Wondering if anybody has suggestions on interpreting ladder test data, and choosing the “best” load to take to the next stage of development (ie. bullet seating depth)?
I am working on a hand load with H1000 and 175g LRX bullet in my 300WinMag. The 175g already appears promising but I may also try the 190g. My struggle now is picking the “best” one or two loads from the ladder test. I started low and worked up in 0.5gr increments using the data on Hodgdon’s webpage. Based on the velocity data, I didn’t really see any appreciable “nodes” or flat spots in the plotted data. Maybe around 76.5-77.0g and 78.0g. All these loads were using 0.050” seating depth off the rifling.
I’m not too terribly interested in finding the max limit, I stopped at 79.0gr without seeing any signs of pressure or difficult bolt lift or anything like that. Ideally, I’d like to be between 2950-3050 fps and consistently getting sub-1” groups at 100 which it’s already doing pretty consistently if I do my part. 7/10 groups were about 1” or less, and 2 of the >1” groups had one flier where I believe I yanked the shot (so I don’t have a lot of trust in those groups sizes #6 & #9). In my testing, I’m noticing a good place to be is between 76.5-77.0g or 77.5-78.0g based on preference with velocity range and also the SD and groups on papers.
I am thinking the next step will be trying 0.075” and 0.100” seating depth in 3 or 5 rd groups each.
It’s very likely that I’m over thinking this process, but any suggestions or guidance would be appreciated!
I am working on a hand load with H1000 and 175g LRX bullet in my 300WinMag. The 175g already appears promising but I may also try the 190g. My struggle now is picking the “best” one or two loads from the ladder test. I started low and worked up in 0.5gr increments using the data on Hodgdon’s webpage. Based on the velocity data, I didn’t really see any appreciable “nodes” or flat spots in the plotted data. Maybe around 76.5-77.0g and 78.0g. All these loads were using 0.050” seating depth off the rifling.
I’m not too terribly interested in finding the max limit, I stopped at 79.0gr without seeing any signs of pressure or difficult bolt lift or anything like that. Ideally, I’d like to be between 2950-3050 fps and consistently getting sub-1” groups at 100 which it’s already doing pretty consistently if I do my part. 7/10 groups were about 1” or less, and 2 of the >1” groups had one flier where I believe I yanked the shot (so I don’t have a lot of trust in those groups sizes #6 & #9). In my testing, I’m noticing a good place to be is between 76.5-77.0g or 77.5-78.0g based on preference with velocity range and also the SD and groups on papers.
I am thinking the next step will be trying 0.075” and 0.100” seating depth in 3 or 5 rd groups each.
It’s very likely that I’m over thinking this process, but any suggestions or guidance would be appreciated!
