Just got back from another session of fine tuning load development. If there is one thing I’ve learned about loading over a decade, it’s that a load is not a load until it is proven on 2 separate occasions. I’m talking about your 3-5 rd testings. I’ve been burned quite a few times over the years where I’ve shot in the zeros, then went home to load up 50 rds + only to discover that the load is an absolute turd. So these days, if I discover a node or an actual load, I don’t get excited until it shoots the next time I take it out. I’ve saved myself a lot of headaches and components doing it this way
An Obvious But Important Lesson In Loading
- Thread starter mdmp5
- Start date
I do load development then load up 50 rounds and go back to the range. I shoot a few groups at 100 then take them out to 600 on steel to make sure they perform well. I had a close call when I bought once fired brass and loaded then for my AI. I loaded 300 rounds to find out that the shoulder should have been bumped back more. The bolt closed but it was definitely not bumped back far enough. That's when I did research and bought a tool to measure how much to bump the shoulder. I didn't know a tool existed at the time and now recommend it to people starting out.
i have only had this happen a few of times...ive learned over the years that if a load shoots good one day but not the next the problem is usually me not the load or like when i first started reloading i would assume a load was good if it shot good at 100yds.
the other thing for me is i am not a group shooter so personally i do not shoot 5 or 10 or 20 shot groups anymore....i load 26 rounds for load development 6 rounds of each charge weight i plan to shoot ,start with a clean barrel,shoot 2 rounds to foul then start,i shoot 3 rounds at 4 separate dots on the left for a total of 12 rounds starting with the lowest charge up to the highest...wait 5 minutes then repeat on the right side but start with the highest charge and work to the lowest.
when done i pick the 2 best groups with the lowest SDs load up 6 each and shoot them at 500yds best 6 shot group wins...and the best part is i live about 10mins from where i shoot/practice so i can get all this done in a mater of a few hours....i feel for the guys that have to make long drives to the range....this is not my load development idea i just added my ideas to it and ive been using it for years...simple and it works...
http://www.texasprc.club/preidloaddev/
the other thing for me is i am not a group shooter so personally i do not shoot 5 or 10 or 20 shot groups anymore....i load 26 rounds for load development 6 rounds of each charge weight i plan to shoot ,start with a clean barrel,shoot 2 rounds to foul then start,i shoot 3 rounds at 4 separate dots on the left for a total of 12 rounds starting with the lowest charge up to the highest...wait 5 minutes then repeat on the right side but start with the highest charge and work to the lowest.
when done i pick the 2 best groups with the lowest SDs load up 6 each and shoot them at 500yds best 6 shot group wins...and the best part is i live about 10mins from where i shoot/practice so i can get all this done in a mater of a few hours....i feel for the guys that have to make long drives to the range....this is not my load development idea i just added my ideas to it and ive been using it for years...simple and it works...
http://www.texasprc.club/preidloaddev/
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I learned the hard way developing a load when the temperature was about 45-50F then shooting that same load when it was 95F
Velocity went up about 30-40fps and ES opened up to about 45fps spread. Still grouped great at close range though.
Velocity went up about 30-40fps and ES opened up to about 45fps spread. Still grouped great at close range though.
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