How I do Load Develpment

[Ganderite]

From time to time I have to develop loads for my pistols using a new powder. This report is an explanation of how I do load development. There are different ways. This is how I do it.

The first step is to shoot a spread of powder charges over a Chrony to get a feel for the appropriate powder charges to use in load test. I did this with the two bullets I use in 45ACP – the DRG 200 SWC and the 225FP. Each of my 45s shoots at least one of these two quite well.

In this case, the loads selected to test were:
200SWC 4.0, 4.3, 4.6
225FP 3.7, 40. 4.3

I load a pail of ammo with each bullet, with the three different powder charges. 6 pails of ammo. To test, I hang 3 targets stapled together for the three 200SWC loads and 3 other targets for the 225FP loads. Two strips of 3 targets, hanging side by side.

Then I shoot a pistol with each of the six loads and label each target for later grading. The targets are then scored from Poor to Very Good. The hope is to find at least one VG load for each pistol.

Once all the targets are graded, the results are transcribed to a chart. In this case, it shows that one load for each bullet got few VG results, and the other two loads with each bullet worked well in many pistols.

The final step is to label the buckets of ammo with the pistols it works well in. I also put a little label on each pistol to remind me of its favourite load.

 

[RojamB21]

You missing some information here .....

How many times you wake up in the middle of night and check the Over All Length and adjust the dies a bit and go back to sleep !!!

 

[FirearmsEnthusiast]

Wow - looks like you're doing load development for 21 handguns simultaneously! It would be interesting to see which groups your loads fall into in terms of the pistols they work in - for example, do pistols of the same barrel length tend to like the same load or is there some other factor, like manufacturer?

 

[Ganderite]

You missing some information here .....

How many times you wake up in the middle of night and check the Over All Length and adjust the dies a bit and go back to sleep !!!

I load all ammo to the OAL that will fit the shortest throat pistol. In 45ACP, that is Norinco. In 9mm it is CZ. etc. A poster on my wall tells me the OAL of each bullet, each caliber. I just adjust to that OAL, and load away. The ammo will then fit all the guns. It seems to cycle in all guns, too.

 

[Ganderite]

Wow - looks like you're doing load development for 21 handguns simultaneously! It would be interesting to see which groups your loads fall into in terms of the pistols they work in - for example, do pistols of the same barrel length tend to like the same load or is there some other factor, like manufacturer?

I load for hundreds of different guns. All I have ever noticed is that each gun will have a load or two that gets very good accuracy. And also that what is good in one gun will be terrible in another. This is why I do the survey and then label the buckets and the guns. I have also noticed that there is usually a powder/bullet combination that works well in a lot of guns.

In 45ACP, with a lead 200 SWC, 4.3gr of Tightgroup worked well in over half of these pistols.

I have not noticed that there is any correlation to guns and the ammo they like. The challenge is just to try 6 loads in each pistol and note what shoots best. That said, the 3 pistols with the shortest barrels (3" to 3 3/4") all shot best with the mild load under the heavy bullet. When I do the next batch of 45s I will see if that holds.

 

[MuthaFunk]

So are you using something to brace the guns as you shoot? If not, to me it looks like you just shoot your G40 and Ruger P345 best. How do you account for the human variance?

 

[Ganderite]

So are you using something to brace the guns as you shoot? If not, to me it looks like you just shoot your G40 and Ruger P345 best. How do you account for the human variance?

G40 is a Colt Gov't Model 1911. I have many of them. G40 shoots better than most. The Ruger is a single stack and feels rather similar. The COM pistols are Commanders. Most of those pistols are single stacks and feel similar. The next batch of 45s will include more double stacks, like the ParaOrdnance pistols.

I do a lot of shooting and can put all 10 in the black if the pistol and ammo are up to it. I shoot at 20 yards, with 2 hands. Some guns feel better than others. Almost all have good triggers (trigger jobs). There is some human variability, but the object is to find which ammo shoots best in each gun. My load development does that. If a gun does not suit me, I will still know which ammo shoots best, but instead of getting a VG with the best load, it might only be a G.

 

[luckey]

I have a similar system, combined with phone pictures, and final results in spreadsheet.

1. the phone pictures are taken for the notes and the targets I shot at the range. this is considered raw data, just in case I want to different analysis later on.
2. spreadsheet. I have one spreadsheet with multiple tabs. each tab is one gun/barrel/caliber combination(because some guns shot mulitple calibers with different barrels, or in case of revolver, 38/357, 44spl/44mag). Then on each tab, I have detail info as the column headers below. with this, each column can be used as filter to see only the specific combination you want, or sort them in sequence in the way you want. the tab could be based on powder as well, just like Ganderite does.

Bullet Brand Bullet Type Bullet Weight (gr) Cartridge OAL (inch) Powder Brand Powder Model Powder Weight(gr) Accuracy Reliability Recoil Comment

this works well for me so far.

 

[Ganderite]

I have a similar system, combined with phone pictures, and final results in spreadsheet.

1. the phone pictures are taken for the notes and the targets I shot at the range. this is considered raw data, just in case I want to different analysis later on.
2. spreadsheet. I have one spreadsheet with multiple tabs. each tab is one gun/barrel/caliber combination(because some guns shot mulitple calibers with different barrels, or in case of revolver, 38/357, 44spl/44mag). Then on each tab, I have detail info as the column headers below. with this, each column can be used as filter to see only the specific combination you want, or sort them in sequence in the way you want. the tab could be based on powder as well, just like Ganderite does.

Bullet Brand Bullet Type Bullet Weight (gr) Cartridge OAL (inch) Powder Brand Powder Model Powder Weight(gr) Accuracy Reliability Recoil Comment

this works well for me so far.

I am an old fart, and am paper based. I have binders dedicated to each caliber, and a set of pages for each gun. That is where I keep notes as to which loads shoots the correct elevation with fixed sights, notes about felt recoil, reliable cycling, etc.

I guess if I was starting over today, I might try to go the spreadheet route. Paper is ok for a particular gun, but not so good if you want to look at a particular load in a variety of guns.

 

[luckey]

I want to make sure everyone keeps using their computers as I have to make sure my job is secure. Lol...(I am a computer guy if you don't know by now.)

joking aside, that's a great system and whole bunch valuable data there. I always know who I should ask when I am starting a new load.

I am an old fart, and am paper based. I have binders dedicated to each caliber, and a set of pages for each gun. That is where I keep notes as to which loads shoots the correct elevation with fixed sights, notes about felt recoil, reliable cycling, etc.

I guess if I was starting over today, I might try to go the spreadheet route. Paper is ok for a particular gun, but not so good if you want to look at a particular load in a variety of guns.

 

[john92awd]

Wow you have many .45's! Looks like a solid method you have there, thanks for sharing!

 

[Riverboy]

Ganderite... You may have posted before, and if you have, if you would be so kind as to direct me to that thread, but how do you do load development for rifles ?

 

[Ganderite]

Ganderite... You may have posted before, and if you have, if you would be so kind as to direct me to that thread, but how do you do load development for rifles ?

I have found rifles to be quite different than pistols. With pistols, I am pretty sure I can get a good enough load for each pistol by trying 2 different bullets with a variate of powder charges of just one powder.

With rifles I have found that some rifle just wont shoot a given powder. I have 3 223 target rifles. One uses N140, one use 4895 and one uses RL15. None of those powders will produce a decent group in all 3 rifles.

The trick with rifles is to find a good load before the barrel is pooched.

A few tips. 100 yards is a good distance to test 100 yard ammo. It is useless for testing longer range ammo. The minimum distance is 300 yards. 500 is better. Only 1000 will tell you how a load will do at 1000 yards.

5 shot groups are good for surveys, to find promising loads to explore, but 10 shot groups are needed to verify something actually works. I have seen countless 10 shot groups that looked fabulous after 5 shots that look only average after 10 shots.

To test you want a 24X scope with the parallax dialled out and good bag shooting technique. Don't let the barrel over-heat.

Here is a good 20 shot group at 500 yards. Less than 2" tall: