Help!! Load develpoment

[Civilian Sniper]

I am starting to develop loads for my AR for the first time and am looking for some direction on the best way to do this seeing this is my first time, i am shooting an AR 15 .223 Wylde with a 16" 1:8 SS heavy match barrel (i wish it was a 20-24" but can't afford a new barrel till later) With a Bushnell 6500 2.5-16 x 40 with 30mm tube. Shooting method is from a bench with sand bag or bi pod front rest with no rear rest held tight to the shoulder.
i plan to shoot mainly 100-300 yards being i can't find many places to shoot farther than this nor do i believe my scope is sufficient for the 500+ but any ways here are my components
500ct new unfired Lake city brass FL sized trimmed to 1.750, primer pocket reamed and flash hole deburred and weight sorted into 5 shot groups using Federal Gold Medal match Primers
I have 4 types of powder
Varget
BL-C(2)
IMR 8208XBR
Benchmark

Also I have 100ct ea of the following bullets
Hornady 68g match HPBT
Sierrra 69g MK HPBT
Nosler70g HPBT
Berger 70g VLD

So my idea is to load 100 rounds of each bullet in 25 round groups for each powder and do 5 shot groups starting at the lowest and increasing .3grains each 5shot group so in essence i will have 25 rounds of each powder for each bullet totaling 400 rounds. I chose this method to try and find which bullets and powders work best in this rifle so then i can hone in on a few combination that preform well and the do more precise development with these in. So my question is am i trying to do to much in one session, or am i on the right track or what?
I greatly appreciate the wealth of knowledge on this site and the time you guys take to help out us newbies

 

[SpiritNugent]

If you're going for precision, I am guessing that many rounds in one session will fatigue you.

 

[Civilian Sniper]

I kinda thought the same thing buit felt it was important to do them all in the same day under the same conditions so the results would be consistent but i may be wrong how would you suggest breaking it up into multiple days 100 round or 200 rounds and would you split it by powders or bullets say 25 rounds of each bullet with one powder or all use all 4 types of powder with just one bullet?

 

[HillbillySniper]

Anytime I do load development I load up five round with all the different powders and slugs I wanna try and shoot a bunch of five shot groups. I look at it this way you should be able to tell if your gun likes that load in five shots or less. But just my two sense I know everyones different.


Hillbilly

 

[K0na_stinky]

Thats litte over board. When I'm trying to find a load my rifle likes I make 10 rounds. (1 fouler and 3, 3 shot groups) I normaly don't take more then one combination with me when I'm shooting. I can only take so much shooting paper in one day.

Also if you begin to see a pattern and your groups are getting worse and worse then the rest of that group of loads wouldn't be worth shooting.

If you can make one set and test it and decide from there what you want to change.

My 2 cents.

 

[Civilian Sniper]

Thats litte over board. When I'm trying to find a load my rifle likes I make 10 rounds. (1 fouler and 3, 3 shot groups) I normaly don't take more then one combination with me when I'm shooting. I can only take so much shooting paper in one day.

Also if you begin to see a pattern and your groups are getting worse and worse then the rest of that group of loads wouldn't be worth shooting.

If you can make one set and test it and decide from there what you want to change.

My 2 cents.

Anytime I do load development I load up five round with all the different powders and slugs I wanna try and shoot a bunch of five shot groups. I look at it this way you should be able to tell if your gun likes that load in five shots or less. But just my two sense I know everyones different.


Hillbilly

So i am pretty much a rookie at this are you saying to only load 5-10 shots at one load weight per type of bullet and see which one it likes cause in my mind which i admit is inferior to your guys by far, i thought you had to load at multiple weights to get the accurate load/bullet config. that the gun likes? and are there any other indicators other than just accuracy i should be looking at to determine the guns liking of the load? cause when i group my shots they don't always group the same size even when shooting the same load. also do just load the slowest load for this test or do you pick a little closer to the middle for this .
sorry for all the questions i just want to learn to do it right the first time.

 

[K0na_stinky]

I guess the biggest thing about load testing is the shooter. I know lots of times(like today) I am not shooting my best.

You should invest in a rear bag and start working on your shooting skills.

I am new to reloading also. I've been reloading for 1/2 a year or so. You are in a great place to learn.

You have to first make sure you are consistant before you do any serious load testing. The worst thing would be loading 400 round with all your bullets and powder and find nothing.

 

[Civilian Sniper]

You have to first make sure you are consistant before you do any serious load testing. The worst thing would be loading 400 round with all your bullets and powder and find nothing.

Amen to that, the last thing I want to do is waste all the money and barrel life. So what would you guys considered an acceptable consistent accuracy with a factory AR 15 with 16" 1:8 heavy match barrel that I should get before I starting really hitting the load development seriously? Second what would be a good starter load to test this accuracy with that I can use to just work on my shooting as of now I consistently hit around 1" groups but have been still playing around with my shooting set up a little.

 

[seanhagerty]

I went through this a year ago. Pick a bullet you like and your barrel twist should be able to handle.

Then play with the load. I would go with two groups of three round each. Shoot from a bench with a front and rear rest. take your time, no rushing between shots. Make the only variable the powder charge weight.

Once you get a good group from that, you can play with other variables, OAL, primers, etc...

Let us know how it goes.

 

[jonbearman]

Run the sierra 69 matchking with the h335.It shoots tiny little groups out of a stock armalite barrel with the 1 in 9 twist.Works great for me.