Help with next loads please

[Hedge]

Life is full of shouda, couda, wouda. Not to worry, we all find things that we could have done differently, had we known there were those that have been there before.

I started out the same way you did with looking for the tightest group. After I found the OCW method, I started using it and it made a lot of sense. Once you find that middle group of 3, you've got a flexible load that will give you MOA or better regardless of minor variable changes.

I tend to think shooting 5 rounds would give you a better idea of what's happening and allow for a pulled shot. I might run with 3 to narrow down the field and go with 5 to verify the ones that look good. Don't forget to clean your barrel before each test run. And don't overheat it.
Shot mine too hot on a PD town and toasted the throat. She still keeps 10 rds in a quarter but can't seem to get it to shoot as tight as it used to.

If you're not getting impressive results from seating depth, it could be the powder isn't working well in your rifle. What works well in one guy's rifle isn't guaranteed to work in another. I've gotten excellent results from 8208 XBR and 26 gr. VGs. My wife loves the load 'cause she was able to hit dimes at 100 yds with it.

BTW - what primers are you using? In some cases, a change of primer makes a difference.

As far a choosing the best powder...tough call. I just tried a couple of powders that others were getting good results with. Started out with H335 and it was very accurate. Unfortunately, I found it to be too temp. sensitive for my taste. I started playing around with some of the Hodgdon extreme powders and found that H4895 and 8208 XBR were more to my liking. 8208 will give you more velocity per wt. than H4895.
Varget and Benchmark seem to be a couple of go-to powders for others.

Interesting powder test you describe. I'll have to think about that one for a bit.

.2 -.3 are good increments for the small case of the .204. It's nearly full with minimum loads of every powder I tried, so small changes are in order.

Keep us posted on your progress and any feed back you have. We all can learn from each other in this game.

[Jim White]

Sth Oz Dan...I load test pretty much the way you do unless there is a broad range between MIN & MAX. In those cases I'll use the OCW because 5 shots every 0.2 grains for small cases like the 204 can get spendy and time consuming. It's fun though.

Unlike the OCW, I'll try and settle on the tightest group and then test @ +/- 0.1 grains to accomodate powder mesure inconsistences. It's slow going hand charging every case. More often than not it works out. If thats good, I'll test the load again with 15 rounds identified but shot randomly too see how it works out. If good, it gets chronographed and recorded. I've also had my most success near the MAX charges which is odd because usually, those are the worse.

There is another load development test out there called a ladder test but I feel 300 yds is the best distance to test it. 200yds is definetly to close.

For powder I've had my best results with H4895 and RL-15. Varget, Benchnark, RL-10x were so-so. I'm going to do some hard testing with 8208XBR on Monday if the weather cooperates. For bullests, I've stuck with the 39 SBK, it's been the best for me. My brass has been fully prepped, weighed and seperated. For accuracy be alert to the various differences between the individual rounds when resizing and seating the bullet in the case. Neck uniformity can create havoc with accuracy. Make sure you're checking the TIR (run out) too. Don't be afraid to try different primers but if your using near NAX loads I would urge you to use ones with thicker cups like Remington 7 1/2 and CCI.

HTH

[Sth Oz Dan]

The wind and temperature finally gave me a little break this morning.
So I got down to my half finished bench (photos when it's done) to test those 39BKs over AR2208 and AR2206H.
2208 not real good - smaller group on the lowest charge, but averaging 3325fps, so I won't bother going lower to see what happens, and 27.6gn is all I could fit in (gave the loaded cases a shake and couldn't hear any powder).
2206H much better pace. pity I rushed the last shot, I reckon that would've been a good group too. But it was a hot load anyway, so I'll leave that and have a play around the 27.6gn mark next time - 27.5-27.7(27.7 is max load on ADI data for 40gn pill).

Thanks for your help so far fellas. Any more advice is certainly welcome