During my 44yrs. of handloading I have always started near the middle, seated my bullets to the C.O.A.L. listed in the loading manual and worked up from there. In recent years most loading manuals list the load they found most accurate and during my testing I usually try that too. Without much other tinkering I have always been able to find an accurate load. A good example is developing a load for my .35 Whelen, when I had my rifle rebored nearly 25 yrs. ago I read everything I could get my hands on about loading for the Whelen. I bought a range of bullet weights from nearly all the manufacturers at the time. At that time after extensive range testing I found the best load for my rifle, that was a Sierra 225gr. Game King loaded with IMR 4064. Fast forward to 2017, I decided to try three other powders, RL-15, IMR 4350 and Varget. After trying them all with the Sierra 225 and Nosler 225 the result was that the most accurate load was the same Sierra/IMR 4064 load I had developed 25 yrs. earlier. The experience was fun and enlightening at the same time and confirmed my confidence in my original load.
