Finding that perfect reload recipe

[Khromo]

If the shooter can hold to, say 0.70", that is the reasonable limit he will get his ammo tuned to.

The most perfect theoretical load will not shoot better than the shooter can hold. If your ammo shoots to the limit of your skill, relax about the load and start working on your technique.

It helps to have range buddies. Figure out who has the gun with the greatest demonstrated accuracy and see if you can use that gun to shoot a handful of groups to start figuring out what your personal limit is. You're probably not going to be abler to handload any better than that, with any gun and/or any load.

These same buddies come in handy when you try to figure out which bullet is best for your gun. My buddies and I swap 10 or 15 bullet samples with each other so you can experiment with different bullets without buying boxes of 100. Use the starting load of whatever powder you have on hand and you will usually get a decent idea of which bullets to go deeper with and which ones to let go.

I use that method to first select the bullet I want to load for a particular gun. Then I shoot an Audette series or two, and further tune the powder charge. Finally I experiment with some different seating depths.

It sure keeps you busy!

[milotrain]

and then a cheap load for plinking that maximizes what I can get on a budget.

Same load. 24.5 and a 75gr Hornady HPBT. They are $170 per K or less. That's ultimately a ~$.37 target load, you aren't going to make ammo much cheaper without really compromising. It's possible to get lucky and find a FMJ bullet that shoots well in your rifle for $100 per K, and using mixed headstamp range brass that is free and you are down to ~$.20 per round.

For me it's not worth the hassle of trying to figure all that BS out for a savings of only $170 per 1k. I'd rather just shoot good known ammo that works in everything.

[tamalpias]

All my guns are for hunting purposes so extreme accuracy was not is needed especially with hunting bullets. My goal is simple, get the cheapest hunting bullet for varmints that I can buy in bulk (varmint grenades) get a powder(hodgdon 4895) that will work for 223, 22-250, and 308 (all the rifle rounds i reload for) and get as accurate a powder charge as i can possibly get. The 223 and 22-250 shoots sub .75" and the 308 shoots roughly 1"-1.25" groups at 100 yards.

Only tip I have is make sure your barrel is broken into first before you start of you will get very discouraged. On my 308 i started load development when I first got the gun, saw that no matter what i try or do I can't get it to shoot sub 2.5." I tried everything as far as bullets and powder was concerned and even bought match grade ammo for it to see what i can do although it is only a hunting rifle. Due to the frustration i stopped shooting that gun for a long time and contemplated selling it. After 7 years when I finally got drawn for X2 deer i was forced to redevelop a load for it and by that time I had already put through 300-400 rounds I started seeing the groups getting smaller and smaller on their own without having to change any formulation. Now it is a great hunting rifle.

[phdo]

Finding that perfect reload recipe

The there's the fact the brass, primer, neck tension and many other variables all play a part.

This is sound advice. To me, the first thing you need to work on is your technique and shooting skill. No matter how good you load your ammo, if you can't hit the broad side of a barn then it will all be for nothing.

The second thing to work on is to keep all variables constant. That's when brass prep, neck tension, sizing, etc come into play. If you can keep these variables constant, you can isolate the component factors and see where to tweak your load.

The gist of it is that if you can't shoot for crap and don't know how to properly handload, don't bother with experimenting with components. You'll just be wasting your time and money.

[West_Coaster]

To update this thread, I've been experimenting allot and building different combos. I ended up with a Geissele Hi-Speed Match Rifle Trigger instead of the AR Gold. I really like it.

I was unable to get any success with a 55 gn bullet, they are just inconsistent or dont group well. Interestingly enough I shot some Aussi Outback 55's and they shot pretty well, but I cant mimic them.

68's seem to be OK, but are not any cheaper than 75's, so 75 it is.

I tried using H335 powder as Varget meters poorly through my Lee Pro Disk. I built a bunch of 75 gn Hornady HPBT Match, 23.7, 24, 24.3 Varget and then H335 22.5, 23 and 23.5. I was amazed how much more accurate Varget shot, was such a huge difference I couldn't believe it.

Its starting to get painful in the wallet to try new powders, bullets, etc....

I have found a great shooting setup. 24 - 24.3 gr Varget and 75 gr Hornady BTHP Match. I havent tried 24.5 yet, but it's next as there are no signs of overpressure with 24.3. So I thought I'd quote Milo's post...... He might actually know what he's talking about.....

Think I'm going to look at a RCBS charge master for powder dispensing. But first I'm going to try and dial my Lee Pro disk in, maybe if I set it at 24.3, and it varies +/- .2, I can live with that. I'll just keep weighing.

You will shoot 24.5gr of Varget under a 75gr Hornady HPBT. You will attempt to develop a load that shoots better than this. You will fail as you can not hold tighter than this combination will shoot, and all your test groups will be nearly the same size. Any differences will be from you and not the group.

Or you could have Young build you an AR test rig for $2500 and find out what shoots better than 24.5gr of Varget under a 75gr Hornady HPBT.

[milotrain]

The lee auto disk will throw Varget just fine. I know that's contrary to public opinion but it is not incorrect. That load has been shot by so many people who shoot so much better than most people that it's just not worth messing about with.

Highpower790 shoots 24.5 of Varget under a 75gr Hornady and he throws his charges. There are very few people in California who are going to out shoot him on a good day.

Shoot more load less.