When to call it good

Ashy Larry

Ten Pointer
How deep into load development do you eventually settle on a load? I'm just under an inch but want to shoot a few more groups of this load before settling. I think I've hit a point where chasing another 1/4" will cost a lot more powder and bullets.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Back when I shot allot, and components weren't near as expensive as they are now I would stay after a load to they started opening up, or going the other way. Now if I had a good load under an inch in a hunting caliber I would probably call it a day unless I was just really trying to wring all I could out of the rifle/load seeing what it was capable of if I hadn't ever found out what the particular gun had done before.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
when to call it good? When you are happy,,,,,,

I always look at load development as a way to justify additional range time, which isn't a bad thing,,,,,
 

TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Depends on what I'm doing with it, if building for precision rifles I generally will keep developing as long as the groups are shrinking. For hunting if I hit .75 Moa or close I'd call it good unless I just "felt" like doing more.


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Ashy Larry

Ten Pointer
I tried one more seating depth today and had 4 touching with one less than 3/8" from the group. Could have very easily been the shooter. Think I'm gonna try one more grouping with that load.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
What does the load do at extended ranges? I have seen loads that seemed to shoot good at 100 yds not be so stellar at longer distances. I have also seen somewhat mediocre loads that performed better then the 100 yd group would suggest. It also boils down to components to a certain extent as well. Using Winchester Remington and certain hornady brass and bullets will only go so small accuracy wise due to variation. Premium components are where those last few 1/8ths of an inch come from.


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Ashy Larry

Ten Pointer
Hornady brass. These will be coyote loads so not super critical to gain that last 1/8".

I will be shooting 200 yards sometime in the coming weeks.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
I tried one more seating depth today and had 4 touching with one less than 3/8" from the group. Could have very easily been the shooter. Think I'm gonna try one more grouping with that load.
That sounds good to me!

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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
I tried one more seating depth today and had 4 touching with one less than 3/8" from the group. Could have very easily been the shooter. Think I'm gonna try one more grouping with that load.

If it shoots that same group again and for what you are using it for, I would call it good and rock on as long as it is a repeatable load


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41magnum

Twelve Pointer
Once I find an accurate load, I split the difference and load 1/2 gr above and below THAT load, to see if the group shrinks a tad more.
I hope your nearly to the lands, as I've found about .015" away is best in most of my loads.
Being a former competitive shooter, I'm just anal about wringing out all the accuracy I can.
The groups need to be mostly round and not stringing up or down.

Sounds like you could stop right there if you want to, also.

Been about 25 yrs since I shot this 5 shot group at a Benchrest Competition but.........now I'm happy with a lil space tween the holes...lol.
5 shots-.222 rem (Small).jpg
 
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deerhunter28

Ten Pointer
Very good question???
Go over to Snipers Hide and talk with them folks.
I think the answer is a hole in one.


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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Very good question???
Go over to Snipers Hide and talk with them folks.
I think the answer is a hole in one.


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Honestly any factory rifle is only going to be so accurate. The group 41 posted was not shot with an off the shelf Remington 700 or Winchester or tikka. Those guns are purpose built and ain't cheap. The fact of the matter is that there are very very few factory rifle that are true MOA shooters right out of the box. Yeah there are lots of those rifles that will shoot a 3 or 5 shot group on OCCASION, but few if any that are consistently MOA. If you really Want to see what your rifle can do, I have gone to ten shot groups shot out of as cool a barrel as possible. Those groups are true eye openers as to what the true accuracy of a factory rifle is.


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herman

Six Pointer
When I set up a hunting rifle,from the bench I want it to shoot like this.
00KiIOZ.jpg


When setting up a compition rifle I want it to shoot like this.
FVaQP44.jpg

600yds

SxZbpRE.jpg
 

Greg

Old Mossy Horns
Same for me as nccatfisher and TravisLH. I'd keep going until the load started opening back up.
 
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Ashy Larry

Ten Pointer
I verified the load today and it was still tight with 3 out of 5 touching. I think the difference is the so/so trigger and needing a better bag setup. Basically the Indian/arrow deal. I think I'm gonna run with the load until winter.

Also tried the load in federal and Winchester brass. Nope, will only group consistent with Hornady brass.
 

Newsome Road

Ten Pointer
Once I get under MOA I usually go ahead and load up 10-15 hunting rounds. But I will continue to tweak that load anytime I get the time. I could care less if my rifle shoots any better than MOA for hunting scenarios, but shrinking groups is always fun.
 

CBD21

Eight Pointer
Depending on what it is I will either go until it shows me there's no more room to improve, or on some stuff get right under a inch and call it good.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
I verified the load today and it was still tight with 3 out of 5 touching. I think the difference is the so/so trigger and needing a better bag setup. Basically the Indian/arrow deal. I think I'm gonna run with the load until winter.

Also tried the load in federal and Winchester brass. Nope, will only group consistent with Hornady brass.

Sounds good Larry!
But, it's gonna take different powder charges with different brass due to thickness differences.
This effects how full the case is, which in turn effects accuracy.

I've had to go 2 grains different when changing brass to get accuracy back.

Looking good though.
 
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JJWise

Twelve Pointer
It depends on the gun. If I know it's a real shooter I'll work harder for perfect handloads than I will with another "average" gun. I got into reloading to save money though, so anything under 2MOA makes me happy, since that's plenty enough for hunting out to 300 yards.
 

richard11989

Guest
If its legal where you hunt try an electronic call box, you can put it out a 100 yards or so, and get a good set up on it.
This is by far the most affective way to kill coyotes that I have found.
Remember coyotes usually travel the same route everyday, so all you have to figure out is the time and the best spot to set up.
 
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