Rifle Load Development!!!

[flounder]

So there have been a few threads on here about firearms and accuracy so I wanted to post of a recent load development session I did on Sunday to give you an idea of what is achievable. This is with my new .284 Win.

I started out doing nothing more then firing a few rounds through the new barrel with minimal powder charges, 162 Amax over 51.5 grains of H4831SC to be exact. The only goal here was to get the rifle sighted in on paper at 100 yards since this was a completely new build and the scope had never been mounted.

It took 4 shots total to get it completely zero'd at 100 yards and all shots including the first one were taken at 100 yards. No shooting at 25 or 50 and moving back. People seem to think it takes boxes and boxes of ammo but if you know what your doing, its really not that hard.

The goal of the first few shots is to do nothing more then get it on paper and help get any burs in the barrel from the machining process, cleared out. I did not clean between rounds. All I did was run a patch with solvent on the end of a jag (no brush) down the barrel after each 2 rounds. I ran this patch down only 2 times. This was just to help remove powder residue and excess copper from initial firings.

Onto the load development with my match loads. Now that I was on paper, it was time to do a ladder/OCW test. The goal of this test is to find out the harmonics of the barrel that creates an accuracy node. You can have different powder charges that will all shoot in the exact same spot (accuracy node) so the goal is to find those nodes and then go with the charge you want for a velocity standpoint and brass life standpoint. The goal is to get a velocity you want without running super high pressures in the brass which will effect brass life.

To do the ladder test, I set up a target at 300 yards and fired 1 shot each at the exact same spot on the target. What will happen is that the rounds will start to climb higher and higher on the paper and different powder charges will group together even though they are faster or slower. This is due to barrel harmonics and exit times for the bullet to leave the barrel.

FYI, my match round is a 180 grain Berger VLD Match Target Bullet which was used in all the below testing as thats my goto bullet for now.

My charges for my ladder test were 1 shot each at

51.5 grains

52 grains

52.5 grains

53 grains

53.5 grains

54 grains

54.5 grains

55 grains

After I found my accuracy node (i.e. 53-54.5 all shot at the exact same elevation). So now I go back and fine tune my loads for further testing at 100 yards. I went and loaded 3 rounds each at the following charge weights.

53.5 grains

53.7 grains

53.9 grains

54.1 grains

54.3 grains

54.5 grains

So now I set up the chronograph so while Im shooting groups at 100, Im also using the crono to record my velocity, extreme spread, and standard deviation in the velocities. (These are all things that come into play with finding a good load for long range and precision shooting.

Here are my results. I shot from the smallest powder weight to the largest going from bottom left, middle left, top left, dead center, bottom right, top right. The bottom left target is partially my fault due to pulling one of the shots. Between shots 2 and 3 on the bottom right target, we actually got up and moved the picnic table and readjusted everything which caused me to throw a shot as well. Notice, I was shooting for group size only!. Now that I pick the charge weight I like, I just adjust my scope the appropriate increment and Im dead nuts center.

Here is the target. Remember 6 three shot groups on this target. The mediocre charges measured at .5 inches while the final load I settled on measured .3 inches.

Edited May 16, 2011 by flounder

[fizzer]

Might seem obvious, but do you use a solid benchrest during your load development? I normally shoot off front and rear bags and have been considering a rest, but just need to really decide what level of accuracy I am comfortable with. Thanks for this helpful post.

[flounder]

This was shot off a front rest/rear bag from a rickity old picnic table. Ive done load dev shooting prone with bipod and bag, from a bench using bipod, and no rear bag, etc. To get reliable results, you want as little as movement as possible so I would suggest using a rest/bag in the front and a bag in the rear for best results.

[kawi kid]

This is the fun parts. Its like you get to play mad scientist and I like that.

[Beegreenstrings]

hey seuss! That is some fine work man!

More than I ever put into it. I study the standard guides to much to venture into what you are doing. Those are some damn fine groups though.

[vf1000ride]

I did the same thing for my match ammo years ago until I found the speeds and accuracy that suited me. Don't forget to mention that if you are looking to keep the same recipe for a long time you need to buy your supplies in bulk. Theoretically if you change to a different lot of powder, bullets, brass or primers everything you worked for in the initial tests can be changed. When I was making match ammo for my Garands I would load 3-4 thousand rounds at a time so I would know I had enough ammo for 2 years worth of shooting without having to do any adjustment to the load formula.

Unless I missed it why did you settle for 3rnd groups and not a larger testing group at each powder weight?

With the semi-auto guns I am used to, I shoot 5-10rnd groups to get a better statistical average. With the Garands I shoot 8rnd groups just as it makes loading easier. Granted even with all the mods and load development I put into my Garand it is just at 1MOA. For a 65 year old semi-auto battle rifle with iron sights, she doesn't shoot bad. As an example with military surplus ball ammo it shoots into 6 inch groups at 100 yards. So to agree with Flounder, you can see that with handloading and doing proper testing you can make almost any rifle shoot better, some can be very much better.

[schmuckingham]

So how are my 5.56 dies?

[flounder]

I did the same thing for my match ammo years ago until I found the speeds and accuracy that suited me. Don't forget to mention that if you are looking to keep the same recipe for a long time you need to buy your supplies in bulk. Theoretically if you change to a different lot of powder, bullets, brass or primers everything you worked for in the initial tests can be changed. When I was making match ammo for my Garands I would load 3-4 thousand rounds at a time so I would know I had enough ammo for 2 years worth of shooting without having to do any adjustment to the load formula.

Unless I missed it why did you settle for 3rnd groups and not a larger testing group at each powder weight?

With the semi-auto guns I am used to, I shoot 5-10rnd groups to get a better statistical average. With the Garands I shoot 8rnd groups just as it makes loading easier. Granted even with all the mods and load development I put into my Garand it is just at 1MOA. For a 65 year old semi-auto battle rifle with iron sights, she doesn't shoot bad. As an example with military surplus ball ammo it shoots into 6 inch groups at 100 yards. So to agree with Flounder, you can see that with handloading and doing proper testing you can make almost any rifle shoot better, some can be very much better.

True, different brass, powder lots, and primers can all effect your load. As far as the 3 shot groups go, I use 3 shots just due to cost of components, plus, I am a firm believer in 3 shots show what the rifle is capable of while 5 shots show what the shooter is capable of. If it puts 3 shots into the same hole, the only thing 5 is going to do is show you shooter error or error induced due to the barrel getting hot and stringing the shots if you dont keep the same time between shots.

My new rifle has a MASSIVE contour barrel so it wasnt even hot after firing those 18 shots with only 10 seconds between shots. Im using a Bartlein MTU contour barrel finished at 28".

-----------------A--------- B-------C------D

MTU---------1.250"----2.750"---.930"----26"

Edited May 17, 2011 by flounder

[vf1000ride]

That's cool. I have never done a full load buildup for match ammo in a bolt action gun so maybe it is that much easier and more consistent.

I always ran the Garands with a full enbloc (8rds) as the accuracy of the gun changes from first shot to the last in the clip. Best thing I can figure is due to the speed at which the bolt closes and how good the lockup of the bolt is on each round. The first one from the clip is harder to strip out and amazingly enough will always end up shooting to a different poi than the next 6, the last shot is the same for some reason it always ends up being a small amount off from the rest. It was helpful to see where each round in the clip was going to go as I did my load buildup. The shooter can also affect accuracy when you single load rounds in a Garand if you don't allow the bolt to close at the same speed each time.

Here is a target I shot at 300yds prone. First shot was bottom left, the following 7 shots started at bottom right and worked their way up and left as the gun heated up. I can't say it was my best work with the gun but I have always kept the scan of this target as it really shows the first round flier you can expect every time with my rifle.

[flounder]

That's cool. I have never done a full load buildup for match ammo in a bolt action gun so maybe it is that much easier and more consistent.

I always ran the Garands with a full enbloc (8rds) as the accuracy of the gun changes from first shot to the last in the clip. Best thing I can figure is due to the speed at which the bolt closes and how good the lockup of the bolt is on each round. The first one from the clip is harder to strip out and amazingly enough will always end up shooting to a different poi than the next 6, the last shot is the same for some reason it always ends up being a small amount off from the rest. It was helpful to see where each round in the clip was going to go as I did my load buildup. The shooter can also affect accuracy when you single load rounds in a Garand if you don't allow the bolt to close at the same speed each time.

Here is a target I shot at 300yds prone. First shot was bottom left, the following 7 shots started at bottom right and worked their way up and left as the gun heated up. I can't say it was my best work with the gun but I have always kept the scan of this target as it really shows the first round flier you can expect every time with my rifle.

Yep, Allot of people dont realize that the cold bore shot (first round from a cold barrel) generally has a different point of impact then all the rest.