Question for the benchrest shooters

[TheOtherZilla]

1. When assembling ammo for a meet do you weigh each powder charge? Or just throw the charge?

2. Is there any merit to the premise that weighed charges are more accurate at under 300 yds than a thrown charge Over 300 just the opposite.

 

[357Mag]

'Zilla -

My best friend does benchrest, and has won his fair share of matches.

From what Ive heard, most competitors use a good powder measure, and " throw " their charges.

One thing this does, is allow for comparatively easy charge changes during a match; when shooters react to changes in
" condition ".

Operation of a measure ( like a Harrell's, Culver et al ) in
less than optimal conditions is also less problematic than operation of a beam or digi scale.

Personnaly speaking, for most all of my accuracy rifle load work, I " throw " and not " weigh " charges.

Best of luck in your endeavors !

Regards,
357Mag

 

[Larryh128]

When I 1st started loading for rifles, I bought several videos on beginning & more advanced reloading. David Tubb stated that he threw all of his 300 yd & less charges & weighed all the rest. I have done both & seriously I don't think that I'm a good enough shooter to tell the difference. I do however carefully weigh ever hunting charge but I would guess that David Tubb knows what he's talking about.

 

[Dennis Keefer]

'Zilla -
I shoot Groundhog Matches at 100 to 500 yards with a .223Rem. I weigh every charge of powder. I full length size and bump the shoulder on every case. When I start a case, I uniform each primer pocket and ream the flash hole. I want each round to be as close to the next as possible, in other words, consistant.
Now, if I could shoot as good as my ammo is.
Good shooting!
I have read most of David's material, and stand on my system from his writtings.
Dennis

 

[LHSmith]

I shoot short- range BR .... the Score game....VFS & VH. The overwhelming majority of BR shooters in group and score throw their charges in between relays.....and as was said above, reason: to adjust the charge to what conditions dictate (aka "tuning", which also may include seating depth changes).
Most of these shooters readily admit that the thrown charges may be +/- 2 tenths of a grain, yet they somehow manage to shoot small through out the day.... 5 matches @ 5 shots per match.
I pre-load my rounds (the day before) because I shoot 2 guns per event, and there is not enough time to load in between relays.
However, BR is an ever evolving sport, and there is a recent trend to use pre-loaded multiple charges in vials and handload at the match........or........many take their Chargemaster, running off of DC, and use them at the match.
I, myself, have never achieved the +/- .2 with my Harrells measure, therefore for me, I have greater confidence in weighed charges, even though my rifle(s) may not be in ultimate tune throughout the day........a handi-cap which I will gladly give up to shoot a 2nd gun........ gives me more time behind the trigger which may help decipher conditions.

 

[82boy]

I have seen just about everything you can think of as far as loading in Benchrest. I shoot mostly short range 100-200 yard both score and group, and 600 and 1000 yard. Most shooters I know and have seen just set their measures and throw chanrges. They get into a grove, and charge one case after another. If a condition changes, or as the day goes on, they may but up or down a click on their measurer. This is what I do and it works for me.

I have seen a few shooters have there loads pre measured out and in glass tubes. They then will dump the tubes in to the case and load that way. How they measure the powder into the tubes is either way. I know people that just dump the powder from their measurer into the tubes, and some measure each load.

I have seen a couple of people use chargemaster. I can not say I have ever seen anyone sit and dump powder into a scale and trickel up to a load. It could be that loading is done outside, or in barns that have wind going through, and would affect the scale. I know some people build wind boxs for there scales, but again I have never seen anyone use one. It could also be that it doen't make that much diference. I have seen the exact same things done at both under 300 yards and over 300 yards.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Thanx for all the replies.. I asked because I read something on another site that just didn't sound right.

FWIW I am not a competition shooter, but do like to have my rigs be as accurate as I can make them..
I pretty much follow what Keefer does, cept with some powders that I know will meter constantly I just weigh every now and then..

Thanks again for the info.

 

[artbosco]

Should You Bench Load ???

The majority of top 6PPC competitors load ammo on match day, playing with load weights to suit the charge to temperature and humidity. While this allows you to get peak velocity on a cool day, and avoid over-charges in very hot conditions, "bench loading is a huge distraction", and isn't essential.

Hall of Famer Jim Borden: "I have my ammunition already loaded for [major matches]. It's working, both rifles are Agging in the 'low Ones', with a load of about 29.0gr N133, running about 3300 fps."

"Loading to conditions on match day can kill you. All you can do is go by memory and guess-timates. If your rifle has good vibration control, you'll typically have an accuracy window of 100-125 fps."

"I set preloads for velocity in the middle of the accuracy window which lets me shoot in any conditions. Studies by Jack Jackson convinced me we could let ammo sit for as long as a year and accuracy will hold."

 

[BoydAllen]

Jim is remarkable because almost no one preloads for short range group shooting. If you look at the Benchrest Hall of fame, I am not sure that anyone besides Jim does. Also, none of the NBRSA record holders that I am aware of preload.

I load at the range, and throw my charges with the powders that I use in my PPC. I get away with this because at the distances involved SD is no the primary determiner of accuracy. For more difficult to throw granule shapes or longer distances, I weigh.