Load Development without groups

[Lifetime loader]

Just digging around the data it looks like that weight projectile likes 2600-2650 fps

 

[boxhitch]

Groups are your friend
If plinking and practice are the objective, it easy to work on finding a best load at the same time

plinking loads are easy, pick a powder/charge/bullet/primer combo that goes bang in your rifle safely
then load up 10, good for 2 groups on target, shoot to test.

Then make the same with differnet powder charges and shoot those on targets as good as possible too.
Eventually the load will show what is the best potential, and in the mean time you have more trigger time.
Side benefit is more once-fired brass from your rifle for future loads. win win

 

[DGY]

eing relatively new to the Sport I don't believe that my shooting is consistent enough to "read" groups or strings on paper at 2-300 yards. Meaning that my Groups on paper at 200 range from 2" on a good day to 4"+ on not so good days.

Basically my Main question is: Is looking at MV through a Chronograph a way to determine a "good enough" starting load? I have access to a Chronograph which I trust more than my groups, so I figured I will try to load up a known or recommended and proven save charge and see if the MV is fairly consistent over 3-5 shots?

Well there is a few things here that are some what wrong if I read it right. First if you are new to shooting and you are not more consistent than 2” between groups/sessions, first thing first you need to learn to shoot and for that factory ammo is plenty good.
Second a safe load in one’s rifle might not be safe in your rifle that is basic basic basic reloading 101.
Max load minus 10% is a safe place to start, or at the starting load listed in the different sources you use and cross referenced ( some data have typos, mistakes etc so always good to cross reference with a few other places for a specific powder)!
So if I was you I would start by shooting, a cheap way is to shoot 22lr or 223 rem cost less money and so you can shoot more, when you a proficient with those go back to your hunting rifle and duplicate what you learn with the low recoil rifles. When you can shoot consistant you are accurate then you can start reloading and try to find the most accurate load for your rifle. That is what I would do. And if you don’t shoot groups you don’t know how constituent you are or if your rifle like a certain load.

 

[todbartell]

That is exactly what I am going to try. Only that instead of start halfway between min and max I thought maybe someone uses the same bullet/powder combo and could give me a charge that worked well for them that I could try working up to safely

Every rifle is a different beast. What works for me, might not work for you, even if we had the same exact model. General trend is milder PSI loads shoot more accurate than hot PSI, so back off the charge especially if you don't have a chronograph to know what is actually going on

 

[Canuck65]

Hey Nutz!

Edit: I know about Reloading Manuals and where to find the Starting points and Max charges, I'm using the Hornady Manual and the Hodgdon Website to look up powder charges. I was more asking for anecdotal Info from people that shot that bullet with that same powder and what charge weight worked well for them

I am fairly new to the Gunworld and brandnew to the Reloading world, trying to figure out how to find my way into this without blowing my wallet or head apart lol.

Trying to figure out how to go about working up my first load for my gun I read lots about OCW or Ladder tests but have found one common problem, most if not all of those methods rely at least in part on groups or group sizes and accurate shooting.

Being relatively new to the Sport I don't believe that my shooting is consistent enough to "read" groups or strings on paper at 2-300 yards. Meaning that my Groups on paper at 200 range from 2" on a good day to 4"+ on not so good days.

Basically my Main question is: Is looking at MV through a Chronograph a way to determine a "good enough" starting load? I have access to a Chronograph which I trust more than my groups, so I figured I will try to load up a known or recommended and proven save charge and see if the MV is fairly consistent over 3-5 shots?

Secondary Question would be about that recommended Charge for this Caliber-Powder-Bullet Combo

Shooting a 6.5 CM 143 ELD-X Bullet

IMR 4350 Powder + CCI Large Rifle Primers

Hornady Brass

Out of a Tikka T3x Roughtech with a 24" barrel

Can't find a lot of Info on the IMR Powder, most of the recommendations where for the Hodgdon H4350 which I couldn't find close to me.

I tried the Search bar and Google but am overwhelmed with all the Information, hoping that a thread will streamline it a bit!

Thanks and safe shooting!

There are lots of ways to develop a load, but in the end, it always comes down to groups. Your groups will tell you everything you need to know about the consistency and accuracy of that load in your rifle.

IMR powder data is available in the same place as Hodgedon, Winchester, etc.

The load data in those manuals is usually based on a longer barrel. Don;t expect to get the same velocities as they list.

I tend to look for the powders that will give the fullest case at maximum load without going over 100% (compressed). Anything in the 90s will be an ideal powder for that bullet weight. For hunting, forget the lower half of the advertised loads. Start in the middle and work your way up in 10% increments and really start paying attention to pressure signs when you get close to max.

For target shooting, you might find the most accurate load anywhere, might be slower than the slowest advertised load, might be hotter than the max load listed, or anywhere in between. This is where ladder testing can help.

Good luck - there's no easy way to learn this stuff. Read everything you can find from reliable published sources, and play around till you find the right recipe for your rifle.

 

[jethunter]

Load halfway between start charge and max charge, work on your shooting and then worry about tuning a load to improve precision down the road

That's good advice. It's not possible to identify good loads without consistent, reliable shooting technique.

 

[Dogleg]

Whats the difference between choosing a random safe handload with a bullet that you believe is suitable and choosing a random safe factory load with a suitable bullet?

 

[Meroh]

Just digging around the data it looks like that weight projectile likes 2600-2650 fps

That might depend on the rifling twist.

 

[Lifetime loader]

It very well could depend on twist rate. The sierra data was developed in a 1 in 8” tube

 

[Canuck65]

Whats the difference between choosing a random safe handload with a bullet that you believe is suitable and choosing a random safe factory load with a suitable bullet?

There's no difference at all. Either might work really well in your rifle -or- either might be terrible. Though I will say, a good barrel is a good barrel, and you'll be able to tell pretty quickly if it's going to be easy or difficult to load for.

 

[Dogleg]

There's no difference at all. Either might work really well in your rifle -or- either might be terrible. Though I will say, a good barrel is a good barrel, and you'll be able to tell pretty quickly if it's going to be easy or difficult to load for.

I’d put my money on the random handload if I had to bet.