OCW, Ladder or tight groups?

[Auger]

I just started reloading and have tested a few different bullets and powders for my RRA varmint 20" 1:8. I have been starting with a beginning powder weight and going up in increments of .5 or .2 all the way up to the max (matching powder weights to the bullet by referencing books), loading up about 7 shots of each weight. When I find one that shoots the tightest group I then play around with weights + or - .1 grains of powder to fine tune. BTW, I don't have a chronograph yet so no velocity testing is happening.

Now after a month of testing I've been studying the OCW and Ladder test methods and am wondering if I'm missing out on something that could possibly make my recipe better. Am I? How do you guys come up with your best recipes?

[Tim K]

You'll find lots of opinions on the subject. Myself, I depend almost solely on the chrony. I look for the lowest standard deviation and then check that load for accuracy. I've not had a load that had single digit SD that didn't shoot well.

The reason I do it that way is for accuracy at long ranges (like in excess of 600). If you run the numbers in your ballistic software, you'll see that a change is 50 fps equates to 50" of elevation change on my .260. Your .308 will be even more. For me, consistent velocity is king as long as accuracy is acceptable.

[Zombie Steve]

I generally take 1% jumps with rifle. Just be aware that low SD numbers and most accurate groups at 100 yards don't always go hand in hand. The farther out you shoot, the more important consistent velocity is as Tim illustrated.

Seems everyone shoots boat tails and goes for high ballistic coefficients these days... even with hunting ammo where ranges are seldom over 100 yards. It's not uncommon to see long boat tail bullets give you close to the same size group at 100 and 200 yards, as the bullet doesn't "sleep" / totally stabilize in flight until almost 100... just something I've noticed with flat base hunting bullets.

I don't think you're approaching things wrong at all, but a chrono will shed a lot more light on what's happening.

[MarkCO]

I kind of do what Steve and Tim do. But yes, it does depend on what I am doing it for and what caliber.

For my hunting loads, yes, I like all the velocity I can get, but in my .260 and .338-06, I will sacrifice a little velocity for accuracy. I do use a Chrono from the get go and record everything. Sometimes just looking at data will give me something I did not have. I also always replicate one load chrono to chrono session, usually the current "best" load to see how things look with different environmental conditions. Everything gets logged.

If I am working up a "target" load, I focus on accuracy first, velocity second.

If I am working up a hoser load for stuff inside 100 yards, regardless of caliber, I look for cheap, reliable, whatever minimum PF is and then worry about accuracy last.

[Auger]

Thanks for all the insight! A chrono just moved to the top of my shopping list.

[Zombie Steve]

Thanks for all the insight! A chrono just moved to the top of my shopping list.

You won't regret it. I'll come just short of calling it required gear for load development. One other thing it will help you to understand is why we say things aren't "plug and play" when it comes to load data.

[Tim K]

CED Millennium 2 for pistol and rifle. Magnetospeed for rifle only. Ohler 35P if you have money to burn. Avoid the "Shooting Chrony". Or buy mine.

[XC700116]

I've got the CED M2 and it seems to work flawlessly with decent sunlight. Of course most any chrono is dependent on lighting but you can add the IR screens to mitigate some of the low light issues.

If you read the reviews on Midway and Brownells it seems as they might be flakey as any others, but to me it seems as though certain people just really don't understand how Chronographs work, and the limitations of light and weather in using them.

The Ohler is a REALLY nice unit but as Tim Mentioned it's a bit spendy. But it also comes with all the equipment start to finish for $575 (printer, tripod, case, etc) so It's not really that much more than a CED with all the added accesories.

[Auger]

CED Millennium 2 for pistol and rifle. Magnetospeed for rifle only. Ohler 35P if you have money to burn. Avoid the "Shooting Chrony". Or buy mine.

No thanks on your offer, I just read your Manetospeed thread :)

After reading reviews it seems like hit or miss on anything except the Ohler. But man, it's spendy.

[Tim K]

The Millennium has been tested against commercial quality units and it fared very well. That's why I recommended it over the other screen types. The Ohler is the gold standard. I like the Magnetospeed, but it does have one drawback having used it now a few times. It's enough mass at the end of the barrel and the attachment is floppy enough that you can't do accuracy testing simultaneously with velocity testing. It's fantastic for getting MV's, but wreaks havoc with accuracy. A screen type chrony is a PITA to set up, especially if you're shooting prone, but you'll use half as much ammo since you can measure MV and test for accuracy simultaneously.

[MarkCO]

I have not used them all, but I have owned and or used MagnetoSpeed, Chrony, Pact, Ohler, RCBS and CED. I currently own and use a CED M2 and across the course, it is the best unit available until you pass $1K.

Are there issues? Yes. You have to have decent light. Magnum calibers, shotgun slugs and use with a suppressor can be difficult. Sure, if you box mount the unit, it is a gem, but that is a PITA. As far as accuracy, it is very accurate, provided you are 5 yards away from the muzzle, so if precision is the game, you do need to make a slight tweak.

If all I was doing was precision bolt rifles, I would get the MagnetoSpeed ($280). If all I was doing was working up load data and was not too concerned with all the bells and whistles, I would get the Competition Electronics ProChrono Digitial (about $120)

[jerrymrc]

One other thought on the higher end models is to buy used. Many tend to hold onto them but they do come up for sale. I had a cheap one until 8-9 years ago and my 35P looked like it had never been used.

[Auger]

Thanks again, fellas!

After doing a ton of reading last night I think I'm going for the CED M2. I would like to get the Magnetospeed but it dawned on me last night that I could test arrow speed (I also bow hunt) with the CED M2.

I'm hoping the recipes that I have landed on so far have the velocity I need...