Chronograph Hire or Help

[Tris88]

Morning,

I’m in Suffolk and could do with working up a new load. I’ve got a Caldwell original, but not sure how much I trust it for ladder testing. Please do tell me I’m wrong.

Has anyone got a garmin or athlon that I can hire, or know of a range that hires them?

Once I have a load I don’t mess around too much so £360 seems a big outlay.

 

[3595wilk]

Ed at @Edinburgh Rifles hired out a Garmin, maybe still does?

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

Morning,

I’m in Suffolk and could do with working up a new load. I’ve got a Caldwell original, but not sure how much I trust it for ladder testing. Please do tell me I’m wrong.

Has anyone got a garmin or athlon that I can hire, or know of a range that hires them?

Once I have a load I don’t mess around too much so £360 seems a big outlay.

I’ve been using Caldwell for donkeys years, bugger all wrong with them!

I’ve been loading best part of nearly 20 years of I’ve never ladder tested anything!

You’re making hard work out of something that really doesn’t need to be hard work at all and trust your equipment because there’s bugger all wrong with it!

Reloading is as simple as making a cake

 

[Tris88]

@Norfolk Deer Search that’s exactly what I wanted to hear regarding accuracy.

Interested to know what you have against ladder testing though?

To me, it seems quite sensible to have a stable velocity that you then tune group size with seating depth?

 

[Norfolk Deer Search]

@Norfolk Deer Search that’s exactly what I wanted to hear regarding accuracy.

Interested to know what you have against ladder testing though?

To me, it seems quite sensible to have a stable velocity that you then tune group size with seating depth?

Waste of bullets!

For me personally, I’m a de stalker. I don’t fat about target shooting float my boat!

I am not confident in my process that I look at a projectile I want to shoot. I look at what powder I’ve got in the cupboard and usually within four or five rounds. I’ve got a load.

 

[3595wilk]

Got to say, my deer load work up is basically the same as my 650m steel process.

30-50 thou off the lands
Pick a weight about a grain under max
Shoot 15 for deer and 20 for steel onto paper
A decent mean radius.......that will do.....and a lot more latitude for the deer load. If it's crap, change projectile or powder or both.
SD under 20 for steel..... I don't shoot deer past 250 so not really relevant for the deer load.

Im going out to 1500 m in the summer so will pay a bit more attention to SD and ES for that........but exception rather than the rule.

 

[Selous]

I like the ladder test method by Satterlee. One round of each of 10 charge weights shot over the chronograph and look for velocity flat spots. Then 3-5 rounds of each charge node identified shot for group and velocity stability. Tweak seating depth if needed and job done. Seldom more than 20 shots.

 

[3595wilk]

I like the ladder test method by Satterlee. One round of each of 10 charge weights shot over the chronograph and look for velocity flat spots. Then 3-5 rounds of each charge node identified shot for group and velocity stability. Tweak seating depth if needed and job done. Seldom more than 20 shots.

I did too but listened to some Hornady propaganda podcasts and read a few articles including this one and switched away to what I do now........

Rifle Nodes: How You’ve Been Wasting Your Time and Money on Load Development

Everything you know about rifle nodes and load development might be wrong. Click here to see the results for yourself.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[Tris88]

I've just read that and gone cross-eyed!

 

[3595wilk]

Yeah, gets a bit techy......but the basics are that Saterlee and OCW are not statistically relevant. You need to shoot bigger groups to get a sense of what the chosen powder/projectile combination is doing and 20 is about the minimum for a precision load. 15 should work for deer.

The argument suggest rifles shoot in a wave pattern (harmonics, barrel etc) so if you are on the crest of that wave, you may have a tiny 3 or 5 shot group....but if the group coincides with being at the bottom of the wave, it could be dismissed as crap.....but in reality is much better than that.

20 shots+ sort evens all that out, to give you an actual idea. And don't worry about MOA too much - look at mean radius - which is especially useful for traditional chest shots on deer.

Like everything - go with what works for you - one isn't better than another - trust the one you have confidence in.

 

[Tris88]

So no change in charge weight over those 15 shots?

I do head shoot a fair bit, also I just like a small group, it gives me confidence in the rifle. Some will say it’s OTT but, it is, what it is.

 

[3595wilk]

Nope, same charge weight. If it groups with decent mean radius - job done. As said, got to work for you - so unless it does or you feel it won't, may not be for you.

It may be that the Saterlee and OCW methods and your chosen charge weights coincide with this method when you test it. Being semi-retired I have the time to play around and I've done all three and certainly my .308 load is within .2 of my chosen weight under Saterlee......

I'm comfortable neck shooting with mine in 6.5x55 .222. and .308. using this method. I'm switching from .308 to 7x64 soon and will do the same for that.

 

[Tris88]

It is interesting, and when I have the time (if I make it that far without my wife burying me under the patio) I will look forward to trying it.

 

[Bowland blades]

Morning,

I’m in Suffolk and could do with working up a new load. I’ve got a Caldwell original, but not sure how much I trust it for ladder testing. Please do tell me I’m wrong.

Has anyone got a garmin or athlon that I can hire, or know of a range that hires them?

Once I have a load I don’t mess around too much so £360 seems a big outlay.

Only real issue with the old Chrono is you have to note down the speed yourself.

 

[paul o']

Selling my magnospeed v3 for £200 UK mainland posted if that helps!

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Ed at @Edinburgh Rifles hired out a Garmin, maybe still does?

he does