first rifle reloads, any input?

[davsco]

just started reloading. these are my first rifle reloads i've shot. looking for a good 3 gun accuracy load out to 500yds. have been using black hills blue box reloads, 69 smk. that's the first column. 2nd is my reload of that and 3rd is 53 vmax which has a bc pretty close despite being a lot lighter. bottom rows are the average muzz velocity, then sd and extreme spread. this is all used mixed headstamp brass. i trickled powder with an electronic scale. i guess i'm pretty happy with the results and these were sub moa on 100yd paper. both these loads were on the low end of powder charges i tried. the higher charges were more in the 1-2moa range. just using a 1-6 scope at 6x.

223	reload	reload
bh69blue	69smk	53 vmax
jp ctr02	varget 24.6	tac 25.7
2,534	2,644	3,047
2,554	2,654	3,082
2,609	2,632	3,087
2,515	2,693	3,102
2,614	2,665	3,107
2,559
2,583
2,609
2,588
2,549
2,571	2,658	3,085
34	23	24
99	61	60

 

[davsco]

here's a couple of the 69smk/varget groups. #3 is def the best but has a higher es/sd than the 2nd best, #5. #3 is also pretty close to the black hills load I've been using, so no need to change up my holds. i know one group isn't much data to decide...

 

[memtb]

I’m not an experienced “match” shooter.......but, mixed brass can have a very detrimental effect on chamber pressures.....thereby effecting velocity extreme spread! That said, my best ever group @ 100 yards was with mixed head stamp brass.....but, was never able to repeat it! Go figure!

At what range were these targets shot? According to thoughts on long range hunting forum....the consensus seems to be that while a group with a larger extreme spread in velocity “may” be better @ 100 yards, the loads with the smaller ES will tend to shoot better groups at extended ranges. It makes sense that at ranges of, lets say 500 and beyond, those with the greater velocity spread would tend to open the groups vertically!

You may, just out of curiosity use you highest expected velocity spread, and plug these extremes into a ballistics program trying to determine their effect at longer ranges. You may find that at ranges inside of 500 yards, you may be better off ignoring the spread and go with the better 100 yard group. memtb

 

[davsco]

all shot at 100yds. i'm going back and forth on what to use. the best group is pretty good, with es/sd pretty matching the black hills i've been using, and the velocity matching as well. and i've been getting decent hits out to 500 (the max at my local 3 gun range) with the black hills, so this load shouldn't be any worse and perhaps a little better accuracy-wise, given a sample size of one group. the faster, slightly larger group is certainly good enough to get it done in 3 gun, but far enough from black hills that i would have to figure out new dope.

i'd think you're right about better es/sd turning better at extended distances. when i get a chance i will shoot for groups with both loads out further, and i also have similar test loads with cfe223 to try.

 

[memtb]

Good Luck! My response was not from personal experience at extreme ranges.....merely garnered from discussions by those that do! memtb

 

[Evintos]

I don't think it really matters what we think if you're happy with the results. Good job! Always feels good to load better than factory ammo.

If you want to experiment a little more with your process and possibly get better groups and better SD/ES:

- Sort the headstamps and stick with single brand or use mixed headstamps but develop load data for each headstamp. This will most likely reduce your SD/ES.

- Play around with bullet seating depth. This can shrink your groups but no guarantees.