Jim Carmichael on finding a good handload
- Thread starter Varmit
- Start date
Thanks, he's got some excellent wisdom in there. I particularly liked those sections, they confirms for me the reason I prefer 10-rounds groups:
MAKE ENOUGH SAMPLES
Loading accurate ammo is one of the great joys of handloading, but unless reloads are systematically and analytically tested, our best efforts can produce less than the best accuracy.
A typical example of getting started on the wrong foot is the determined handloader who spends a week of evenings assembling a variety of loads. All in all he may have 20 or more load combinations but only five or even just three rounds of each.
So the weekend finds our handloader at the range, ready and determined to discover which of his lovingly constructed handloads shines above the others. No matter that it happens to be a day of gusting wind, blizzard or earthquake, he has it. At the end of the day, when groups are compared, one group is declared smaller than the other and the tired but happy shooter returns to home and loading bench confident that he has discovered the perfect pet load for his varmint rifle. But has he?
With such small sample testing, there are a number of factors that can skew the results: An unnoticed puff of wind, for example, can cause a flyer to make a big group that might otherwise have been the smallest of the day. An overheated barrel can cause groups to widen, as can excessive bore fouling. First shots from a freshly cleaned barrel can also go out of the group, which is why expert experimenters fire a fouling shot or two before firing the test group. All of which explains why so many sincere but misguided handloaders drop the greased ball bearing in their quest for the best load--especially those who try to squeeze so many different load combinations into a day of shooting.
REPEAT AND ELIMINATE
Good groups are often a matter of pure chance. This is why repetition and elimination are the heart and soul of good handload development. Rather than crowd a couple dozen different load combinations into a shooting session, try no more than six or eight loads and fire two groups with each load. The correct procedure is not to fire the two identical loads consecutively, but to fire one group with each of the loads, allowing time for the barrel to cool between groups, and also to clean and fire fouling shots. Then, after the first series of test groups are completed, the firing order is reversed for the second series of test groups. This reduces the likelihood of false conclusions that might be reached when particularly good--or bad--groups are fired during a favorable or unfavorable part of the day. When the two groups of each load are averaged you have a clearer idea of the load's potential. The trick is not to pick out the best load, but to eliminate the worst ones. The loads that produce the smaller group averages then serve as a starting point for further refinement if you're determined to find the very best combination for your rifle.
MAKE ENOUGH SAMPLES
Loading accurate ammo is one of the great joys of handloading, but unless reloads are systematically and analytically tested, our best efforts can produce less than the best accuracy.
A typical example of getting started on the wrong foot is the determined handloader who spends a week of evenings assembling a variety of loads. All in all he may have 20 or more load combinations but only five or even just three rounds of each.
So the weekend finds our handloader at the range, ready and determined to discover which of his lovingly constructed handloads shines above the others. No matter that it happens to be a day of gusting wind, blizzard or earthquake, he has it. At the end of the day, when groups are compared, one group is declared smaller than the other and the tired but happy shooter returns to home and loading bench confident that he has discovered the perfect pet load for his varmint rifle. But has he?
With such small sample testing, there are a number of factors that can skew the results: An unnoticed puff of wind, for example, can cause a flyer to make a big group that might otherwise have been the smallest of the day. An overheated barrel can cause groups to widen, as can excessive bore fouling. First shots from a freshly cleaned barrel can also go out of the group, which is why expert experimenters fire a fouling shot or two before firing the test group. All of which explains why so many sincere but misguided handloaders drop the greased ball bearing in their quest for the best load--especially those who try to squeeze so many different load combinations into a day of shooting.
REPEAT AND ELIMINATE
Good groups are often a matter of pure chance. This is why repetition and elimination are the heart and soul of good handload development. Rather than crowd a couple dozen different load combinations into a shooting session, try no more than six or eight loads and fire two groups with each load. The correct procedure is not to fire the two identical loads consecutively, but to fire one group with each of the loads, allowing time for the barrel to cool between groups, and also to clean and fire fouling shots. Then, after the first series of test groups are completed, the firing order is reversed for the second series of test groups. This reduces the likelihood of false conclusions that might be reached when particularly good--or bad--groups are fired during a favorable or unfavorable part of the day. When the two groups of each load are averaged you have a clearer idea of the load's potential. The trick is not to pick out the best load, but to eliminate the worst ones. The loads that produce the smaller group averages then serve as a starting point for further refinement if you're determined to find the very best combination for your rifle.
Jim Carmichael is the most under acknowledged gun writer, ever.
When he was gun editor of Outdoor life magazine he was completely under the shadow of Jack O'Connor. JO'C had a tremendous talent to attract readers, along with his former job of university teacher in English to get his ideas across. But guess what? Jim Car. also once taught English at university level, as well as more engineering, mechanical type subjects. Also, Jim Carmichael had the misfortune to get into gun writing just as shooting and hunting were on the way down, from the great glory days of shooting and hunting, following the first about twenty years after WW2.
I think there is more down to earth, common sense information on all aspects of shooting, in his "Book of the Rifle, " than there is in any other book I have ever seen.
One would be very lucky to find a copy of it now for a hundred bucks.
When he was gun editor of Outdoor life magazine he was completely under the shadow of Jack O'Connor. JO'C had a tremendous talent to attract readers, along with his former job of university teacher in English to get his ideas across. But guess what? Jim Car. also once taught English at university level, as well as more engineering, mechanical type subjects. Also, Jim Carmichael had the misfortune to get into gun writing just as shooting and hunting were on the way down, from the great glory days of shooting and hunting, following the first about twenty years after WW2.
I think there is more down to earth, common sense information on all aspects of shooting, in his "Book of the Rifle, " than there is in any other book I have ever seen.
One would be very lucky to find a copy of it now for a hundred bucks.
