Help: First Ladder Test...now what

[SealT5]

What kind of thrower, scale, and dies are you using?

When you started was this a new barrel with virgin brass?

Joe

 

[Deleted member 107666]

New barrel, new brass...I fire formed 50 pieces at 73 gr....then started testing.

I'm measuring the slow way...metal teaspoons, scooping into a Dillon bean scale and measuring to the kernel with a powder trickler, dies are redding comp, the 3 die micrometer set...(zeroing out the scale after every 5 rounds or so to make sure I didnt bump it)

My wife would love it if I could speed the process up, I live in the garage lately, but it's all I can do for now. I picked the garage for the stable for under my bench instead of carpet and there are no AC vents in the garage to affect the scale with airflow

 

[SealT5]

I understand for the sake of time and components that holding off load development until the barrel speeds up and settles down is less than Ideal for your situation or most people, but it is recommended.

How about doing another "Satterlee" test over an OCW Target. 3 shots at each charge weight and use the avg velocity of each charge weight. This will both show you what you want to see on the chrono as well as on paper. ES is too sporadic to chance basing everything off of one reading. That is similar to what I do. I see a lot of new reloaders fixated on the high node because of the math but in reality many find greater load stability and accuracy in a lower node. Just something to think about.

And I'll say this because I feel like I offended you on Rokslide. Everything I say is with love. Just trying to help a brotha out

Joe

 

[Deleted member 107666]

I understand for the sake of time and components that holding off load development until the barrel speeds up and settles down is less than Ideal for your situation or most people, but it is recommended.

How about doing another "Satterlee" test over an OCW Target. 3 shots at each charge weight and use the avg velocity of each charge weight. This will both show you what you want to see on the chrono as well as on paper. ES is too sporadic to chance basing everything off of one reading. That is similar to what I do. I see a lot of new reloaders fixated on the high node because of the math but in reality many find greater load stability and accuracy in a lower node. Just something to think about.

And I'll say this because I feel like I offended you on Rokslide. Everything I say is with love. Just trying to help a brotha out

Joe

No man, no butthurt at all, if I gave that impression it was not on purpose. I'm grateful for everyone's inputs.

Looking back, I do wish I'd have loaded up 3 rounds at each charge weight base on that ES.

I also think I may have ran with a less than optical seating depth as I wanted to load as long as practical. I had 2 good groups. .60 moa .060 jump when fire forming and testing seating at same time. But I went with a slightly worse grouping depth of .010 as even that 73gr was a slight compressed load in virgin brass.

I think I will revisit. 060 jump with a quick 2 or 3 groups...from there, I'll run another charge weight test.

Based on the previously pictured charge weight test, would you start the test any higher on the charge weight, or go all the way back to 74?

Thanks again for the inputs, its starting to click, slowly.

Can say how frustrated I'll be if I find out I missed the node all together by only loading one at each charge....best to remove all doubt though and run it again like you suggest.

 

[SealT5]

Personally I would load 4 rounds in .3 increments from 74 up to max for the sake of things But here I would do .3 increments from 76.4 up to 77.6 with a 10 or 20 thou jump and 2-4 thou neck tension. Post your target but your looking for correlating data between the target and chrono. You should see a flat spot in velocity as well as POI in your groups. After that pick the middle group in the discovered node and tighten things up with different seating depths. I've only shot hybrids in 6mm/6.5mm but always found my depth between 5 & 20 thou jump.

Another thing I noticed is you started testing with 1 fouler. I like to do all my shooting on a good and fouled bore. If you clean to bare metal before range trips shoot 5-10rds depending on Barrel.

Joe

 

[Deleted member 107666]

Graph of OCW...disregard the scribbles...I haven't graphed anything since HS. Was ran with NO chrono on the barrel. Graph is plotting center point of each 3 shot group in relation to the POA (the X).

Thinking 77-78, the POI of the 3 groups was very similar (and flat)...group size was .5-.75 MOA. Beginning to think that's as good as I can shoot a 10lb 300wm right now.

Guessing that was my node, attached are some pics from before at the low end, 77gr with .010 seating depth and today at 77gr and .060 jump...not really sure what to make of the seating depths......the .060 seems to have less vertical and more uniform groups??

What next?
Seating depth test at 77.5
Change primers at 77.5 and .060 jump

Chrono today on 4 at 77.5gr
ES 22
SS 9.7
Ave 2981

 

[ShtrRdy]

With your hunt quickly approaching I would load some more at 77.5 gr and 0.060" off lands and just get some more experience with it. See if it will repeat. Take it out to further distances if you can.

 

[Deleted member 107666]

I think you're right. May try a quick test with CCIs for ES and group size (currently shooting Federal GM215Ms) and see if that changes anything for the better.

But thanks for the QC, just needed some reassurance that I found a decent node and time to verify it at range.

 

[Deleted member 107666]

Try a CCI 250 primer with #3

Sorted bullets, no real change in my 215m ES, but will continue to do it, too easy not too.

Did run 30 rounds over a chrono with 3 dif primers. 10 of each. Pretty crazy results.

Fed GM215s: ES 25, SD 9.8, Ave 2981
Win LRM: ES 41, SD 16.8, Ave 2996
CCI 250: ES 8, SD 3.6, Ave 2988

CCIs grouped at .66

Im not sure I can shoot this 300wm much better than 1/2 moa, so im pretty happy. I think groups will tighten up a little more as I get better behind the rifle.

 

[L.Sherm]

CCI 250: ES 8, SD 3.6, Ave 2988

C

What load?

 

[Deleted member 107666]

What load?

77.5gr H1000 (middle of that OCW)
.060 jump
.002 neck tension

 

[L.Sherm]

Take it out to 500 and see how it does.
Heres a little scenario why I never do load development on virgin brass. This weekend I was cycling the last of my ADG brass for my 30-28 would only get to 3016 no matter how much powder of H 1000 I put to it and I was giving them a pretty good dose. I was beginning to think I had a slow barrel so I thought what the heck let me try a once fired brass with the exact same charge I had just tried on a piece of virgin brass.
Well it gained 75 FPS over the virgin brass, same powder, same charge only thing different was virgin vrs once fired brass. Oh by the way all with Bereger 215 and CCI 250 primers
Barrel has 45 rounds down it now the 45th one was 3093 FPS with once fired brass.

 

[L.Sherm]

My ES was 6 when I was cycling my virgin 28 Nosler brass but just imagine if you did load development on virgin brass and then loaded backup once fired brass what you would have with that scenario.

 

[Deleted member 107666]

Big thanks for the suggestion on CCI.

My barrel has 180 rounds on it now, I'm guessing around 3000 is going to be my max at 77.5