My friend and I used my 6.5 x 284 NormaWith burger 140 grain VLD hunting bullets 2980 fpsI've got a 300PRC that I could reach out and touch them with but feel a 225gr pill at 2850gps might be a touch overkill. That said I'll probably ring the rifle for some long range target shooting if hunting is successful early on in the trip. I'm debating on starting a 280AI build for future western hunting trips.