How much time and effort do you give a bullet, powder.

[Dirtrax]

Sometimes the combo you want just isn't right for you. Love, and ammo, are they really that different?

 

[Joefrazell]

I did give up on the load with the 215's and h1000. Tried 200 eldx's and h4831sc. Its shooting great. My barrel just didn't like that combo. O well.

 

[yorke-1]

morning, ALOT of time, that's why the procedure is called
handloading. this procedure takes yrs. of experience,
patiences, reading and conversing with other
handloaders. never ending learning process.
justme gbot tum

It's really not that complicated. I get a kick out of folks making reloading out to be some high level, advanced skill set. Loading .5 MOA ammo isn't tough; you crank that kind of stuff out on a progressive a lot of times.

Here's what I suggest for well established cartridges with readily available load data:

I don't sort or prep my brass beyond an initial trimming (unless neck turning is required). I don't mess with primer pockets or weight sorting or any of that, regardless of the brand of brass. I've done my own testing and came to the conclusion that all that isn't worth my time and doesn't show a meaningful improvement in group size. I do anneal most of brass every firing though.

Pick a good bullet that will suit your needs (hunting or target). Reach out to the manufacturer of that bullet and see if they have a recommended distance from the lands that they use, otherwise just go with a mag length OAL.

Next, pick an appropriate powder. Start by looking at a reloading manual from the bullet or powder maker that you're using. They'll typically show a specific powder which performed best for them. If you're new to working with the specific cartridge or rifle, start at the bottom charge and work your way up in increments of roughly 1% of total case capacity. For example, if a .223 case holds roughly 30gr H20 I'll work up in .3gr increments. A 308 sized case would be around .5gr and a large case like a RUM I'd go as much as 1.0gr increments. Load up 3 rounds at each step and go try them out. Somewhere in that process you'll see a load which groups better than the rest. Take that load and retest it along with rounds loaded with a charge .2gr over and .2gr under. I don't worry about velocity until I've found a reasonably accurate load.

If I don't get satisfactory results after this test (usually about 24 shots fired) I'll move on to the next powder. If I don't satisfactory results after testing 3 powders I'll give up on the bullet. I've only had two rifles under .338 which wouldn't group under .5 MOA using this process; one factory gun and one custom (with two barrels). Both guns had improperly cut chambers which caused the issues. I expect hunting rifles over .338 to shoot .75 MOA or better with an appropriate hunting bullet and I've never had one fail to meet my expectations.

When working with wildcats, odd bullets or other unusual chamberings, the process is completely different.

 

[Joefrazell]

Load development is fairly easy with a good shooting rifle but the saying you can't hand load your way out of a bad barrel is so so true! I've been there.