How do you develop your loads?

[bbearhntr]

How do you develop your loads? Do you have a certain method you use for attaining the smallest group capable from your rifle? Do you use the 5-5-5, Barnes, ladder test, or something you have come up with on your own? How many rounds do you shoot with a given powder before changing? What increments do you use for adjusting your seating depth? Im just looking for what you feel is the best way to do load devepment from start to finish for one particular bullet in your gun. Being relatively new to the hobby I value your insight.

 

[jmad_81]

Well I usually start at the middle and work up to the max in .5 gr increments with one of the highest fps powders. I used to load as long as the mag permitted, now I just start at the "book" lenght. I'll shoot three of each load. If one shows promiss (around 1 MOA for me) I'll tweek with the AOL a bit and load three .015" shorter and three .015" longer and reshoot. If that doean't work out I'll switch powders. Most guns have a "go-to" powder (RL-22 in the 7 Mag and 300 WM, and 4350 and RL19 in the 338 WM as example), Those are usually a good place to start. Every once in a while I'll try a powder that is less main stream. I recently had great luck with Ramshot hunter in my 338 WM with a 225 AB. My 280 AI like Magpro with the 160 AB, and my .243 really loikes H1000 with the 105/107s. Quick Load is a great guide, and there are some great sites on the web for research. ALLWAYS START LOW AND WORK UP! A Chrony is also a Huge help! I would say its more of a must!

 

[Desert Fox]

Do your research, or consult your reloading manual for the best powder bullet combination for your particular cartridge. Load 5 cartridge each, starting at 12% below max, 5 at 10% below max load, 5 at 5% below max load and 5 at max load for a total of 20 rounds. Chronograph your load and watch for signs of high pressure. Stop as soon as you reach your velocity goal. If accuracy is not attained after reaching velocity goal, then play with seating depth. Start with your OAL at least .010 off land or at maximum length the magazine will allow. Ladder test is a waste of time, bullet, barrel life and money IMHO. I always find my load using my method in 20 rounds or less. If your rifle is tuned right, you have no problem finding loads. The methods above is for factory rifles. For custom rifle, my method is a bit different. I'll set my velocity goal first and then find load that can do it. The same method as that of factory but I'll usually start at 5% below max and work in .5 grain increment. I'm not worried about accuracy from a custom rifle since it's very rare I encountered that problem, at least on the one I own or those that I've worked with.

Found this load after 10 rounds:

3 shot at 250 yards. Half inch with slight but perfectly lined horizontal displacement due to inconsistent trigger control (my fault)

 

[Gm weatherby man]

For me I check my manual for powder that has the closest to full capacity and fastest fps , not always the fastest though. If a hunting load I use a extreme powder such as h4350 or h4831, most reloader powder seem very well too. Then I load starting at the listed starting load for that bullet and powder combo and load to .5 grn short of max, I never use max loads. Then after firing fouler I procede to fire three shot groups of each, letting barrel cool down, usually by time I walk to target and back it's good to go, set in shade on hot days. I forgot I usually load my overall left to the same as a factory load for that bullet would be, canulars make it easy,as I always crimp my loads. I always pick the powder that has the best group over all the load range from min to max. Then I choose the powder weight that gave me best group out three fired.For the most part with the bullets I've chose to play with have given me moa accuracy if not very close. For myself I figure if factory bullet makers can load a cal. For so many different guns and be great in the accuracy department why worry about the distance from the lands so much, treat every gun like a weatherby and make it work. I no that sounds bad in this crowd , but I hunt more than I load, and don't get me wrong I love rolling my own, I just know what I want. 8)

 

[SJB358]

Well I usually start at the middle and work up to the max in .5 gr increments with one of the highest fps powders. I used to load as long as the mag permitted, now I just start at the "book" lenght. I'll shoot three of each load. If one shows promiss (around 1 MOA for me) I'll tweek with the AOL a bit and load three .015" shorter and three .015" longer and reshoot. If that doean't work out I'll switch powders. Most guns have a "go-to" powder (RL-22 in the 7 Mag and 300 WM, and 4350 and RL19 in the 338 WM as example), Those are usually a good place to start. Every once in a while I'll try a powder that is less main stream. I recently had great luck with Ramshot hunter in my 338 WM with a 225 AB. My 280 AI like Magpro with the 160 AB, and my .243 really loikes H1000 with the 105/107s. Quick Load is a great guide, and there are some great sites on the web for research. ALLWAYS START LOW AND WORK UP! A Chrony is also a Huge help! I would say its more of a must!

Same as Jake, although in the magnums I will go up in 1gr increments to start with. I also stop once I hit my speed goals and then try to tweak for accuracy. I have tried starting at mag length and starting as factory SAAMI specs and they both end up getting tweaked a little. Just depends on where my head is at that day. Very seldom do I have to switch powders up. Usually I pick a powder that I know will get the speed I want and have a track record of good accuracy. Scotty

 

[Guy Miner]

1. For a hunting rifle I'll choose the bullet I want to use first, and work with it, even if it's not the most accurate bullet avail. For instance, for my 7mm Rem mag elk load, I went with the 175 gr Nosler Partition, even though the 175 grain Sierra Gameking shot a bit better. In that case I favored the terminal ballistics of the Nosler enough that it didn't matter to me if it wasn't quite as accurate.

2. I cheat.

I figure I'm not the first guy trying to build an accurate load for any given cartridge.

There are well-known bullet/powder combinations that reliably produce excellent accuracy for a given cartridge, in a wide variety of rifles. Don't believe me? Then how does factory built match ammo even exist?

I'll go to different sources, seeking information about those known "accuracy loads":

Other shooters I know. Say I went to change from my beloved .308 Win for target shooting and re-barrel my rifle for .260 Rem. My first call would be to my friend & fellow shooter, Monte, who used to run a .260 in competition. If I went with the little 6.5x47, I'd call Jim and see what he's running. Both of these guys are serious riflemen & competitors and will set me straight about their chosen cartridge with good load recommendations.

Same thing I've done when someone wants a recommendation for an accurate .308 Win load. I've burned up enough .308 Win barrels to have some decent info on that subject and freely share it.

Or, as I've done in the past I'd look up Sierra's published "accuracy load" and use that as a guide.

Or, I'd call Sierra or Nosler and ask them for a recommendation. That's how I came up with the best 7mm Rem mag load I've ever tried - 65 grains of RL-22 and a quality 160 gr bullet from either Sierra or Nosler. It's been a winner in at least five different 7mm Rem mags I've loaded for now. It hadn't even been published in their manual when I phoned and they responded to me with "Hey, this is working real well, try it."

Big bullet companies like Sierra and Nosler go through more bullets and more barrels in a year than most of us will in a decade, just doing accuracy testing. Seems to me it was Sierra a few years ago, let out some figures for how many bullets and barrels they burn up in a year, testing bullets. The figure was staggering and blows away my barrel every two years and a couple of thousand bullets a year stats. Those guys are constantly testing & shooting. Great source of info. They want us shooting well, using their bullets. Good business.

OK - so once I've made my selection, based on either desired terminal results or cheating and stealing someone else's load. :grin: Then I'll set it up for my rifle.

Overall length - It absolutely has to function through the rifle. It MUST fit in the chamber, it MUST cycle from the magazine. Going for an optimal length for accuracy isn't usually something I spend much time on. My most accurate rifle is a short action Remington with a Krieger barrel. I load to fit the magazine. Again though, I cheated. I had the chamber cut to work well with ammo loaded to mag length. Ah ha! Cheating with a purpose.

I've seen guys show up at matches with long-loaded ammo that shot great from their rifles but wouldn't fit in the magazine. As you might imagine they had a few problems with the rapid fire stages.

Straight bullet seating - the most important part of handloading for accuracy as far as I'm concerned. I'll use high quality dies (favor Wilson, or Redding comp dies) to build the straightest ammo I can. See Desert Fox's great videos and posts on loading for techniques.

With one particular rifle, a Ruger Number One I use for hunting - I found out it had a VERY long chamber. I seat the bullets way the heck out there, well past normal specs. At least they're within shouting distance of the lands though. I cheated with that rifle too - the two previous owners are meticulous handloaders, one is a well-known gun writer, and I simply borrowed/stole their handloads, some of which had been published in a magazine article.

Also - accept that not every rifle needs to be, or is capable of producing, 1/2 MOA accuracy. My Model of 1917 Winchester .30-06 groups about an inch, or a little over an inch at 100 yards. That's likely as good as it's going to get, and there's a bear & several other animals who found out that's quite accurate enough.

Point is - the wheel doesn't need to be reinvented. No need to go through every doggone powder and bullet combo out there, searching for accuracy. A known load will get you there. Make a few minor adjustments to it to work in your rifle, and you're home. Knock off load development early and get to shooting. Work on the biggest factor of inaccuracy in a rifle - the shooter.

Regards, Guy

 

[brianwyo]

+1 Guy Miner

Dont be afraid to ask for help on this forum. There are alot of helpful people here. Brian

 

[Oldtrader3]

I guess that I am kind of like Guy Miner. I am aware that there are often "known loads" that are widely accepted for accuracy in a particular cartridge. This can be very good intelligence. Plus, I find and read as many articles as I can that talk about accurate loads for a particular caliber. This plus poring over the 10 or so loading manuals that I normally use. These are usually a good places to start so I will back off of these noted, recommended loads and try them.

Plus, a couple years ago when our sneaky President was covertly (not overtly) aiming to curtail handloading components, it was very hard to get powder. So I decided to arbitrarily limit myself to IMR powders and have no more than (4) burning rate powders for rifles and two for pistols total on hand.

From 50 years of handloading and based on the rifle inventory that I have, it was pretty easy to settle on IMR 3031, 4064, 3450 and 7828, plus Titegroup and LilGun. This pretty well covered my needs. This is helped somewhat by the fact that I only use one load and bullet weight per rifle caliber and have loaded for most of the calibers that I own for 3 years or longer and already have an acceptable load. If I can get a load that consistantly shoots under 3/4 inch at 100 yards, with good muzzle velocity in the top 2% for that caliber, I figure that I am done for hunting accuracy.

I am older and have no interest in bench rest as an avocation, just practical accuracy. My approach may be simplistic but it has worked for me over this past 50 years. Plus, as far as COAL goes, I will play with it when I find a load that shoots within my criteria at factory specs.

 

[1Shot]

Here is what has saved me lots of money and time over the years. For standard factory loads I just go to the Sierra manual look up the caliber and the bullet weight I want to use and look at their suggested accuracy load and hunting load. That gives me the powders that are most likely to be the best. Then I back off their load 1 grain and load up 3 rounds then three more within .5 then three at their load with the bullets seated 10 thousands off the lands for starters. Go the the range and see what happens. Most often their accuracy load is just that, very accurate. Playing with the seating depth of the bullet can pay off also. The most accuracy producing thing I have ever found is to de-burr the inside of the case part of the primer flash hole. This allows the powder to get and even burn started and it produces accuracy.

 

[Guy Miner]

Dang. What a bunch of pragmatists.

Love it! :grin:

 

[bbearhntr]

Thank you everyone for your insight! I have learned more reading this thread than I could have found out on my own in a years worth of loading! With the price of components ever rising I find all of your experiences priceless. Thank you all very much. And please keep your suggestions rolling in :grin: I find them fascinating to read.

 

[257 Ackley]

Having spent time working in a R&D lab, I take a somewhat scientific approach to load testing. This means all tests for each bullet/load must be conducted the same to give fair results.

1. Research the powders that seem to give best velocities and fill the case to 90-95% for the bullet selected. Also send Dr. Mike a PM and get QL data
2. Usually start powder charges in the mid-range loads of manuals with a known powder or 10% below max listed if powder is a new lot #. Load three cases with each powder charge plus a fouling round for each group tested.
3. Bullet seating will be based on what the magazine will allow or a start of 15 thousands off the lands (checked with Stoneypoint).
4. At the range, a fouling shot is fired and the lowest powder charge is shot. Each shot is spaced about 2 minutes apart. The rifle is cleaned, which allows for cool down. Next fouling shot is fired and the next group is shot. This goes on through all loads to be tested.

Some of you may say that is over-kill when you are only shooting 20-30 rounds in a test, but to be fair to each powder charge, all variables must be the same for it to be a viable test. Usually there will be a few good groups with each powder tested to go back and do further tests and adjustments.

 

[FOTIS]

I cheat too.

I consult my exell spreadsheet that I record everything on. Very few cartridges that I have NOT worked on. :twisted:

 

[Oldtrader3]

That is true for me also Fotis. I have loaded so many different cartiridges for the past 50 years that I can use history a lot of times for loads to get me started.

 

[Guest]

Fotis, if you need offsite backup of that spreadsheet, feel free to let me know. I can provide space on secure servers that exceed DoD security compliance requirements...

(of course, I'd have to read all the data to be sure I wasn't storing anything "outside the lines." )

 

[FOTIS]

Thank you sir. Currently it and other files are stored on Google documents so I have immediate and unlimited access from everywhere..... 8)