Possible or impossible to find a load that will shoot awesome at all distances? I have been trying different loads to find one that will group great at 100yds and still group great at 500yds and beyond. Most have been telling me to load for the distance shooting and not all the distances shot. If that's the case then how do you deal with all the change in different loads and scope settings?
Am I chasing my tail?
- Thread starter Lefty Trigger
- Start date
Need way more information here. What are you trying to do? Compete at different distances? Hunt long range? What's your definition of "group great"? 1 moa? .5? .25? What load are you shooting, what rifle?
Just wright down what the zero is for each load and re zero your turrets, or some ballistic apps have a sight in offset feature for different loads, but I haven't messed with that feature yet.
Likely a load that shoots well at long range will shoot good enough at close range. I've never worried about it but I'm not trying to shoot 1/4 moa or less. I tune for distance with high BC boat tail bullets and often when I check my zero the holes will be touching at 100Y or close to it. I shoot off of a bipod and honestly I can't hold any tighter than an 8th of an inch, maybe a hair more, anyway.
I suppose if I was trying for groups at 100Y or 200Y with the occasional longer shot thrown in, I'd experiment with custom made flat base bullets. But the long range BR shooters get record setting groups with boat tails so there's that.
People have expensive gear for a reason. The rifle, the scope, that whole system, the hand loaded ammo, and the shooter, need to be capable of the task at hand. Don't expect a cheap factory rifle to compete with a $4000 rifle with a $3000 scope on it, that is not the norm.
Likely a load that shoots well at long range will shoot good enough at close range. I've never worried about it but I'm not trying to shoot 1/4 moa or less. I tune for distance with high BC boat tail bullets and often when I check my zero the holes will be touching at 100Y or close to it. I shoot off of a bipod and honestly I can't hold any tighter than an 8th of an inch, maybe a hair more, anyway.
I suppose if I was trying for groups at 100Y or 200Y with the occasional longer shot thrown in, I'd experiment with custom made flat base bullets. But the long range BR shooters get record setting groups with boat tails so there's that.
People have expensive gear for a reason. The rifle, the scope, that whole system, the hand loaded ammo, and the shooter, need to be capable of the task at hand. Don't expect a cheap factory rifle to compete with a $4000 rifle with a $3000 scope on it, that is not the norm.
Very possible...........but we're not mind readers !
Cal ? Bullet ? Rifle platform ?
The guys that shoot long and well here also make bug holes @ 100.
Some guy/guns can, many can't.
When I develop a load at 100 yds. to be ultimately used at either 600 or 1K I pay more attention to the shape of the group and the ES. If I find a couple loads with low ES and tight vertical, I'll take them to distance an prove them in a 20 round club match. Some loads look really good at 100, or even half way through a 20 shot string, but then fall on their face the last 10 shots or so. Like several have posted previously, we need more info, but this is what works for me.
I hope this helps,
Lloyd
I hope this helps,
Lloyd
Sorry guys but I left out that info on purpose. Asking as a general question not any gun/caliber specific as I shoot several calibers, .223, 6.5, 7mm, .308. My local club range has me limited to a max of 300yds so what I'm getting at IS,... can a shooter be effective with loads developed at 100-300yds if they move on to a range that will go up to 1000yds. Some of the locals say it's best to develop loads for 100yds then 300yds then 600yds and then 1000yds. Seems like a lot of rounds to keep track of? A few around me shoot different weight bullets at different length ranges, like for the 308 they are shooting 155gr up to 300yds, 175gr to 700yds and 200/210gr to 1000yds. This seems excessively complicated as my thinking is just make one round shoot well all-around, maybe I'm wrong?
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Yes
But without more specific information and parameters it's impossible to say more on the subject.
Troll Alert
Get one that shoots under 1" consistently at 300 yards and it will shoot at 600 or 1000. You just don't want to pick a load that 1 or 2 tenths either side don't shoot well, might be finiky.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
These days thats not close to good enough. The group isnt going to get smaller at distance.
I respectfully disagree if referring to F-class. If I can get a load consistently grouping at .3 MOA at 300yds it can hold the X ring the majority of shots in calm winds. It might lose some days but overall it is more than good enough to learn how to read the wind....and that is where matches are won.
Robin
Ok, so if I find a decent load that shoots awesome at 100yds and does really well at 300yds it should be a load that will work out well at 1000yds if the shooter can do his part. No need to find and load different weight bullets for different ranges.
A load that groups well at 300 with minimal vertical is what you need. A 1 inch group at 300 that has 5 shots stacked in a vertical line will suck at 1000. Velocity spread needs to be minimal or the target at 1000 will show it big time.
dcali
Bullet Maker
Define "effective".
I do a lot of load development at 200 yards for 600 and 1000 competition. I'm looking for a group with low velocity spreads on my chrono. I'm looking for low vertical. So a .5" group stacked horizontal is better than a .5" group stacked vertical. And lastly I'm looking for a load where the loads around it were also good. If I'm doing a seating depth test if I get one great group jumping .015 I don't want to see a bad group at .01 and at .02. Those need to be good groups as well
Meaning "as good as the shooter already is" not the load hindering them. It's hard to develop loads for the 1000 yard line when you can only get to shoot it 2-4 times a year. 300 yards is easy, that's what brought all this up.
This is what I want to hear, I recently just purchased a Labradar unit from a friend and I'm hoping that will help me along better. My Magnetospeed works great and gives me the data but you can't shoot for groups with it on the end of the barrel. Does not effect my .223 but plays havoc with my .308, poi shifts bad.
dcali
Bullet Maker
There is no load that is "as good as the shooter already is". Every load is worse than every shooter - errors add. the trick is to figure out how accurate your rifle needs to be to not add significant errors. If you shoot high power, none of the load based errors are terribly significant unless you're one of the top few shooters in the nation. If you're shooting benchrest, EVERY error is significant.
If you're shooting 2 MOA steel plates off a bipod or cross course high power, then work up a load at 100 and call it a day - if you even do that. If you're shooting F class, work up a load at 100 and verify it at the target distance, and call it a day. If you're competing at a high level of benchrest, you need to dial your rifle in for the precise range you are shooting at.
If you're shooting 2 MOA steel plates off a bipod or cross course high power, then work up a load at 100 and call it a day - if you even do that. If you're shooting F class, work up a load at 100 and verify it at the target distance, and call it a day. If you're competing at a high level of benchrest, you need to dial your rifle in for the precise range you are shooting at.
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