Ladders are a horrible way to find nodes, IMO. I'm assuming you are using the "Satterlee method", where you are shooting 1 round per charge weight to find a so-called "node"?
The problem with that method is that the sample size is statistically insignificant, and I would be willing to bet that the so-called "node" you found isn't really a node. I say that because I used to employ that method, and at some point decided that if one ladder was good, two was better. So I loaded up two identical ladders every time I went out and did this test. I ended up finding out that the so-called "nodes" weren't actually nodes - they never repeated on the second identical ladder. The sample size is just too small to make these kinds of conclusions.
The good news is that it's very easy to achieve low SD/ES with modern reloading equipment and components. Focusing on using high quality components such as Berger and Lapua, and loading with good reloading equipment in a repeatable and consistent process will result in good performance. Use a quality scale (my favorite is the autotrickler with FX-120i).
The problem with that method is that the sample size is statistically insignificant, and I would be willing to bet that the so-called "node" you found isn't really a node. I say that because I used to employ that method, and at some point decided that if one ladder was good, two was better. So I loaded up two identical ladders every time I went out and did this test. I ended up finding out that the so-called "nodes" weren't actually nodes - they never repeated on the second identical ladder. The sample size is just too small to make these kinds of conclusions.
The good news is that it's very easy to achieve low SD/ES with modern reloading equipment and components. Focusing on using high quality components such as Berger and Lapua, and loading with good reloading equipment in a repeatable and consistent process will result in good performance. Use a quality scale (my favorite is the autotrickler with FX-120i).
