I know, I know another load development question...Saterlee test

[Old Tanker]

Question for everyone, from a beginners perspective. Why wouldn’t you test 5-10 rounds at 28.6?

 

[Nightraider]

Question for everyone, from a beginners perspective. Why wouldn’t you test 5-10 rounds at 28.6?

Because 38.6 isn't the middle of that node.

 

[dcali]

Thats all fine and dandy but you also have access to long range shooting to get those results. Shooting a ladder at 200 yards is useless as the impact points all cluster together and become a tangled mess of useless data. You guys that have the availability to access a long shooting range should thank your lucky stars you have it. I have 5 ranges within 1 hour of me and our club is the longest at 300 yards BUT the 300 yard line is only available one day a week (thursday) from 4pm till dark, the other ranges are all 100 yards. I will and am trying any test that I think will give me useful data to find a load that will work, I have to work from 200 yards and have everything tested and reloaded for thursday and hope they shoot at 300 yards because its a week to try again. I wont knock anybodys method of testing, do what works for you I'm just trying anything that will work for me and accepting all advice to try and see if it helps.

Right. You can't do a ladder at 200 yards with any sort of confidence. So don't. Shoot groups at varying power charge and seating depth and test at 100 yards. If you find a really good load at 100, there is a very good chance that it's a very good load at 600 or 1000. Verify at 300 if that's all you have. It is not necessary to do a ladder test to get a good load. My all time best F Class score at 600 was shot with a load worked up for a prototype .308 bullet of mine at 100 yards. The very first time I shot it at anything more than 100 was at the match. I managed a 598 and a bunch of x's. Maybe I could have tuned it in just a tiny bit better, but I doubt it.

The main point is that a satterlee test is not a ladder test. Two totally different things. The first has no value in my opinion. The second can be very useful.

 

[dcali]

First, full disclosure. I shoot only 'across the course' - i.e., have essentially no experience in benchrest. My bench technique is bad enough that I shoot from prone [with a sling] to test loads.
That said, on the one shot per load 'ladder'. With just one shot per charge weight and given the spread in velocities that are inherent with loads, how do you know the data from just one shot is actually representative of that charge weight?

You don't. You need to do it multiple times. It's not as bad as it seems because there is a relationship between charge weight and velocity (or point of impact). But one shot per charge is statistically very weak.

 

[jelenko]

Phew!
Thanks

 

[gman47564]

if you have no faith in something it will never work... if you dont believe it will work it wont work... if you dont understand something it wont work.... cant never did anything...if your brass prep doesnt get your es at 10fps or less in 5 shots with your best load its not going to workbut if you get your brass where you can load and keep sd and es down low the satterly method will work.... that flat spot in them numbers shows the same thing as the ocw test does with 2 or 3 powder charges impacting in the same place... makes me no difference how someone goes about doing load development as long as it gets them the results their looking for... but i wouldnt dismiss the satterly method... it works just fine for some of us... or being a newbie i get pretty lucky...

 

[Old Tanker]

Because 38.6 isn't the middle of that node.

I had fat fingers, I meant 38.6, good catch. If not 38.6, then 38.4/38.5? Seems that two charges in that range produced the same velocity. Asking, because. I’m getting ready to do a ladder test with 68gr Hornady in my .223 Rem 700.

 

[Nightraider]

I had fat fingers, I meant 38.6, good catch. If not 38.6, then 38.4/38.5? Seems that two charges in that range produced the same velocity. Asking, because. I’m getting ready to do a ladder test with 68gr Hornady in my .223 Rem 700.

38.4 will probably put you in the middle of that node, that gives you .1+/- error rate.

 

[Dave Zander]

The last podcast Satterlee said he does a seating depth test first at the same charge weight.
See what shoots best, then do the charge weight at the seating that shot best.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

The last podcast Satterlee said he does a seating depth test first at the same charge weight.
See what shoots best, then do the charge weight at the seating that shot best.

That sounds like it would work a lot better. How does he do his seating depth test?

 

[Doom]

The last podcast Satterlee said he does a seating depth test first at the same charge weight.
See what shoots best, then do the charge weight at the seating that shot best.

Do you know what podcast that was?

 

[Old Tanker]

38.4 will probably put you in the middle of that node, that gives you .1+/- error rate.

Thanks.

 

[gman47564]

38.6 or 38.7 is where its at ... from a rookies perspective..

 

[dthomas]

In the 6.5 guys video about the satterlee load development they mention that he normally gets single digit es's and is using custom guns that will shoot just about any load to atleast .5 moa

 

[Nightraider]

No prior load development, within 20rds found a node, proofed the node, ran seating depth test, found this node at .077 off the lands.
223R
4895
FGGM AR
LC case

 

[Dave Zander]

Do you know what podcast that was?

Yes The Modern day sniper , episode # 14. he says to determine bullet jump first, shooting groups of 5 at various jumps, like .030",.060", .090",.120" something like that, its stated in the Berger manual, see how the groups look , pick the group that has like a triangle or like 5 holes like on a 5 spot dice. use that jump, then test charge weights with that jump.