Rookie reloader question

[80Deuce]

When trying to determine the best (most accurate) load achievable for a particular rifle are there signs to help steer you in the right direction? My two biggest concerns are loads and COAL. When trying new powders and different sizes of loads are there signs or tells to point the loader in a certain direction...aside from safety issues? Is it all just trial and error or can you, as a loader, "read" shot groups. Can you tell when to add powder or take away powder to be more accurate? When playing with COAL is there a way to determine if one should go longer or shorter, or again, is it mostly just a guessing game. Thanks in advance for your time and responses.


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[Gunner46]

Well, a really good way to start with a load is to just ask on this forum. Chances are you'll get plenty of tried & true suggestions and pretty soon it will become evident that a certain powder , or two, is going to keep popping up over & over.

COAL? Start with the bullet just off the lands, and go deeper from there.

Don't forget to try an assortment of primers with loads before making too many radical changes up front. This one change can have a dramatic effect on your groups.

 

[DrMike]

Gunner46 gave good advice when he advised you to ask those who have loaded for a particular case. Posters on this forum will be pleased to share their experience.

Powder is often determined by what is available. An excellent place to look is the Nosler Reloading Guide to see which is designated as the most accurate. "Most accurate" doesn't mean it gave the smallest group size; it means it had the lowest standard deviation. That is an important piece of information. Other manuals often give similar intel. Cup and core bullets tend to like being loaded close to the lands. Bonded core bullets and monolithic bullets tend to give the best accuracy with a bit of a jump to the lands. Partitions tend to perform like cup and core bullets, so loading closer to the lands works well for that particular bullet.

 

[Gunner46]

^ Yeah, that too.

 

[Billyram]

The less the bullet has to jump the less chance it has to get canted. I would start with adjusting your sizing die so when closing the bolt on a sized case you feel just a bit of resistance or drag. This way will center the neck in your chamber when the bolt closes. The rest is trial and era. Primers, Bullets and powder. In large cases 1 grain of powder can make a big difference in accuracy. One way to find out what bullet weight the rifle likes is to shoot factory loads of different weights. I've found Federal Fusion to be quite accurate.
Billy

 

[pharmseller]

I use this method regardless of bullet.

I load 2 cartridges at the max charge at SAAMI max according to my reloading manual. I fire them and check the cases for pressure signs. If no pressure, try this:

http://www.bergerbullets.com/getting-th ... our-rifle/

This method works for me. I used it for a .30-06 and Berger bullets:

Notice, all I did was change the OAL by 0.040".

I used the same technique to find a load for my brother's 7mm Rem Mag using 160 Accubonds. He used a single shot to take a 25" buck this year at 534 yards.

You can drive yourself nuts with all the variables. Primers, powders, bullets, OAL. The combinations are endless. I like to keep it simple.




P

 

[Muldoon]

The best test is using a load from any recommended loading book, normally the 'accuracy load' and working up from there!

What shows up on the target is the final test!

 

[Guy Miner]

YES! Like Muldoon, I "cheat" and start with the recommended accuracy loads. Various bullet manufacturers and often gunwriters, will publish known accuracy loads. These are loads that have proven accurate in several different firearms, and are a great place to start. Sometimes they're the start, and the finish, for my loading efforts.

I figure the bullet makers, like Nosler and Sierra, shoot many, many more rounds of ammo for testing than I ever will. I may as well take advantage of their recommended accuracy load.

Then I may adjust it a little for my specific rifle. Seating depth & powder charge. Often I'll find a cartridge performs best, most accurately, with a max or near-max powder charge.

Also, pay attention to seating the bullet STRAIGHT. That was one of the biggest improvements I made in my handloaded ammo when I was shooting long-range prone rifle matches. Match quality dies help with this.

Regards, Guy

 

[slickrem]

loads can't really be effected by .5 grain increments... I load 1 grain increments.

COAL? Just load at the book length. This isn't high tech bench rest shooting.

I used to load with these techniques, but for a hunting rifle??

Can you tell when to add powder or take away powder to be more accurate?

Only you can answer that question, as per your rifle.

 

[Thebear_78]

loads can't really be effected by .5 grain increments... I load 1 grain increments.

COAL? Just load at the book length. This isn't high tech bench rest shooting.

I used to load with these techniques, but for a hunting rifle??

Can you tell when to add powder or take away powder to be more accurate?

Only you can answer that question, as per your rifle.

I completely disagree. Sometimes a half grain makes all the difference!

Case in point a 300 WSM WITH 180 partitions

Top left 62.0gr, top right 62.5gr, bottom left 63.0gr, bottom right 63.5gr. It all came together at 63.5gr and was consistently more accurate.

I always do 5 shot half gr increments when working up a load. I start with mag length COL and after choosing a powder amount I adjust COL as mentioned above by dropping down in COL by .050"



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[Vince]

loads can't really be effected by .5 grain increments... I load 1 grain increments.

COAL? Just load at the book length. This isn't high tech bench rest shooting.

I used to load with these techniques, but for a hunting rifle??

Can you tell when to add powder or take away powder to be more accurate?

Only you can answer that question, as per your rifle.

I completely disagree. Sometimes a half grain makes all the difference!

Case in point a 300 WSM WITH 180 partitions

Top left 62.0gr, top right 62.5gr, bottom left 63.0gr, bottom right 63.5gr. It all came together at 63.5gr and was consistently more accurate.

I always do 5 shot half gr increments when working up a load. I start with mag length COL and after choosing a powder amount I adjust COL as mentioned above by dropping down in COL by .050"



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Well said and I agree.
Far too often 0.5 grains is the difference between a good load and a great load.


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[slickrem]

let me put another way... a standard hunting, ie; Savage Remington, Winchester rifle is only gonna shoot so well no matter what you do to your loads, unless you shooting a better than standard rifle.. WB, Sako, etc....

An inch group is all I get, and some factory ammunition shoots better than my hand loads, and they aren't special COAL's or powder charges. Like I said I tried all those techniques and to no avail... the rifles didn't do any better.

FYI... I bought a Weatherby vanguard 300 WBY and loaded 1 grain increments with book COAL, and it shot PHENOMIAL, under an inch at 100.

 

[jimbires]

powder charge and seating depth are both very important to accuracy . I work powder in rounded off 1% increments , to start with . I work seating in .040 increments , to start with . these are the best set of targets I have to show how important load development is .

here is a 200 yard target . only difference is powder charge . the three top spots are , left 48.0 , center 48.5 , right is 49.0 . I shot these powder charges a few different times and always got close to the same results . the bigger lower spot is a different rifle pay no attention to it .




this is a rifle I was working up a load for . the only change in these targets is seating depth .

 

[slickrem]

I can get those changes without the enhancements. To me it's just a wastes of components. And time.

 

[SJB358]

Count me in as a powder charge and seating depth believer. I almost think I've been able to tune my loads using seating depth pretty decently.

This is my boys MK5 300 Weatherby.

Worked powder charge 1st







Then worked the seating depth







Probably have a dozen more examples of the same from my Model 70's and a couple 700's.

 

[Thebear_78]

It's been my experience that even a factory rifle can be tuned to shoot very well as long as nothing seriously wrong with it.

The custom rifles are just less picky and shoot a wider variety of loads better on average.


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[Darkhorse]

This rifle is a "Standard" rifle. I bought it new in the spring of 1981. Remington Model 700 LH 7mm remington magnum. I glass bedded the rifle and did some trigger work, and that was all that was done to the rifle. I did however use some special loading techniques I have adopted over the years.
I think the old rifle shoots pretty good for a standard rifle and old eyes with only a 10X scope.

 

[slickrem]

glass bedded the rifle and did some trigger work....

I thought you said it was a "standard" rifle?

How about a better word like "factory"..

 

[SJB358]

Slickrem, I'm not totally sure I understand your point?

Are you saying if you pull a rifle out of the box and the trigger is heavy, creepy or generally unsuited to your style of shooting you leave it as is and just hunt it as is? If that is the case then I agree with you, a crappy trigger makes doing the other load work fairly useless.

 

[Darkhorse]

Yeah, I consider it a standard rifle. It has the original standard factory walnut stock. It has the original standard factory trigger. And, it has the original standard factory barrel.
You change any of these parts and it is no longer a standard rifle.

FWIW this rifle was a safe queen for a decade or so when I decided to hunt with it again. The stock had warped to the point it wore blueing off the barrel just sitting there and would not hold a group or zero.
I was considering a new barrel so I made the rifle shootable again to gain a baseline for comparison when the new barrel was installed.
After working up some loads I decided the rifle would remain standard.