ever want to nerd-rap about all things ballistic, hit me up.

Awesome Nomercy! I'll shoot you a PM as I start learning more (and having more questions) ;)

In the meantime I've been limiting my investigation to factory ammunition (mostly for my .308 Weatherby Vanguard Series II) and looking at ballistics caluclators to see where I wanted to sight in my rifle. I ended up choosing a 24 yd zero. This provides for a 2nd zero at about 225 yds and a point blank (+/- 3") range of 0 to about 275 yds. In my limited experience in GA, there arn't any shots longer than that hehe.

I haven't messed with crosswind and any handloading. My scope is a Nikon ProStaff 3-9x40 and it doesn't have on-the-fly adjustable turrets so I havn't planned on doing anything but a manual holdover for estimated range.

Weatherby guarentees sub-MOA @ 100 yds with "premium factory ammunition" such as the Federal Power-Shok 150 grain Soft Point(308A) I chose (not too expensive, recommended by Weatherby).

Whether that is true or not ultimately depends on your particular rifle and load. At any rate, the most important thing you MUST do is shoot your rifle enough at any range you will be hunting to KNOW where it hits, not just where the calculator SAYS it's supposed to hit.

Keep in mind that it's not universal either. Sighting in this winter at 24yrds might mean you're zeroed at 225yrds for now, then end up being 5" higher come summer time. Zeroing on the delta in Louisiana then hunting elk in Colorado high country might mean you miss by 8".

As they say in engineering school (used to at least), "garbage in, garbage out". If the conditions you feed the calculator don't match your actual conditions, no matter how good the math is, you're not going to hit what you're aiming at.

Wow, those are some big words ;)

I totally agree, but you gotta start somewhere. That and it is frickin' painful to find a decent outdoor range near Atlanta, GA :/