Find a good smith and have him build you exactly what you want.
I had Hart tune up an old Remington 722 action and put a 6BR barrel on it for squirrel shooting and I did the trigger and bedding. It's a solid sub half MOA rifle out to 500. It an awesome gun to shoot. They also trued up a 700...
I'm a fan of the accubond for closer range and the Bergers for longer range. I sight in for the Bergers at 200 but when hunting have the accubond first up.
Normally for a longer shot I have time to switch to the Berger 190 load.
Some great advice here.
Biggest complaint I have heard from customers is acknowledge when someone comes in. "Hi, glad you stopped by. Be right with you after I finish what I'm doing" kind of thing. My wife went into a gun shop to buy me a new Browning Citori sporting clays gun. She walked in...
I would stick with one rot he other and do a lot of shooting to get familiar with your equipment. Practice loading your encore, you'll be surprised how fast you can get.
The 200 accubond will give you a serious amount more punch than the 308 with a 165 and if you get a longer shot the 300...
The big sky scope is a step down from the SIII.
Glass on the SIII is top notch. I had a Vortex PST in 1st focal plan. I didn't really care for the scope but the glass is good.
I have an encore in 7-08 that shoots great and shot two whitetails that dropped within a few feet of each other. Quick follow up shots are possible just keep a bullet in your hand if you are stalking in on an elk.
You couldn't pay me enough to down grade from a 300 win mag and 200gr. Accubond...
+1 on Salar600's comment.
Back to the basics.
I would pull the scope and rings off and remount everything using locktight.
It shot good for a while so it would appear that something loosened up. Check bedding screws also.
Find a two year old used bow. Typical price will be half of new. Saw a Bowtech Experience for $500 that had one hunting season on it. Bought a Mathews MR7 two years old for $500.
You can find some great deals on Archerytalk or Ebay.
Go to a pro shop and see what feels best. Shoot several models...
Black bear are pretty tough to find spot and stalk.
Blacktail deer are really difficult unless you find a private ranch that has a good population.
Moose you will need to draw a tag and that will take lots of points and luck unless you're headed to Alaska.
Elk you have a good possibility...
Seems the majority of the time I have my long range set up the critters show up at a hundred yards.
My brother was shooting Scirroco's in his 300 win mag and a hog showed up at 125 yards and he killed it in dramatic fashion. He was using the 150 gr bullets. Damage like shooting a squirrel with...
I had a 7 WSM and worked up a load for the 168 gr Bergers. It shot incredibly well.
I built mine from a long action Savage 111 so the magazine box was plenty long to load multiple rounds.
I was getting about 2980 fps from the 168's. I think a good elk range would be 500 or less. The accuracy...
With all that horsepower stick with the bigger bullets. I don't have a STW but if I did I would be looking hard at the Berger 180 gr. BC of .659 would be hard to beat.
I suspect the Scirroco will be a grenade when it hits. Might be driving them too fast depending on your twist also.
I have pretty much everything they make. I've been collecting it since they opened.
I have the 1850 carbon frame pack and I love it. I put a camelback 100 oz bladder in it. Lots of water but hunting early season blacktails the temps are over 100 so we go through most of it in a day. My pack...
If weight is a concern then there are lots of stocks that are much lighter than the factory stock. If not then skim bed your stock and see what it does. I agree with Angus, then check the barrel.
I recently bought a Manners stock and was very impressed with it.
My brother has the same rig and...
I have a Sightron S III on a light 300 win mag and it has performed perfectly over several years of use.
I have two Night Force and the glass in the Sightron is comparable. I think not quite as good but less than half price.
Mounts are at least as important as the scope. I use Warne and since...