working up loads?

[rbahri5206]

when trying to figure out what load is more accurate in a certain rifle what increments to you go up from min to max to find the most accurate?

[ExtremeX]

I go up in .5gr increments... but going in SMALLER increments would be better if you really want to be critical about it…

Or after you find what shoots well in .5gr increments, you can always fine tune in smaller increments after you see what gets you close.

Don’t forget there are other variables that you can play with… primer, seating depth, crimp…

[Whiterabbit]

from 20 grains on up I use .5 grain increments for the first pass.

from 80 grains up I go by 1 grain increments.

Once I find the accuracy node, if I really want tight groups I check above and below my node to see if there's something a smidge better. But more frequently when I find it I nail it and minor variations don't change anything.

I don't care about sub-sub-moa accuracy. I have no problem making my holes touch on a good day and can reliably shoot 1 inch at 100 yards, good day or normal day. That is a good enough standard for me.

[BLR81]

when trying to figure out what load is more accurate in a certain rifle what increments to you go up from min to max to find the most accurate?

I agree with ExtremeX. 0.5 gr seems like your best bet if your looking for best accuracy, and not your top velocity.

Depending on which powder and bullet you choose, you could have a wide range between the recommended starting charge and the max(do not exceed) charge. And, you might want to start even lower than the recommended starting charge.

When I was working up a load, the range of H4895 for my 140 gr Sierra HPBT was 38.0 to 40.5. I actually started at 36.0 and stopped at 40.0. That's 9 powder weights and I started out with 5 rds each. Even putting up 2 targets at a time, it took me almost 1.5 hrs to shot with having to wait for the next cease fire to change targets. You might be able to do it quicker if you have a spotting scope which I didn't. So, I had to wait to mark the prior shots before shooting the next loads.

Shooting more than 5 rds each over that length of time puts a lot of pressure to be as accurate as you can so human error doesn't play too big a part in the groupings. But I eventually narrowed it down to the middle 4 weights.

Now I'm loading 5 rounds with different seating depths, for those 4 weights. That's going to end up being 60 rds, so I'm expecting this test to take at least 2 hrs. Any more than 5 rds would make it difficult to get off shots at each depth and still cool down the barrel in between cease fires.

I'm not sure that I'll ever come up with a definitive choice since my lack of marksmanship talent probably has a bigger affect on the groupings than 0.5 grs of powder or .010" variance in seating depth. But as long as I end up with a sub-moa load it will be worth it.

[damndave]

Depends on what the range is. Generally I start at .5 and find the accuracy node. Next time around I work around that node in .1 - .2 increments.

[MIAMIbaseballer]

Whats he said^^^ I'll do .5 increments until I find the best one(s) and then use .1-.2 increments

[Black Majik]

I normally load up in .3 increments around the powder weight to get me the velocity I'm hoping for. Usually start a few grains under max book load (depending on caliber) and work up. Takes longer but I normally find a good accuracy node to test further on the first or second trip out.

I normally fine tune the load with .1 increments, .2 under my accuracy node and .2 above. Usually rarely see much variation in group size at that small of a change in powder weight but it's a good peace of mind to test it anyway. I usually load to max ID mag length, so rarely do I play with seating depth. But, if you dont mind single loading and want to test loads near or to the lands I would also pick up a bullet comparator to measure your ogive and try some loaded long.