Justin,
Cool to see another North Dakotan on the forum.
Anyway,I thought I would pitch in with a little advice.
My feeling is that the .260 or the .260AI would be the way to go.
I probably wouldn't recommend the AI unless you used the Rem.788 action because the AI can be hard to get to feed smoothly,but in the 308 clips in the 788 they feed very well.
Also Timmney is making a trigger for the 788's now which are adjustable 1.5 - 4lbs.
The 788 also has one of the fastest lock times, the only set back to the 788 is a weak bolt handle,which I have a remedy for.
As far as the 308,I would recommend the .260 or the .260 AI over the .308 for ND hunting.
The 6.5 handles the wind a lot better than the .308, and I would not hesitate to shoot an elk out to 2-300yds. with the 260 AI.
I built myself a .260 AI and it is an awesome cartridge,in fact I shot three,20 shot F class matches with it last Sunday at the Moffit range near Bismarck, at 1,000 yds and placed 1st in all three. Shooting a 199-15,200-13& a 199-13.
Anyway I am a part time gunsmith and my passion is long rang accuracy.I am currently working on a customers .788 which I am chambering into a .260 AI for F class shooting.
If you have any questions or need a gunsmith I'd be happy to help. You can drop me a personal e-mail and I will get you my Ph#
To get my e-mail address just click on my user name and it will give you my info.
Good luck on your project,
308nate