Testing New Loads

[MDHogHunter]

Folks-
Had a recommendation from a buddy who does a lot of reloading. When testing his new loads, he commonly shoots at 40-50yard distances. His reasoning, he can still mark groupings, which loads are working best, ect. However, his thought was that it eliminated any error caused by shooting ability at 100yards.

I usually set up at 100yards, but this got me thinking...

What is everyone's thoughts?

[BabaOriley]

All group sizes will be smaller at 50 yards, making it more difficult to find a measurable difference. Shooting ability that results in a 2" group at 100 yards will result in a 1" group at 50 yards. One big factor in this I believe is you're closer to the target in your scope. If you have a 16x at 100 yards, it looks like a 32x at 50. I know I can see better at 32x. One thing on my list is a good vice type rest for load testing. I don't feel I'm a steady enough shooter to judge groups on handloads at 100 yards. It always feels like it's my fault there's a flyer rather than the rifle or load's.

[jo191145]

I have no error in my shooting ability. Its always the guns fault

[surfclod]

I have access to a 50 yard indoor range on my way home from work. Its convenient to use, and no wind is really nice, but nearly all the groups end up being to small to objectively interpret.

However the practice in a controlled environment enabled me to improve my shooting by trying different hold and breathing techniques as well as setting up a new trigger. I could trust that the groups were truly showing whether my changes in shooting style were helping or not because I could rule out wind and mirage as reasons for large groups or flyers.
After a lot of practice at 50 yards I can regularly shoot .25" 5 shot groups, so now that I am consistent as a shooter I can begin on some serious load development but this will require longer distances.

50 yards will probably would work for a hunting rifle that needs 1.5 MOA but is less useful for a varmint gun, that being said, a convenient indoor 50 yard range, beats a 2 hr drive to a crowded 200 yard range for early load development.

Especially when the wind is howling and its crazy cold as seems to be the norm out here on the days I can go shooting.

[Rick in Oregon]

100 yards is the common approach for a good reason: the bullet many times has not "gone to sleep" fully inside of that range, and has not fully stabilized at that short distance, sometimes a longer distance is required for that to occur. Groups shot at 50 yds do not really reflect a group twice as large at 100 yards for that reason.

If you adopt the 50 yard mantra, you might as well just shoot groups at 25 yards and add a factor of three. When shooting at 100 yds, it also helps you to judge wind, mirage and other factors always found in the field, making you a better shot in all respects. You don't shoot varmints with a 204 at 50 yards, so why develop loads for group at that range?

The ideal setup would be to shoot your test loads inside a culvert, buried underground with lights, fans, and sump pump with auto-retract targets at 100 yards, completely eliminating environmental conditions, but alas, most of us mortals do not have such capabilities at home. Stick to 100 yard testing, you'll be glad you did.