Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Describe your range protocol for load development

Me too. I've also found that the loads that are going to work in certain cartridges with certain powder and boolets are so well known that its a waste of time to try and change anything other than seating depth or varying the charge more than 1 grain or so.

I like how you roll formid. at the end of the day, I'm reloading to shoot cheaper and so I have control over the quality of my ammo. but trigger time is more important than loading time, 'loadin is just a means to an end.

p.s. i haven't ever cleaned a rifle barrel at the range, that's crazy talk

p.p.s. i am not a benchrest shooter. i load for general utility and hunting

Yep, it's only as difficult as you wish to make it.

A Brief Observation

It takes me eleven years to properly work up loads. This is because of the effects of the sun and other influences on reloaded ammunition.

Rounds have to be prepared in batches of 2700. That�s 2700 for each cartridge, rifle and geographic area for which you wish to test. Here�s why. The sun cycle is eleven years in duration. You have to shoot for the entire eleven year cycle, so that you can plot any changes in temperature, sun angle, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind, the effects of precession and physical changes to the shooter over an extended, but measured period. (These last two - precession and physical/mood changes to the shooter - are proposed, and are not presently included in the method.)

The 2700 shots comes from the following:

Part One: The Equinoxes

The two times when shooters need to accurately measure are: the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

These equinoxes occur when the subsolar point - the place on the Earth's surface where the center of the sun is exactly overhead - is on the equator. These occur in March and September. The tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from, nor towards the sun. (There is talk about needing to allow for the solstices, but wore research needs to be done here.)

So, without going into depth, we need to fire the following to measure the effects of the equinoxes:

50 cartridges multiplied by 2 equinoxes for 11 years = 1100 shots

Part Two: The Four Atmospheric Influences

There are four major atmospheric influences - temperature, wind, humidity and precipitation - so cartridges must be shot in each of these conditions in each of the four seasons, and averaged into the eleven year total. For example, there must be a 30 degree Celsius variation (change) in temperature, but with no other differences that would skew the results.

Temperature

50 shots fired (no wind, sunny and 30 percent humidity) at zero degrees Celsius
50 shots fired (no wind, sunny and 30 percent humidity) at thirty degrees Celsius

Wind

50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, sunny and 30 percent humidity) at zero kph
50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, sunny and 30 percent humidity) at fifteen kph

Humidity

50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, sunny and no wind) at 30 percent humidity.
50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, sunny and no wind) at 90 percent humidity.

Precipitation

50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, 30 percent humidity and no wind) 0.0 litres per hour*
50 shots fired (20 degrees Celsius, 30 percent humidity and no wind) 2.0 litres per hour

* rainfall measured using a rain gauge

These numbers have all got to be averaged together.

Total - 400 shots in each of the four seasons equals 1600 shots

Part Three: The Tools

It goes without saying, so I am typing it, that you need an adequate amount of powder, primers, bullets and cases. They all must be of the same lot and fired from the same firearm. They should also be loaded at the same time and then stored in a climate controlled room.

Total number of shots required for minimum testing: 2700 shots

Conclusion

As you can see, 2700 shots fired at the same time each year, over the eleven year sun cycle is the absolute minimum for a statistically valid measurement. This number increases dramatically should you wish to test for more than one cartridge, for more than one firearm, or for different people. Any less than 2700 renders all results invalid.

To obtain the best accuracy, it has been proposed to add the effects of precession, geography, firearm condition (cleanliness) and the shooter's physical condition/mood to the testing. While ballisticians all agree that these extra elements must be added, there is no consensus about how to properly add them to the test procedures. Talks are ongoing.

I personally load up 6 mid-range loads of 3 different Hodgdon Extreme powders, shoot 2-shot groups of each, keeping the accuracy winner decided by my calipers.

Then, I work that powder up to maximum in 1 grain increments, keeping the accuracy winner once again, then run 10 rds of that load in 5-shot groups over the chrony for my velocity average and sight in for MPBR.

Might be excessive, but that's my anal method, when I'm done, I feel confident I have an accurate, consistent load with decent velocity.

Holy schit you guys shoot a lot. I start at a kiss an work up in 1gr increments until book max, then 1/2 grain until I hit pressure.
Say a particular "book" load is 35 start, 40 max. I'll start with 37, 38, 39, 40, 41.0, 41.5, 42.0 and load one of each, (7 rounds total)

Then I'll take a wild guess that 1gr over is probably going to be top end and load 3, in this case 41.0 gr. (10 rounds total so far) if my OAL is quite a bit longer than book, I may load 3 of the 41.5 as well. (So let's say 13 total so far)

Mark every case CLEARLY WITH A SHARPIE...

Now to the range. Yes I set up a target(obviously) and the chronograph. It takes a grand total of 10 minutes to do it and I figure I may as well get all the bang I can for my buck...

First round down the tube is 37.0. Take a look at the primer, case head, etc. note velocity. If it feels/looks/flies like a powder puffer, I skip 38 and shoot 39. Same thing, look at case, compare primers, velocity, etc. If 39 is good, shoot 40 and so on. Soooo.....

If you got to 42.0 and didn't hit pressure, you can try the 3 you loaded at 41.5 for [bleep] and see wtf. If not, pull them apart and work up higher until you hit the pressure you want (not likely you be much over book, but nothing is carved in stone)


Say 40 is the pressure ceiling and you can't go further. Pack your stuff, go home and pull everything else apart. Load 3 rounds at 40 kissing, then 3 rounds at 0.020 shorter. Next trip shoot the 3 40/kissing and see how they group. If its good, load a pile of them. If not, try the 3 that are 0.020 shorter. If they suck, keep working it in until they don't.

No sense in starting in the middle and working sideways. If you start at the maximum pressure and OAL, that rules out 2 directions. All you can go from there is less powder or shorter length.

Idea is to get as much info from as few rounds as you can. I worked up a GMX load for my 270 in 11 rounds. That's zeroed, chronoed, and done.

Long range Audette ladder

A lot of these guys like making life more difficult than it has to be.

I usually find a charge weight to test after 6 shots of a Audette Ladder Test. I only take 10 cartridges with me.

The last load I developed was for my Springfield03, it took 9 shots. Here is the last shot I took with that rifle and load.



I don't clean anytime during the ladder test, I even start with a fouled bore. I haven't cleaned that rifle's bore for over a month and I've shot it maybe 30 times; I don't plan on cleaning if for hundreds more shots unless it gets wet or the weather gets very humid.

If I had a good spotting scope I would take the shots without waiting. I don't have a spotting scope, so I walk down to the target each shot to mark it.

Hunter here, no tactical or BR. OAL @ .005-.010 off, 1.5 gr under max to start, go up to max, 4 shot groups, find best load. Cleaning barrels is a waste of time unless accuracy has gone to crap.

I carry the glass vials with test charges for load development to the range. There is no where there to get out of the weather for use of my powder scale.

I second that. I cannot even remember the last time I cleaned any of my 6 rifle barrels. And, they don't just sit in the safe.

Google OCW and talk to Dan. Once you have been through the process and understand it, load development is easy and uses a lot less powder and bullets to find where you are going.

That's the Audette method that guy plagiarized quite some years ago. Had lots of discussions about it on other boards 10-12 years ago. It's the same one guys here are using, but giving credit to the guy that originally developed it back around WW II.

I really appreciate it folks! The importance of the "kiss" is more obvious now. With each new realization comes more uncertainty, though... https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...onew/1/First_time_COL_measurement#UNREAD
I'm not inept, just wanting to learn and interested in being safe.

The OCW and the Audette are not the same things.


The OCW method is group shooting of multiple rounds at the same charge weight at its own specific aimpoint working up in a predetermined charge increment.



The Creighton Audette Ladder is shot at long range (at least 300 yards). Only one round at each charge is fired. They are all fired at the same aimpoint.



With the OCW, you're looing for groups that have close to the same POI relative to the POA

With the Audette, you're looking for consecutive rounds that tend to group on the same horizontal plane

You had better read this and ask questions on what you don't understand. I have done sight in and load development with a specific powder/bullet in 15 rounds or less so many times! How many times you say? MOST of the time!

The last custom 7 STW took 9 rounds total! Last week a 22/250 AI with 55g GMX in 12 rounds.

If you want to jack yourself off, then start thinking ladders!

Splain it then, big boy........

Some of these old [bleep] have more time on their hands than you or I do Keith.. This thread is kinda like a woman: Always trying to "over complicate" things

I'm all ears [bleep]..,,,,

work up off of load manual data if new... if no load data, work up off of data from similar sized cartridge...

I always see how they group at 50 yds... if they won't group good at 50, they seldom get better at 100 yds...

load development isn't that much rocket science unless you have a finicky barrel, bullets with poor QC, or a bad powder Lot...

kinda read what Jack O'Connor wrote about the subject many moons ago, it seemed logical, worked for me...so been using it ever since...