how do you all load develope ??

[auquhollie]

In the past I have developed my rounds the normal way. I tend to work out JAM and then work from a med powder weight up until I see pressure signs. I then work back until I see the tightest group. Sometimes a little tinker here and there.

 

However, I was speaking with a good friend that shoots 1000yrd F class and he tells me he now loads for spread. He basically works out jam and then loads up 5 of each from low to high every half grain. He then goes out and sets up his crono and puts them all through it taking the extreme spread from each.

 

The one with the lowest spread is the one he shoots.

 

He doesn’t care if it isn’t the most accurate at 100 yards. He reckons its extreme spread that counts down range.

 

I guess it would only work on the varmints at long range. Not really a method to be used on a stalking rifle.

 

 

I have never heard of this method before but he assures me than quite a few of the F class boys are using this method.

 

Anyway, im going to give it a try when i get home. See if I can tighten my groups at 300 & 500 yards.

 

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[grahamfarmer]

hi ads

like you do the normal load up the scale shoot em and see what groups the best but with my 308 i have tended to cheat a little as it is a heavy barrel 700 p so scoured around for loads and tried a few the old favourite 44 grains of varget behind a 150 to 155 grain bullet works and groups a treat.

 

but i was scouting around on the nra web site in usa and came across an article that promoted load development for long range using one shot ladder tests. basically it said to use once fired brass trimed and preped as you wished to continue doing the once fired been to iron out an differences in chamber after firring the first time and prefereably to neck size only.

then load up a series of loads starting at the min load and working to max in 1/10th grain increments every load thus ending up with possiblly 30 loaded cases each one with 1/10 th of a grain more powder . at this point it did sugest to load to sammi spec to the olgive or to 10 thou off the lands but all should be the same.

 

then basically it sugests to shoot the loads one at a time at a target in as good as possible rest situation at about 100 yds the requirement been repeatable sighting on the same spot for every shot then after every shot to record by what ever means you want the exact posistion of the point of impact and most importantly to record the order of the impacts.

 

now the theory is that you end up with a shot gun patterned target but you know the order the holes appeared and as every one was aimed in the same place some will be high and some low the trick is to identify the up and down pattern created on the target and you then end up with a wave like pattern with a series of lines been higher or lower than the average in each trough this has basically tuned in to the harmonics of your barrel with that load and the ones you want are the ones in the middle of each little wave as that is when your barrel is dead straight and un stressed if they are high the end of the barrel is travelling up as the bullet exits and low it is going down.

 

now to take this a bit further to what your friend is doing with his chrono it could be argued that the velocity of the bullet would be more consistant out of a unstressed barrel than one that was flexing one way or the other due to the harmonics affect in the barrel. thus loading to the least es of velocity he is doing the same thing but with electronic wizzardy

 

now i havent got into the long range stuff yet but the main secert seems to be you want a bullet that behaves exactly the same time after time then that allows you to zero for your groups .

 

 

now i do know that at 44.5 grains of varget my gun shoots 1 inch lower than 44grains and at 45 grains it is about .5 of an inch higher this was done out of curosity with just three cold barrel shots .so i my mind i have proved the theory to work.

 

i will admit to been a novice on these things only been reloading for 2 yrs but have to admit havent strived for out and out velocity but the urge to get a chrono is getting ever stronger as it seems that at some velocitys accuracy is better than others.

as an aside i also developed from those results three more loads using a freeby for 110 grns 125 and a few 168 grain loads and all of them will zero to with in 0.5 inch using the same scope setting all i do is alter the amount of varget in the case depending on which head i am using all of them are just over the mid point of recomended varget use.

 

i suspect i have more velocity available out of my barrel and gun but dont know what effect it will have on accuracy as mostly fox and varmint hunting all i want at the moment is a bullet that hits where i aim it . suspect others more knowlegdeable than me will have views as well and will be interested to read about them.

 

graham.

[Alycidon]

Primer choice can also have an influence on ES. Someone told me about some work they did in a small caliber doing about 3800, BR4s were giving single figure ES, Fed 205s 20-30 fps. Might have just been that they suited the powder better but three of those five shots were exactly the same velocity.

 

So far I have just shot for group while playing about with powder weights. I have tried varying the OAL with no improvement so I stay 2 thou off the lands.

 

A

[Andrew]

I start with the powder that will deliver the lowest pressure for the velocity I desire. If it shows promise I work seating depth, pull weight, and lastly charge variation and or primers. If I get what I'm looking for I make note and move onto the next powder which will deliver speed with low pressures.

 

This may seem odd but it's a hold over from shooting cast bullets where pressures must be controlled to achieve maximum velocities. It worked for me with jacketed bullets as well so I stuck with it. ~Andrew

[Jingzy]

I found a thing called optimal load data online once, and I now use that.

 

You get the max load, drop it by 8 or 10 % for a sight load., add 2% for another sight load, then another 2% for a sight load.

 

Fire them off, that is a sighting load and the start of your pressure tests.

 

Then add 1% increments in 5 round batches up to the maximum load or where the relader feels comfy. But not too light on the heels.

 

What is usually found is that the group is open, then tightens, then opens again. I dont use the tightest. If say the groups in the tight area are .25" then .5" then .25", I will use the .5" as any powder mistakes should bring the bullet into the .25" to .5" range. Thus, you have accuracy as well as room for error.