no 2k for me i stopped shooting the big boomers several yrs ago i prefer the tactical shooting...for now...i figure ill do F-class or maybe BR when i cant move from stage to stage anymore.
ive picked hoppes brain several times and i understand how you guys do your load development and ive probably shot at least 10-15 ladders over the years but have never walked away with an acceptable load from the ladder test but again like i say its most likely me.
load development is kinda like diets...all the new diets are not actually new they have just been renamed maybe tweaked a little and reintroduced as the latest greatest thing..the satterlle load development...i may be off a little but its a ladder test that uses flat spots in velocity to find a load that is supposed to preform well in hotter or cooler weather...during the test i dont think your looking for groups or water lines just velocity because a lotta guys just shoot this test into the dirt
your ladder test is looking for a few loads that have a nice water line and then adjust with seating and then fine tune with primers if needed.
the OCW is a simple way to find a good load in a small amount of rounds fired and takes a lot of the shooter error out of the equation because your not shooting 3-5 rounds at the same time...1 round and move to the next charge until youve ran through all the charge weights you have loaded and then start on target #1 and repeat until all rounds are fired.
paul reaids load development
http://www.texasprc.club/preidloaddev is IMHO another version of the OCW and for me is the fastest way for me to find a load for the type of shooting i do...if im in the middle of a barrel or changing something i will shoot 3 round groups if im shooting a new barrel i will shoot 2 3 round groups just as is laid out but i start low and shoot up and then shoot from high to low...when i find a load i then shoot it and 500 then to 1080 if 2" or better at 500 5" or better at 1080 im done if much bigger than those numbers(and conditions tested in are good)i might play with seating or charge weight but i dont chase neck tension ever and primers only if ESs are higher than mid teens which is rare.
these guys here are seasoned shooters and know what they are doing...they and i just use a different means to get to the same end result as you do...also IMHO ladders OF ANY KIND are not for new shooters or reloaders they should stick to the OCW type load development.
This is basically what I was trying to say for a positional or hunting gun.
I do a modified OCW @100 but take the time to include a non-influencing chrono. I pick the middle of the 3 charges that appear to produce the same poi, but also have good chrono numbers that I gathered at the same time. Generally all load dev is complete in well under 50 rounding and usually I don’t move on to fiddling with seating.. if I am , =<3/8. Also I have a 100 yard range on the same exit as my office.
I have never seen a gun that can shoot 1/4 or 3/8 with steady velocity numbers not perform similarly with wind, optical disturbances aside, inside the bullets stable range. But again, for our type of shooting we aren’t looking to get our groups into the 1/10s of MOA. Our focus needs to be on how can we remember the COF, create a stage plan, smooth transitions, not get DQ’d, find the targets and somehow squeeze on a wobbly high stress environment without inducing more wobble all accomplished while seeing our splash and under ungodly time constraints.
We are shooting a couple hundred rounds at many of our matches and thousands of rounds per year making compromises in what is considered good enough. Our focus is in a different place, so what one guys wrong might be another’s only way.
There is no doubt that benchrest has given us great barrels and actions along with the machining and most of the reloading knowledge that has let our sport explode.. Today, it is common place in field and PRS/NRL to see targets past 1K, not uncommon to get a 1400 or maybe even a mile target at a positional or field match out West. All because of some of what has been learned from BR. Unfortunately, not everything is directly transferable, scopes are prime example.
So I can’t say
@Lynn Jr methods are wrong, especially out of the benchrest equipment. Hell, I am sure is is far better than what I do. But at the end of the day, using the OCW, if a bullet is slightly out, I know it was me. It is much harder to know at 300/400 or whatever without the benchrest tools.
A lot of shooters don’t have the equipment to take enough of themselves out of the equation or maybe can’t easily get to a location to shoot longer range load work ups. So maybe some of these shooters are saying ladders don’t work well for their equipment or range access and that good enough is just that; for what must of us do on this site.
Many of us on this forum have shot a match or matches together, some from the same branches, worked together on projects or otherwise communicated.. The people who are posers usually get weeded out rather fast around here. So having to challenge someone to a shoot off, or posting certifications, isn’t really going to increase anyone opinions, at least on this site.
I am sure Lynn has stuff he can share as well as a couple of guys on here that Lynn has said are Inept.