New to reloading...question Chronograph use

[radshooter]

I am fairly new to reloading and have just purchased a CED M2 chronograph to help better develop my hand loads I shoot .223 and .204. My question for all the experienced shooters is, how do I use the velocity values you get from a chronograph to get loads to produce the tighest groups? I am not a competitive BR shooter (yet says a friend of mine). I primarily shoot at 100 to 300 yds and like those nice sub-MOA groups (have Les Baer AR and Cooper .204). Some people have indicated to me that velocity spread does not matter but others say yes. If so, what type of vel spreads do you look for? Thanks much!

 

[Downtown]

Long story short the smaller the spread the better. Knowing what is going on with your load the better you'll be able to refine what your doing. Shooting longer distance, the more critical your reloading skills will have to be.
Primer pockets,primers,flash holes,powder,powder density,neck tension,seating depth,run out and more all come in to play.
If you see large deviations in your rounds you'll know right now something is wrong. You may opt to try a different powder or primer right away.
I'm sure someone smarter than me will chime in. I hope I helped you.
Steve.

 

[radshooter]

Thanks for your input ;D. What do you mean by a "small spread" in terms of fps? For example, in a .204 shooting a load that the manuel says should be 4000 fps, what range (I guess in terms of %) are you looking for? ???

 

[bsc4444]

Go to the BLOG Archive and arrow down to the 6mm ar article this may give you an idea what to look for.

 

[queen_stick]

you want a spread (ES) in single digits, and you want the SD in single digits as well. That's the ultimate goal, which is difficult to achieve. I haven't been able to get there yet, but I'm still learning too...

 

[bheadboy]

the crono will tell you what your chamber/barrell is doing with a given load combination, you want to forget what the manuels give, as their loads are not shot in your gun, just a guide! what shoots is the loads that give low SD and low ES, you work to get these by trying different velocities, primers, powders and seating depth - this may not be at the max velocity you want but if it shoots it is the load to use.

Bob

 

[wapiti25]

The cronograph is one tool you have, but it is hard to shoot enough rounds to get a good statistical average. I feel a better test is to shoot the Audett ladder at 300 and farther to see what your system is doing

 

[radshooter]

Thanks...had to google it but seems like an interesting concept, Will have to give it a try