My first attempt at a ladder test.

[tickled pink]

Well here is my first attempt at a ladder test with Sierra 69 gr. Match Kings with Varget and CCI BR4 primers. It didn't go very well because after I shot 8 shots I broke one of the legs on the plastic chair I was using. Anyway the numbers are not correct that I wrote on the target. The 1st. group was 5 shots and I couldn't see them very well because they were in the black so I drove down to see where they were hitting. I started out shooting 24.0 thru 24.4 grains which made a pretty small group. Then I shot 3 more which were 24.5-24.7 grains which I pulled the last one. Then after driving back I broke one of the legs trying to move the chair while sitting in it. (DAMN). The rest of the shots were not good because I couldn't hold steady with a 3 legged chair.

In conclusion I have read that others have had excellent luck with 24 grains of Varget and it looks like it works good with my new 18" WOA upper. The first 5 shots were less than 1/2".

 

[Fester47]

Need a more stable rest. Sandbag it. Big issue is you need 300 yards or more. Shoot at whit paper and use permanent marker on the bullets to keep track of what load you shot and where it went. Use a chronograph. Read this, Long-Range Load Development

 

[steve123]

I've found a nearly foolproof way to find a load quick. I load in .1 grain increments instead of .2 grain increments.

I take a few extra rounds with me in the middle charge range to get centered on target at 300Y for a AR or 400Y for a accurate bolt rifle.

Pick a calm day and go out early to avoid mirage.

I shoot each charge starting from the lowest and go down each time to mark the hit. Doing this is a PITA but it gives the barrel a chance to cool the same amount for each shot. Once pressure signs appear on the brass I stop. Any remaining rounds left get pulled apart when I get home.

If you've shot consistently the patterns will be obvious. There will be 3-4 consecutive shots that have smaller vertical but can also be tight together on the horizontal. The scatter nodes should be obvious as well.

Here's a load I just worked up for my AR using the ladder method I described. 3 shots in succession on paper hit in 1/2" of vertical and were 1.2" wide. I picked the middle of those three, charged some up at that grain weight and here are the results at distance. Note the small vertical. Top hits were 285Y, middle three at 400Y and bottom four at 589Y. It took me 15 rounds to come up with this load. Since then I have found that seating the bullet back .005 improved 5 shot groups at 100Y by 1/8".

It was very windy when I shot these on steel a week later, it was the least windy day of that week though. That's why the shots are spread across the steel.

 

[Pedro23]

I'm not trying to come off as an jerk OP. No mater what you have on paper every shot is on you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. You ever tried shooting prone with an rear bag? Buy some Crown Royal and enjoy it. Then fill the purple bag with sand or wool socks. I hope your load development goes well and look forward to seeing your results.