How much difference does.4g make in accuracy?

[jelenko]

Interesting. I missed the changing decimal places. I read everything based on the thread title.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I think keith glasscock said in a 284 winchester berger 180 and i think h4350 1 kernal is about .03 gr and 1 kernal changes it 1 or 2 fps. So basically .04 doesn't matter unless you are a top level competitor. Now obviously .4 grains is substantial. I should hope you are not just using a kitchen spoon to measure powder lol

 

[cameronalbrecht]

Maybe not a lot at all considering in a .308 sized case sometimes going up in powder charges by .2 & .3 tenths of a grain will show either the same speed or only a few FPS difference. And sometimes the higher charge will show a lesser FPS.

my results from earlier today in my 308, Varget powder Berger 168 hybrids. 5 shots at each grain weight. The results are pretty linear. By my math I think each .02 grain of Varget is worth about 1.5 FPS in my gun today.

42.0	2535.5
42.3	2566
42.6	2592.2
42.9	2612.9
43.2	2630.1
43.5	2644.5
43.8	2670.8
44.1	2687.2
44.4	2710.3

 

[DShortt]

my results from earlier today in my 308, Varget powder Berger 168 hybrids. 5 shots at each grain weight. The results are pretty linear. By my math I think each .02 grain of Varget is worth about 1.5 FPS in my gun today.

42.0	2535.5
42.3	2566
42.6	2592.2
42.9	2612.9
43.2	2630.1
43.5	2644.5
43.8	2670.8
44.1	2687.2
44.4	2710.3

Right. .3/grain.

NOT .004/grain.

Someone show me what scale they're using to measure out to .000/grain.

A grain is 1/7000 of a pound. It's loosely based on a single grain of wheat.

Divide that grain of wheat 1000 times?

Nope. You done lost your mind.

 

[searcher]

I go through a considerable amount of trouble to keep things within .1 of a grain.

If you guys are going to tell me that .004 grain matters......

Well. Anyone up for a game of horseshoes?

Because I'm out.

Find this difficult to believe given that, depending on the powder, 1 or 2 kernels of stick powder equate to .1/grain.

I'm with you on this. I doubt anyone reading this thread can shoot .004 of a grain difference and see it on target. Now, 4/10 (.4) grain is a different story altogether.......

 

[hoz53]

I'm with you on this. I doubt anyone reading this thread can shoot .004 of a grain difference and see it on target. Now, 4/10 (.4) grain is a different story altogether.......

not .004 but .04 yeah there are guys out there good enough at times especially at longer range.

 

[DShortt]

not .004 but .04 and down to .02. my A&D 120 will read a kernal of varget and show .02 but we dont know exactly what side of .02 that is. for that we need a scale to read .002 and i dont see one out there. at least that i could afford.

Well, as I said earlier. When I decide I need to weigh charges out to .00/grain is one day before I change hobbies.
You all do whatever you like. But that's just beyond my level of OCD.

Cutting a single grain of wheat into 100 pieces and using 2 of them......

Nope. Not this guy.

 

[hoz53]

Well, as I said earlier. When I decide I need to weigh charges out to .00/grain is one day before I change hobbies.
You all do whatever you like. But that's just beyond my level of OCD.

Cutting a single grain of wheat into 100 pieces and using 2 of them......

Nope. Not this guy.

i understand for sure—-didnt think id be doing it for many moons —. its fairly easy with a auto trickler and scale setup. i dont cut kernals though. one kernal is the best it gets for me. now if im loading for ar-15 or pistols or any large volume—they get thrown from the measure.

 

[jelenko]

Well, as I said earlier. When I decide I need to weigh charges out to .00/grain is one day before I change hobbies.
You all do whatever you like. But that's just beyond my level of OCD.

Cutting a single grain of wheat into 100 pieces and using 2 of them......

Nope. Not this guy.

Right.
It all depends on the discipline. For us cross the course guys, we measure to .1 grain [in 223/556] for our 600 yard stuff shooting at 1 MOA X ring/2 MOA 10 ring.
For 200 yard stuff, it almost doesn't matter - the X ring is 1 1/2 MOA.

I've never shot PRS, but from my understanding of their targets, .1 grain accuracy would be fine also.

 

[MikeRu]

Just dump the + 0.02 throws, which are less common anyway, and you’ll be at +\- 0.01

 

[6BRA]

Humidity may have more effect in different loading sessions than .02 gr/1kernel.

 

[SeabeeKen]

For what it’s worth, all of my 600yd and 1000yf ammo for my 6XC and 308 is loaded to a 0.06gr spread, so +/- 0.03gr. It shoots as well as I can hold the rifle and has performed to what I believe is acceptable for winning damn near any match.

I saw no measurable difference in my similar tests. Temperature swings give me more trouble than weights.

 

[K22]

I think the OP sent everyone down a "rabbit hole" with the misplaced decimal point.

In general, charge variation impacts are related to case capacity and type of powder, especially ball versus extruded. In my experience, extruded powders are more tolerate to slight charge variations than ball powders.

Also, no sensible answer can be given unless the OP clarifies the question, i.e., .004, .04 or .4.

 

[old_heli_logger]

Son--Hey dad, I need $10

Dad--$8? I can't believe you want $6....what in the world will you do with $4?

 

[dellet]

A good rule of thumb would be that the difference between
.4 grains= does this primer look flat to you? And blowing out the primer pocket.
.040 grains +/-.02= should not be a problem unless the powder charge is less than 4 grains.if it is you should probably look for another load if you want consistency on target.
.004 grains= you need to sift the powder and set aside the smalls to make the adjustment.

When you get to less than 1% change in charge weight, the mathematical results are pretty well lost in the noise of the variables. Load density and ES/SD. The velocity might change the same by adding .04 grains or seating the bullet deeper .004”, but on target it’s more likely to have two different results. Just more or less my observations.

 

[gpoldblue]

I'm with you on this. I doubt anyone reading this thread can shoot .004 of a grain difference and see it on target. Now, 4/10 (.4) grain is a different story altogether.......

Depending on the tune and the rifle/load...you won't see that.

 

[jelenko]

And where is the op?

 

[dhagerty40]

And where is the op?

has not been on since he posted...

 

[OMW57]

With my v4, I only use the exact desired load or 2 hundreths light, never over the set load, this cuts my variation in half! easy way to narrow the differences

 

[Bob3700]

Just an observation here. I read the posters who scoff at a .04 variation in powder wt. as not making a difference in overall accuracy. Among this same group, they will post how a .005” difference in seating depth was a game changer for their group size. Guess it depends on the shooting discipline ur are competing in!
The powder u are using will often dictate the fidelity of ur powder charge. Each kernel of stick powder will have a different value depending on the powder itself. A kernel of Varget is typically .02 grain, powders like VV140 cut that down to .015 gr. With that difference, ur loading window can now become smaller. At long range where ur taking quality control checks to the extreme ( weighing primers etc.) that smaller powder charge window can matter ( low es & sd).