knockemdown
New member
OK, so let's hear how everyone develops a load for their ARs.
Disclaimer: There is no RIGHT or WRONG way!
The reason for this post is that in some recent threads, there seemed to be ALOT confusion & muddling between developing a load, proving a load, and practicing shooting form on targets with an already proven load.
So, to start things off, I'll explain how I go about the 'shakedown' process, as I like to call it.
Another disclaimer: MY WAY IS NOT THE ONLY WAY
However, I do think it is a very concise & thorough way of honestly working up & proving a load.
It's kind of hybridization of the Ladder test, Dan Newberry's OCW and ILDM testing, all jumbled into one. I'm also farily certain that I'll miss a nugget here, or there & if I do, I'll edit to add it, accordingly.
Please know that I'm not trying to ram this down anyone's throat, so take it for whatever YOU think it's worth. Here goes...
First, choose your powder(s) and bullet(s) wisely!
Make sure the burn rates and bullet wieghts jive with your cartrdige and barrel twist rate.
Have an expected velocity you are trying to achieve, since today's powders are of enough quality to provide for very decent accuracy (assuming the fact that you've got a soundly built rifle that is capable of a fair degree of accuracy). Therefore, my ultimate powder determination will most likely be based on which one is runnin' the fastest, without sacrificing any/no accuracy to a slower perfoming powder...
Second, within the context of loading for an AR, don't worry about C.O.A.L!
Seat your chosen bullet to mag length and leave it be! Kiss, touch, jump or chase lands in your bolt guns 'til your heart's content, but don't sweat it with your AR reloads!
You want that sucker to FEED, and do it RELIABLY!
So sit back, relax & enjoy the liberating feeling & seat 'em all to 2.260"
Or, for the smaller calibers, keep the bullet seated one caliber deep in the case & rock on!
C, run ALL your loads through a chronograph! Like I said before, IF your rifle is well built, today's powders are good enough to provide for very decent accuracy, from one to the next. Sure, certain cartridges may prove somewhat more 'finicky' than the next, but in my experience, more than one powder will give you very good accuracy. So again, you need the chronograph to help you decide which powder to run!
Also, a chronograph will give you some indication as to when you are reaching your max. pressure, as evidenced by velocities 'leveling off' as powder charge increases. That means you've pretty much reached the performance threshold of that particular bullet/powder, so take heed!
Always use your chronograph!!!
FOUR, run a 'ladder test' to determine pressure.
For the .17s up to .22s, I ladder in .2gr increments.
Up to .257, ladder up in .3gr.
.284 & UP, .5 grains.
Start 10% off avg. max. listed charge wts of several reloading resources.
You can ladder with ONE shot, two shots, or three shots. Your choice, but all will provide a good idea of where to focus on in the next step.
One shot is really all you need to look for pressure signs like flattened primers, ejector swipes, 'ring around the web', etc.
If you are shooting a ladder with one shot per charge wt., shoot at the same target (same P.O.A.) and take note of where each shot hit (P.O.I.).
Running a ladder with two, or three shots at each powder wt. increment will give you some good data about that powder's potential. Consistent P.O.I., and group size will help you 'narrow' your search for the 'sweet spot' of that powder.
If you can find a decent 'mini-group' with a consistent P.O.I. and promising accuracy near/at the top of your ladder where pressure begins to show, then you are in good shape!
I don't like leaving velocity 'on the table', so this is what I look for.
Take notes to reference P.O.I. shifts as you go up in powder charge and the respective gains in velocity for later...
CINCO,
Once you've got some baseline velocity & group size data collected from your ladder tests, re-visit those loads where you've got a consistent P.O.I. above & below that charge wt. Hopefully, these loads are running within your ideal 'velocity window' that you are expecting from this rig. You may have found a remarkably consistent load, but it is running 10% off the velocity you are wanting to achieve.
If you're happy with that, then load a bunch up and shoot some 5 shot groups (or a single ten shot group) to see just how consistent that load really is.
HAVE YOUR CAMERA READY NOW,
cause this is where your load development is becoming conclusive to determining your rifle/load's accuracy potential )
A single target with five, 5 shot groups will SURELY tell you MUCH about how good that sucker shoots.
All the better if ya shoot it 'round robin', one shot at each target in turn, not five in a row at the same one...
Once you've got THAT part down, you can commence bragging & spamming the Interweb with the fruits of your labor, as evidenced by this single target.
(this is a joke, so friggin' LIGHTEN UP & laugh at it
)
Now that you've got your sweet, consistent & PROVEN load, you can then commence practicing your marksmanship skills by shooting 'dot drills' on single dot targets to keep yourself in good form.
BUT, without determining your rifle/load's accuracy potential, you'll never REALLY be able to determine if those dot drills are giving you feedback on your technique, or a manifestation of your lackluster load development.
OH yeah, one more thing I almost forgot. Do all of the above at a bare minimum of 100yds.
200yds is better yet!
And 300yds will REALLY separate the serious accuracy seekers from the internet cowboys!
In all seriousness, performing these tasks at longer distances will allow you to better see any vertical dispersion in your groups which could be exascerbated at further ranges. Your chrono #s will help in that regard too, as big swings in velocity (high ES) will come back & haunt you at distance!
Just as a reminder, this is just how I like 'shake down' a rifle & load. The joy in doing so is in the learning & proving of each of my rifle's capabilites, and if they lived up to my expectations of each. If'n I ain't satisfied, then I go right back to square one and do it again...
Thanks for your indulgence.
I'm looking forward to hearing how you guys like to develop loads to your own satisfaction.
good shootin'...
Fred
Disclaimer: There is no RIGHT or WRONG way!
The reason for this post is that in some recent threads, there seemed to be ALOT confusion & muddling between developing a load, proving a load, and practicing shooting form on targets with an already proven load.
So, to start things off, I'll explain how I go about the 'shakedown' process, as I like to call it.
Another disclaimer: MY WAY IS NOT THE ONLY WAY
However, I do think it is a very concise & thorough way of honestly working up & proving a load.
It's kind of hybridization of the Ladder test, Dan Newberry's OCW and ILDM testing, all jumbled into one. I'm also farily certain that I'll miss a nugget here, or there & if I do, I'll edit to add it, accordingly.
Please know that I'm not trying to ram this down anyone's throat, so take it for whatever YOU think it's worth. Here goes...
First, choose your powder(s) and bullet(s) wisely!
Make sure the burn rates and bullet wieghts jive with your cartrdige and barrel twist rate.
Have an expected velocity you are trying to achieve, since today's powders are of enough quality to provide for very decent accuracy (assuming the fact that you've got a soundly built rifle that is capable of a fair degree of accuracy). Therefore, my ultimate powder determination will most likely be based on which one is runnin' the fastest, without sacrificing any/no accuracy to a slower perfoming powder...
Second, within the context of loading for an AR, don't worry about C.O.A.L!
Seat your chosen bullet to mag length and leave it be! Kiss, touch, jump or chase lands in your bolt guns 'til your heart's content, but don't sweat it with your AR reloads!
You want that sucker to FEED, and do it RELIABLY!
So sit back, relax & enjoy the liberating feeling & seat 'em all to 2.260"
C, run ALL your loads through a chronograph! Like I said before, IF your rifle is well built, today's powders are good enough to provide for very decent accuracy, from one to the next. Sure, certain cartridges may prove somewhat more 'finicky' than the next, but in my experience, more than one powder will give you very good accuracy. So again, you need the chronograph to help you decide which powder to run!
Also, a chronograph will give you some indication as to when you are reaching your max. pressure, as evidenced by velocities 'leveling off' as powder charge increases. That means you've pretty much reached the performance threshold of that particular bullet/powder, so take heed!
Always use your chronograph!!!
FOUR, run a 'ladder test' to determine pressure.
For the .17s up to .22s, I ladder in .2gr increments.
Up to .257, ladder up in .3gr.
.284 & UP, .5 grains.
Start 10% off avg. max. listed charge wts of several reloading resources.
You can ladder with ONE shot, two shots, or three shots. Your choice, but all will provide a good idea of where to focus on in the next step.
One shot is really all you need to look for pressure signs like flattened primers, ejector swipes, 'ring around the web', etc.
If you are shooting a ladder with one shot per charge wt., shoot at the same target (same P.O.A.) and take note of where each shot hit (P.O.I.).
Running a ladder with two, or three shots at each powder wt. increment will give you some good data about that powder's potential. Consistent P.O.I., and group size will help you 'narrow' your search for the 'sweet spot' of that powder.
If you can find a decent 'mini-group' with a consistent P.O.I. and promising accuracy near/at the top of your ladder where pressure begins to show, then you are in good shape!
I don't like leaving velocity 'on the table', so this is what I look for.
Take notes to reference P.O.I. shifts as you go up in powder charge and the respective gains in velocity for later...
CINCO,
Once you've got some baseline velocity & group size data collected from your ladder tests, re-visit those loads where you've got a consistent P.O.I. above & below that charge wt. Hopefully, these loads are running within your ideal 'velocity window' that you are expecting from this rig. You may have found a remarkably consistent load, but it is running 10% off the velocity you are wanting to achieve.
If you're happy with that, then load a bunch up and shoot some 5 shot groups (or a single ten shot group) to see just how consistent that load really is.
HAVE YOUR CAMERA READY NOW,
cause this is where your load development is becoming conclusive to determining your rifle/load's accuracy potential )
A single target with five, 5 shot groups will SURELY tell you MUCH about how good that sucker shoots.
All the better if ya shoot it 'round robin', one shot at each target in turn, not five in a row at the same one...
Once you've got THAT part down, you can commence bragging & spamming the Interweb with the fruits of your labor, as evidenced by this single target.
(this is a joke, so friggin' LIGHTEN UP & laugh at it
Now that you've got your sweet, consistent & PROVEN load, you can then commence practicing your marksmanship skills by shooting 'dot drills' on single dot targets to keep yourself in good form.
BUT, without determining your rifle/load's accuracy potential, you'll never REALLY be able to determine if those dot drills are giving you feedback on your technique, or a manifestation of your lackluster load development.
OH yeah, one more thing I almost forgot. Do all of the above at a bare minimum of 100yds.
200yds is better yet!
And 300yds will REALLY separate the serious accuracy seekers from the internet cowboys!
In all seriousness, performing these tasks at longer distances will allow you to better see any vertical dispersion in your groups which could be exascerbated at further ranges. Your chrono #s will help in that regard too, as big swings in velocity (high ES) will come back & haunt you at distance!
Just as a reminder, this is just how I like 'shake down' a rifle & load. The joy in doing so is in the learning & proving of each of my rifle's capabilites, and if they lived up to my expectations of each. If'n I ain't satisfied, then I go right back to square one and do it again...
Thanks for your indulgence.
I'm looking forward to hearing how you guys like to develop loads to your own satisfaction.
good shootin'...
Fred
