I to am a “Picky Bast_rd”! I started out with a 6.5 Swed, then went to a 257 Wby, then to a 6.5 Creed. Then I found the gun that made, even me, Happy. The 6.5×300 Wby. Now it doesn’t like any of the factory loaded junk, but, when I started reloading my world changed. The gun is a Wby Vanguard First Lite with a factory brake. With factory ammo it was grouping around 2 inches at 50 yds. I wanted to wrap it around a tree! Then with the first hand load, it went to 3/4″ at 100. Second load 1/2″ and third 3/16″.It really liked Barnes Match Burner 140 gr and US 869 powder. I stopped there due to my age and failing eyesight, it couldn’t get much better than that! For those of you that are worried about match bullets performance, I busted a ground hog and put it into several pieces. Didn’t seem to have a problem with hole in/ hole out. I have a Mk 5 257 Wby also. The recoil on the 6.5 with a factory brake is less than the 257 with aftermarket brake. I love this gun! I would recommend it to anyone, male or female, for anything on the North American Continent.