Load development range

[evetseel]

100yds 200yds 300yds? What’s your preference?

 

[Woodsmoke]

100 yards for me. I can't be arsed walking any further to check where they landed

 

[mike308]

Most of my shots are taken within 100 yards so zero at 100 yards, then 3 shots at 200 yards to check drop so I know what to allow for longer range shots.

 

[Apthorpe]

I don't really see the point of doing it at longer ranges. Surely the longer the bullet's in the air, the greater the inaccuracies introduced by wind etc.?

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I don't really see the point of doing it at longer ranges. Surely the longer the bullet's in the air, the greater the inaccuracies introduced by wind etc.?

Yes, however that would be similar for all groups, providing it isn't a gusty day

 

[evetseel]

100yds seems to be the standard, but is that just because that’s what most ranges and permissions accommodate?
I would assume that the further the range, the better understanding of ballistics you have no? Appreciate the wind comment, but that is all relative assuming conditions remain the same through the days shooting?

 

[Selous]

100m for load development then every hundred out to 300 for my woodland stalking rifle and 1000 for my hill rifles. Not that I shoot deer out that far, purely because I enjoy it!!

 

[jb1]

Start off at 100, if a load shows promise and low ES I will go out to 200 and develop that load a bit more via seating depth and may even look into different primers, depending on how far i am intending to use it.

 

[Apthorpe]

Yes, however that would be similar for all groups, providing it isn't a gusty day

I was thinking of gusts, since there are plenty here, and even a very modest change of windspeed must account for quite a difference in group at even 100yds.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I was thinking of gusts, since there are plenty here, and even a very modest change of windspeed must account for quite a difference in group at even 100yds.

Check out Mark and sam afterwork, he explains how he does his load development, quite intriguing

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

depends how you develop

100gr for OCW group proving
300+ for ladder

 

[Apthorpe]

Check out Mark and sam afterwork, he explains how he does his load development, quite intriguing

Thank you. Will do right now.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

Thank you. Will do right now.

You will have to have a good going through lol, good luck

 

[Lateral]

I try to do all my load development, and testing at Calton Moor indoor range, where he also has chronograph facilities.

Calton Moor Indoor Range/tunnels

Weather, and wind are irrelevant, Mike has monitors set up by the shooting benches, so you can see close ups of the targets. The targets are also lit with IR, so using NV is a piece of cake.

For thermal, anything from a piece of kitchen foil, to a teabag, and he can set a target up anywhere between 0 to 100yds, so even just getting a new scope/sight on target, is easy.

 

[Odders]

Ideally, 100yds for initial testing, then 300 for fine tuning & checking trajectory.
Why zero at 100 when you could zero at significantly greater range & still keep non-adjusted shots within a given kill zone?

 

[Sampo]

Won't 150 be better to cover both 100 and 200 better? With the heart/ lung shot, the margin of error would still ensure a kill shot across the distance range which is what most of is take anyway. So just need to get the cross hairs and shoot than thinking about drop for 200 yards and unless its a very heavy bullet, even the 100 yards should be within the kill zone. This is what I have been told and so wondering if it could work out well?

 

[Humpy]

I do a step load test at 300 yards which generally indicates two good possibilities and I do some more testing on those and finalize.

 

[andychas]

I do load development at 100yds, then zero 1.5” high at 100. With most of my rifles that’s then point and shoot with no holdovers out to around 225-250yds

 

[Woodsmoke]

1000 for my hill rifles

How hard do you have to pull the trigger to get the bullet to 1000 yards?

 

[Deermanagement]

depends how you develop

100gr for OCW group proving
300+ for ladder

Used this method for a 6.5 Cr, went through the range of loads at 100m and then took the 3 most promising out to 280yds as this was easily accommodated. I did this on a completely windless evening but also found it useful to confirm the 11 clicks of elevation on the BT suggested by the Swarovski database. The elevation was based on a MV suggests by Swiss Reload for my loading and worked out spot on.

I have a sheltered 175yd and most of the time will use this and think that if you have a particularly sheltered area, it is better to use this for testing rather than testing at wind effected bigger distances.