load development

[_shawn_]

so i tried to develop a load for my rifle and i think i screwed it up.

1903a3 springfield 30-06 10 twist shilen barrel
150 gr nosler ballistic tip hunting bullets
once fired remington 30-06 cases
federal primers
imr 4350 powder

started with 54 grains and went .5 grain increments to 58.5 grains. book max is 58 and no signs of pressure on the 58.5 case

here's what it looked like at 100 yards

did i start in too close? the lowest range down here currently is 200 yards so i figured i'd start at 100 then move to 200 on the next refinement. not really sure why shot 5 and 9 dropped so low probably human error

oh and it's blowing about 23 mph from about 7 o-clock with gusts in the mid 30's but i timed most of my shots after the gusts died off

 

[brianlangeliers]

Re: load development

I am guessing you were attempting the ladder test? If so 100 yards is not far enough. Minimum 300 yards for the ladder test.

 

[bigwheeler]

Re: load development

7-8-9 is your load so far. (8) And why did you go over book max? It's called max for
a reason.

 

[e_shaw90]

Re: load development

If you don't have access to a 300+ range for a ladder test I would set your loads up into 5 round groups with separate targets so you can see the results. Once you find a grouping to your liking I would further refine it by reducing the load variance from .5gn to .2gn Its a fun process but can take some time to find what works best with you rifle. You may or may not find better results with different bullets and powders. I agree 100% with the above...Max powder loads are there for a reason....I would follow them.

 

[bbradford71]

Re: load development

Once you find a good grouping load play around with seating depth, I have found some of my rifles like to be kissing the lands and other like a little jump. You will be amazed at the difference in grouping by making a .01 adjustment.

 

[turbo54]

Re: load development

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bigwheeler</div><div class="ubbcode-body">7-8-9 is your load so far. (8) And why did you go over book max? It's called max for
a reason. </div></div>

That reason is called "litigation". Nothing wrong with loading over book max. In fact, many folks (myself included) advocate loading ladders ABOVE max, so that you can find your rifles maximum with that powder/brass, primer, bullet and seating depth.

...to be performed only by those who know how to detect overpressure.

 

[Clark]

Re: load development

I have shot different loads and got different group sizes, and when I repeat the same experiments, I get no correlation.

I can conclude that powder charge effect on my group size is either too small to measure, or moved around by other variables that I do not understand. In either case, particular powder charges will do me no good at this time.

And if there are powder charge effects on barrel harmonics affecting accuracy in my rifles, it certainly very small compared to the effect of a 5 mph wind gust at 100 yards, because any load any time makes smaller groups than that.

 

[SSC]

Re: load development

If all you can get to is 100 yards you might try OCW.
http://optimalchargeweight.embarqspace.com/

 

[aloreman]

Re: load development

id experiment with 5 shot groups at 100 or 200 yds in less wind. speaking of checking for pressure signs for goin above max load data, what were the starting case head measurements of your new brass and what were your measurements after firing. also what was your case wall measurements before and after firing.

 

[Casey Simpson]

Re: load development

Yes

 

[aloreman]

Re: load development

id steer away from hot loads in an old rifle

 

[TexIndian]

Re: load development

I try to shoot more than one shot per powder charge, whether it's round robin like with OCW or any other method. I do it to try and take the weakest link (me) out of the equation. If that #5 shot is a little low due to shooter error, then 4,5,6,7 looks like a sweet spot.

Without having results you can bank on, that's a recipe for wasted effort and dead ends.

 

[jasonZ]

Re: load development

what twist rate is the barrel? What about using different bullets, I.E. weights and type (make/model) of bullet? Maybe a different powder? It seems that different rifles like a different weight/type of bullet with a different powder, etc. My 308 likes some bullets and not others with the same powder and such. It takes to different powders under different bullets as well. I wouldn't simply not try other bullet types/weights and expect this one setup to work. I'll also agree that it may like a jump to the lands or it may like to be loaded into the lands. If it won't group at 100, it probably won't group out farther either!

 

[_shawn_]

Re: load development

i tried 3 different ladders at 200 last weekend and didn't like anything it told me so this weekend i'm doing the ocw

the barrels a 10 twist

it shot the 150 core lokts very well. 4 shots under .5 moa with a 5th shot flier so i figured i'd stay in the 150 weight. thinking about picking up some vld's to try as well but i have 3 weekends to either get this figured out or rezero the corelokts and hunt with them

 

[jlow]

Re: load development

There is something you need to understand about the OCW method that you are using, it assumes that both the shooter and the rifle is capable of MOA or better accuracy/precision.

This is not a slight on your skills or the quality of your rifle but the hard truth i.e. if both variables (shooter and rifle) is not capable of this requirement, you can see why the OCW would not work since the data would be hidden in the noise cause by either the shooter or the rifle or a combination of both.

If you are unsure of your capability or your rifle, shoot some good quality match factory ammunition first to evaluate yourself and the rifle combination. Once you know that this is possible, then try the OCW method.

 

[_shawn_]

Re: load development

i know i'm capable and i know the rifle is capable. the biggest issue with last weekends shooting was that the range wasn't long enough and the 30 mph winds we had saturday and sunday afternoon. the winds are looking alot better for this weekend and i already have my ocw test loaded up and ready to go i'm just wondering how much of a difference it'll make switching from these crap lee dies that i have and going to the redding dies next week when they show up. i'm switching dies because the neck die is giving me inconsistent sizing. some bullets i can push in by hand unless i put it through the sizer 2 or 3 times. starting to think i should just scrap this weekends testing and wait for the new dies but honestly i just want to shoot so i'll most likely redo the test again next weekend and hopefully what i see this week will decrease the amount of playing around i do next weekend

 

[TexIndian]

Re: load development

You probably already know this, but it's the elevation differences you're looking for an any ladder testing (incl OCW). The lateral drifts you get from wind shouldn't come into the equation when evaluating the targets. But with that said, a 30 mph wind would probably affect my ability to hold the gun steady and void any test results anyway.