Re: Help with next loads please
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:13 pm
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.
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.