So I just bought a new rifle and these are my first rifle rounds I have loaded for. So I followed Barnes specs for the 223 match burner and loaded from min to max for Varget and tac powders for their 69 grain match burners what load should I use to sight my gun in so I can read what the ladder test is telling me
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Ladder test questions
- Thread starter mese341
- Start date
I'm not seeing any photos of your groups. That being said, my understanding of the ladder and OCW tests is to look for two or three side by side groups with the smallest vertical dispersion. These should indicate where potential accuracy nodes may be. Reload for these areas in finer increments for another test to choose a charge weight that is tolerant of small variations without causing an enlarged group size. Then experiment with bullet seating depth for the chosen load to tighten up the groups. Seating depth can be anywhere from touching the lands to as far out as 0.150" off the lands.
You can use just about any commercial round to get it close but the different loads will move around on the target. Some will hit low left and change to high right or vice versa. Like above what you are looking for is consecutive loads that shoot to the same poi in relation to the aim point. If you work up to your max load using .020 bullet jump to the lands, do not go to touching the lands to start your seating depth test. The closer to the lands you get the higher the pressure will be.
If you’re rifle is new and unfired, the loads you find may change after a couple hundred rounds. Be sure to give it a very good cleaning before you start. The barrel break in process is aggravating but I do them regardless. Don’t know that it helps but it definitely doesn’t hurt. I would get some cheap ammo for the break in and rough sight in. Then you’ll have some more empty brass.
Buy cheap ammo. Shoot almost all of it (<200). Clean it. Shoot remaining ammo to foul and confirm zero. Use search feature here on ladder tests. @Skookum has done some excellent write ups on ladder testing and has a very intriguing theory on OCW. Once you perform ladder test, then OCW, seating depth, etc. That's my take, but most importantly, shoot it, a lot. Enjoy.
Whatever is your lowest powder charge in your ladder test, make ten more cases of that very load. Clean the barrel with your cleaner of choice. Push dry patches until they are clean. Get it bore sighted, fire one at 100 yards, dial a correction, fire four more rounds. Give it a cool down, adjust 100 yard zero if needed, and fire four more for a group. That last one out of ten use as a sighter for your ladder test distance, adjust as needed, proceed with ladder test.
I do not want the barrel contaminated with any other powder or bullet fouling than the powder and bullet I am about to use for load testing. If you're a hand loader, own it, do not buy centerfire ammo, make it.
Perfect way to learn. This forum taught me volumes just by reading what more experienced guys had to say. Tens of thousands of rounds later, I've developed my own procedures that tend to work from .224 bore to .338 bore.
