Load work up...seating depth test first OR charge weight first?

[Mike 338]

That is exactly how I do it. Except I don't use steps 2, 3, and 4. And step 5 I only adj the seating depth but very rarely need to do this. Much of the ability to shortcut this is because of the bullets that I use. They simply do not care about seating depth. Very rarely do we make a seating depth adj to get good sub moa accuracy. This is in factory rifles and custom rifles. Full custom rifles seem to shoot slightly better. Makes it hard to sell custom rifles.

Steve

I'll be buy'in some of that!

 

[Mike 338]

That is exactly how I do it. Except I don't use steps 2, 3, and 4. And step 5 I only adj the seating depth but very rarely need to do this. Much of the ability to shortcut this is because of the bullets that I use. They simply do not care about seating depth. Very rarely do we make a seating depth adj to get good sub moa accuracy. This is in factory rifles and custom rifles. Full custom rifles seem to shoot slightly better. Makes it hard to sell custom rifles.

Steve

Ha ha, sounds good to me.

I've recently tried starting a new bullet at .010" off and shooting one shot each over a magnetospeed in .2 grain increments. I took the two closest speeds and split the difference and tried it out. Worked great. It was a know good bullet, powder for that caliber.

Cat skin'in

 

[J E Custom]

Do you like to do a seating depth test first or charge weight test first?

Seating depth is one of the last thing I adjust for accuracy.

The first thing I do is look for a good powder charge and primer combination that gives me the lowest Standard deviation with the bullet weight I would like to use.

After good SDs are found, Then I start working on the best/most accurate bullet design and the seating depth for it.

Everyone may do it differently but this Has been the best way for me to find accuracy with minimum firings/Test.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Dirty45]

If mag fed, set to max length that will load reliably. Then charge weight.

Otherwise, set to 0.015" off and find best charge. Then adjust seating depth. I use the berger method for testing depth...usually at 250yds (max at my place).

 

[jrock]

always weight first.

 

[Mikecr]

Seating depth first.
Seating is coarse, powder is fine tune.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Fit mag. charge weight then length.

 

[Canhunter35]

If you look at it that way then I guess I too start with seating depth as I always figure out the max depth that is convenient for the rifle before I start working up charge weight. Then one charge weight is found the only way that seating depth can be adjusted is deeper to find better accuracy, if needed.

Steve

This what I do also

 

[Greyfox]

I will test charge weight first. I do give a lot of thought to the chosen seating depth that I start with based on mine or others experiences with the particular bullet/design. In the absence of any info, I start at .020" off the lands, or,
"magazine length" if .020" results in a COAL that exceeds magazine length.

 

[Lonewolf74]

Seating depth first.
Seating is coarse, powder is fine tune.

Do you just pick a mid charge weight of your chosen powder to do the seating depth test?

I do a "rough" ladder to get an idea of charge weight then do seating depth then fine tuning.

 

[Mikecr]

Do you just pick a mid charge weight of your chosen powder to do the seating depth test?

Yes, just as Berger recommends.

I do a "rough" ladder to get an idea of charge weight then do seating depth then fine tuning.

Well, if you're doing a ladder at a poor CBTO, your ladder will be scattered all over hell.
Then all the fine tuning in the world won't get within a ball park of best.
You can't do a proper ladder until brass is fire formed to stable capacity anyway. And you can test for best coarse seating while fire forming(well before ladder testing). After ladder, and fine tuning of powder for tight grouping, tweak seating again, within a +/- few thou window, for best group shaping. This is what people think is seating testing,, it is not. Not even close.

 

[woods]

Charge weight first, one load at each charge weight, progressively plus .3 to .5 grains each load. Looking only at velocity and pressure signs. When I find a charge weight that will deliver an appropriate for caliber velocity at a safe pressure, use it. Could call it an Audette's ladder but reading those nodes is like reading tea leaves and don't seem to be too repeatable.

Then seating depth starting at.025" to .030" going up in .015" all the way to .100" off looking at group size but mainly lowest velocity Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation. Velocity will go down the deeper you seat so you are fine tuning velocity also with the seating depth test. If necessary some fine tuning around choice.

IMO lowest ES & SD means accuracy most likely to be stabilized in varying conditions, IOW environmental factors (altitude and temperature) are mitigated.

Once found, load a whole box and use for hunting for the next few years. Work on other calibers etc.

 

[Reload10]

Good information in here, thanks for sharing.

 

[LaHunter]

I get powder charge first, while the seating depth is .020 from the lands, like Greyfox stated above. Once I establish that, then I optimize seating depth. That being said, I shoot Accubonds, which have been pretty 'forgiving' on seating depth for me. Ballistic Tips have also been pretty forgiving on seating depth for me. It seems that the VLD type bullets like Bergers are much less forgiving on seating depth, so maybe that is why getting seating depth first with these type bullets is best.