Opinion on lader test?

[jca57jd]

I hope everybody had a good Christmas! I did a lader test today for load development on my 243 Winchester, at 300 yds. I am going to post a picture of my results and I would like to get some of your opinions on what you see and what you would do. I had 3 shots for each charge and you will notice that I shot 2 of each on one lader and then 1 on another. After doing that I realized that it probably wasn't the best thing to do. I started at 43.2 and went up to 44.5 without any pressure signs but I was hesitant to go higher do to it being the cooler part of the year.

243 Winchester 105 Berger hybrids h4831sc

Charges and chrono results
43.2gr - 2803, 2780, 2813 fps
43.4gr - 2799, 2825, 2850 fps
43.7gr - 2819, 2864, 2830 fps
44gr - 2858, 2871, 2893 fps
44.2gr - 2869, 2871, 2883 fps
44.5gr - 2915, 2904, 2871 fps

Thanks for opinions! Happy Holidays!!

 

[royinidaho]

ES seems to be high for each of the 3 shots for same powder weight.

Primer selection may be suspect.... or possibly powder selection?

The ladder test didn't seem to me to reveal a significant trend...

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Greyfox]

I would meticulously load 18 or so of the 44.5gr loads, and at 100 yards, shoot three or four, three shot groups focusing on shot precision. I would shoot the rest through a Magnetspeed, or optical chronograph(being very aware of lighting variations) to get velocity. If my groups were sub .5 MOA and my ES under 15FPS, I might refine but would be pretty happy. If not, I would try a primer or seating depth change. Next powder, next bullet. I think 300 yard testing can induce too many variables for precision testing, but from eyeballing your results, and looking at your vertical dispersion, you could very well be close to a good load using the high end(44-44.5gr) of your loads/velocity. IMO

 

[jca57jd]

Alright guys. I ordered quickload the other day so I can use it in load development. I enjoy reloading and precision shooting so much, I figured it was a wise investment.

I did some more shooting today! I shot another 3 shot group from 300yds using 44.5gr of h4831sc. I also shot a 3 shot group at 300yds with 41.6gr of H100V and 46.4gr of H1000 (no load development with either powder yet). The h100v looked very promising! It produced a group just under .5 moa. I'm going to load up some more of those and try them out again for sure. I'm just a little concerned on h100v temperature sensitivity. Tell what your thoughts are!

Thanks!

41.6gr of h100v
1.5"

 

[jca57jd]

44.5 h4831sc
Just under 3"

 

[jca57jd]

46.4 h1000
5"