Opinions on my Load Development

trykillthis

trykillthis

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So I just got a reloading press recently and I am working on a load for my hunting rifle. I decided to use the Optimal Charge Weight method for load development and I am not sure what direction to go next.

I started out with the 3 sighter/fouling shots, which was probably a good thing cause I have a new scope on the rifle that was previously sighted in, but its still shooting pretty high. I can fix that later but I didn't want to do it during the test loads as it would skew the results.

I am using a Barnes 180gr TSX in my 300 WIN MAG, once fired, neck sized brass, trimed to length, and all bullets seated at the same length.

So these are the groups I got at 110-115 yds. My point of aim was the blue cross. All the groups were shot round robin style with cool down time in between each shot. The gun was in a cradle so they should all be pretty consistent.

OCW646.jpg

OCW653.jpg

OCW660.jpg

OCW667.jpg



What way should I go with this now? Obviously 65.3 was the tightest group. Should I play with a couple loads on either side of that or just go with 65.3 and play with length a little to see if I can get it to tighten up more? This is a savage package gun that has been bedded, trigger done, and new scope, so needless to say, I am happy hell with the 65.3 group.

I just wanna wring the last little bit out of this as I can.
 
you got it, play with the seating depth and keep the load. i would start a few thou under the book oal and work up one round at a time, each a couple thou longer and when you reach the round that becomes tough to lockup the bolt, back it off 2-3 thousandths and keep it there. also making sure the brass is trimmed to EXACTLY the same length is crutial particularily if you are giving it any kind of crimp. 5 shot groups are my standard to allow for the odd flyer that may be my fault, if i have 3-4 tight out of five i know it was me. keep up the good shooting.

EDIT; be sure to re-seat the tight fitting round deeper or you could end up with dangerous pressure.
 
I do it differently, I try to determine which bullet shoots best in that particular rifle, by loading as many dif. bullets as possible. Then i use the best bullet to develop powder type and charges.
 
ben hunchak said:
I do it differently, I try to determine which bullet shoots best in that particular rifle, by loading as many dif. bullets as possible. Then i use the best bullet to develop powder type and charges.
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Good call Ben, I love reading your posts because they're always something wise i hadn't thought of.
 
How about if you want to shoot several different bullets through the same gun? I assume you mean bullet weights. Or do you mean all the same weights from different manufacturers?(that doesn't sound right)
 
If you do decide that 1 3shot group is the one to go with, retest it twice to see if it is repeatable. Since a flyer can fall within the group as well, one tight group does not always mean it will be THE load.

As a load is getting worked up from min to max+ you will notice patterns of the groups opening and closing as you go through your powder loads. Usually you will end up with 2 tight groups as you step up incrementally from minimum load to maximum load (and sometimes beyond max if your gun handles it).
 
CyaN1de said:
If you do decide that 1 3shot group is the one to go with, retest it twice to see if it is repeatable. Since a flyer can fall within the group as well, one tight group does not always mean it will be THE load.

As a load is getting worked up from min to max+ you will notice patterns of the groups opening and closing as you go through your powder loads. Usually you will end up with 2 tight groups as you step up incrementally from minimum load to maximum load (and sometimes beyond max if your gun handles it).
Click to expand...

Though im no real expert i agree with doing more than 1 3 shot group. The way i see it is i could be choosing the worst load and just get really lucky with where the bullets land, so ive been doing 10 shot groups of each weight just incase.
 
I usually load in .3gr steps although the 65.3gr load looks like a great place to start. I also shoot 4 round groups to rule out a flyer.. or flinch with the big bangers.

I would take the 65.3 load and work on seating depth as I am sure you could shrink that group up some. I usually go .010 into lands, .010off, then .040 steps.. .050, .090, .130. One of these should shoot a lot better then the rest and it might not be the depth close to the lands.

Good luck looks like you have a good start so far.
 
Start changing your col now, see if that tightens up your groups. I find with magnum cases that changes less then .5 don't do much, so that's what I usually set my steps in. That's assuming that this is the bullet you want to stick with. I generally go through quite a few bullets (where possible) to see what the rifle likes before I start fine tuning the load, FWIW - dan
 
Now you did it, your on the slippery slope of load development. Lots of combinations to try your loading supplys will multiply. Have fun and play safe
 
The one thing I have learned with load development is that when you get a load that shows good results is to only adjust one thing at a time.keep your charge the same and play with OAL.or maintain the OAL and play with the charge don't do both at the same time.:cool:
 
I'd have said the 66.7 gr. group is the tightest, with one flyer. Did you try that load for reproduceability?
 
You might need to keep bumping the powder charge up. Do you have a Barnes manual? Hodgdon shows 71grs as max with your powder and 180gr bullet. The TSX might not go that high, so confirm in the manual.
 
Yup, retest.
The 66.7 grn group looks pretty good. Right now, I think 4 shot groups are good enough, that allows for one flyer and (possible) group of 3.
Once you have settled on one or 2 loads, start playing with smaller powder change increments, like 0.2 or 0.3 grains and move to 5 or 6 shot groups to get better validity.
Once you have settled on one load for sure, then play with seating depth.
 
Since your using TSX's make sure you don't get too close to the rifling as pressures will be higher then standard bullets , I believe Barnes suggests no closer then .030" to the lands and suggests starting at .050" off the lands for some reason. It looks like your on to something with one of the loads and as others have suggested it might be tweaked to be even better. Good Luck!!
 
So, I decided to go with those two weights that turned out good. Gonna do 2 more 5 round test batches and see whats up then start playing with OAL.

With these I just set the bullets to 5 thou under the max OAL in my book. I guess I gotta figure out where the lands are after that and then play with the length a bit.

Thanks all for your help. Its pretty gratifying loading something that shoots sooooo much better than factory ammo in your gun.
 
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