257 Weatherby, Part 2, seating depth adjustment

[Dwh7271]

I'm with Scotty.
I'm sure you've tried others but my Vanguard in 257 really likes RL22.
My Vanguard really performs well with that powder.
I shoot the 100 Etip or TTSX with 71 gr or currently the AccuBond with 68 gr.
FWIW, I think comparing to the factory loads is a pretty good idea.

 

[Darkhorse]

How many shots does it reasonably take to arrive at an accurate load? To go 0.010 all the way through what I initially published is 36 rounds, then going shorter can easily add another 24? This would have to be split into at least 2 range days given the time of year and sun, and it's not over yet. 100+ shots to arrive at an accurate load? And you wonder why my shooting partner says I should just buy factory ammo that will shoot under an inch in this rifle and go from there.

The only real answer is "Ever how many it takes." You must be willing to shoot what seems to be an unnecessary amount of rounds to find the absolute best load.
I am in the process of working up a load for my 7mm Mag. I have already shot 50 150 gr. Ballistic Tips and now I've started a new box of Combined Tech. 150 gr. Silvertip BT's.
FWIW, Early on I found a couple of loads that prints 3 shots under .25 repeatably but it is a moderately light load. During this time I could have stopped a number of times with loads that printed 1 moa or smaller, but I just like trying for the tiny groups.
Starting with these new bullets I'll do things a little differently; I want to shoot 63 grs. of IMR 4350 so I'll vary seating depths and hope I get lucky and find the node. I will settle for .750 if that's the best I can get as this is a hunting load. Right now I have 3 sets of 3 loaded at .025, .030 and .035 off the lands, I think, from looking at previous targets one of these loads has a good chance of shooting real well. If not, I'll load a few at .010 difference and try again.
I admit many think I go way overboard and I agree. But in the end I'll have a notebook dedicated to that one rifle with all my targets and data for me to review and I'll never need to do this much shooting again. Unless I change bullets. So, to me it's worth it.
I have 2 rifles that are oal limited by a clip and that makes things more difficult. But as the barrel occillates even deep seated bullets have a node somewhere. We just have to find it.
Honestly, when looking at your 200 yard groups I see several I'd be happy with and stop right there. I wonder how they would look at 100 yards. Real good consistent shooting and your triangular group shapes are what I look for in a good load.

 

[rodell]

When I look for a load, I don't get all excited about one little tiny group that I might hit. Everything I load is for hunting, and I want to make certain I have a load that will provide acceptable accuracy across charge, temperature, and other minor variations. If the POI doesn't change across a small range of charge weights and the accuracy is what I expect, then I'll tweak the seating depth.