For the ones running a 10 shot Ladder load for Load Dev

[Luked]

When you run your 10 shot load dev with a new bullet/powder combo.
Do you load only 10 rounds.
Or do you run 2 sets or more of 10 with the same load amount?
I am just starting out and have been trying to read and learn as much as I can about doing ladder tests.
And my thinking is if I had 2-3 10 shot data points that it would yield me more info.
Or is one round of 10 shots enough to find a node.
Just curious what you all think.

 

[pbroski]

IMO, 1 shot will not tell you anything at all.

In my experience, this is what is ideal. You only want to test the top 5 powder charges which will be about 1 percent apart. Testing the lower charges is a waste of time, because I would never pick a charge that is that low in velocity anyway.

For the top charge, I try to target max pressure or slightly above. So around 64000 to 65000 psi. Then the charges go down from there in 1 percent increments. So the charges could look something like this. 40.4, 40.8, 41.2, 41.6, 42.0, where 42.0 would be max pressure or above. I would shoot a minimum of 5 of each at 600 to 800 yards. Look where the bullet impacts are for each powder charge. Usually there will be 2 or sometimes (rarely) 3 powder charges that will impact at the same vertical plane. Select the powder charge in the middle and go from there. So say 41.2 and 41.6 group together. Use 41.4 grains.

 

[JFK]

I load up single rounds in .5gr increments to find pressure. Find it, back off, and load 10 or 20 to see how it shoots. Sometimes I’m done then. I wouldn’t burn through 30-40 bullets to find a “node”. Lots of information on here and the Hornady podcast that simplifies load development. Benchrest isn’t needed for hunting. Jump your bullets and things get a lot less temperamental in terms of seating depth.

 

[northernalpine]

I load up single rounds in .5gr increments to find pressure. Find it, back off, and load 10 or 20 to see how it shoots. Sometimes I’m done then. I wouldn’t burn through 30-40 bullets to find a “node”. Lots of information on here and the Hornady podcast that simplifies load development. Benchrest isn’t needed for hunting. Jump your bullets and things get a lot less temperamental in terms of seating depth.

Nailed it.

@Luked you can get as complex as you want, but keeping it simple gives you 98% of the end result.

Unless there is a specific safety consideration, I go down 2gr-2.5gr from book max and load in .5gr increments like @JFK does. Find pressure, back it .6-1gr and load up for accuracy/grouping.

The only general exception I’ve seen is with Vihtavouri powders, their published book data is horrendously low compared to other manufacturers.


This is worth a read:
Painless Load Development

 

[Luked]

OK so I might not have worded it correctly.
I have 2 sets of 10 rounds starting at max and moving down in power weight by .2 grains.
So Each .2 grain increment I have 2 rounds weighed the same.
My question should have been is doing more than 1 set of 10 better to have more data for the load dev.

 

[danhuntingmi]

Technically, you're only supposed to load one round per charge for ten shot ladder development.

What you're describing, several rounds per charge, is just standard load development.

Based on my experience I greatly favor standard load development where I primarily consider group size and secondarily velocity readings.

The exception is if I'm using a new cartridge, powder, or bullet weight then I do think this is a good way to get your real world velocity range to focus where you want to load your main testing at. No use loading multiple 3-5 shot groups at a very low velocity or over pressure.

 

[northernalpine]

If they’re already loaded, send it. The difference being shooting for accuracy and pressure instead of just shooting to find pressure. You may see good indicators, albeit limited, in your two shot group fluctuations if you take your time.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Let’s say you have an extreme spread with each load of 20, fairly conservative for a load that isn’t refined.

Here’s your string…

spread 2740-2760 - 2760 actual
Spread 2745-2765 - 2755 actual
Spread 2755-2775 - 2775 actual
Spread 2760-2780 - 2760 actual
And so on…

Does that make sense? The only way I really see a ladder working is if you’re willing to shoot enough to get a realistic number of each powder charge… call it 8-10 shots.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I load up single rounds in .5gr increments to find pressure. Find it, back off, and load 10 or 20 to see how it shoots. Sometimes I’m done then. I wouldn’t burn through 30-40 bullets to find a “node”. Lots of information on here and the Hornady podcast that simplifies load development. Benchrest isn’t needed for hunting. Jump your bullets and things get a lot less temperamental in terms of seating depth.

This.
I will work on seating depth though.

 

[Medicwp]

I will usually start 2-2.5 GR below max and load 10 in .3 GR increments to find my starting node.

 

[Jhedum]

Little late to the thread but I load up 10 rounds in increments of .4 grains. My lowest charge is middle of the road book data. My highest few will be over book max. I’ll start looking for pressure signs as I get close.

Here is a pic of my last one for my 7 REM Mag with my Tikka T3x. As you can see shots 6,7,8 were all in one hole. I picked my charge for shot 7 and then loaded up 10 rounds of just that load to verify. It consistently shot great so I kept it. Now that’s all I load for the rifle. My velocity isn’t amazing at that charge (2830 fps) but it’s consistently accurate.