Ladder testing at 1k- Detailed article and video

[BountyHunter]

Jason Baney has got an absolutely great video and article on ladder tesing LR loads at 1k. This by far the most detailed explanation of how to, what to look for you could find.

You will have to excuse him in the video, looks like he had a bad hair day!

Long-Range Load Development

Lynn you need to sticky this one.

BH

[Forester]

That is one of the best write ups I have seen for Ladder testing.

The problem I always have is keeping up with where each shot went. Glass good enough to spot a .204 hole at 4-500 yards is well out of my price range! It never occurred to me to color the bullets and use that as a way to keep track of which one went where. I think I will try that as well as set up a video camera next time to see what works best for me.

The wife will really like the idea of the video camera sitting downrange next to the target.

[BountyHunter]

colored bullets work well, many of us have been using them in record matches to make sure we can tell our bullets if someone crossfires on us.

Green, blue, purple, red and strong orange work well.

as for the video, there are commercial systems now complete with everything. one was listed on 6br for $1400, ready to go. you can also go on BR central and search and you will find threads for guys talking about exactly what equip you need to make your own, sources and costs.

Many time you cannot see the separate bullet impacts and if you do not color, take the time to go to the target look at them and mark the bullet holes for later analysis. Only thing different is that I use a chrono and log each bullets MV and look for the correspoding MV node that normally coincides with the POI node.

BH

[AJ Peacock]

I just hang 6-9 targets and then only go down range after 6-9 shots to mark targets. Of course I take up a bunch of backstops, which is OK if I am testing during the week.

I perform the analysis with MS Excel after measuring the vertical distance from the aim points, so looking at a group is pretty meaningless to me. I really like the idea of the colored bullets. With 6-9 targets and colored bullets, I could run an entire ladder test without ever visiting the target! All shots are Chronoed and the MV node is used as well as the impact nodes.

AJ

[Forester]

Originally Posted by BountyHunter

colored bullets work well, many of us have been using them in record matches to make sure we can tell our bullets if someone crossfires on us.

Green, blue, purple, red and strong orange work well.

as for the video, there are commercial systems now complete with everything. one was listed on 6br for $1400, ready to go. you can also go on BR central and search and you will find threads for guys talking about exactly what equip you need to make your own, sources and costs.

Many time you cannot see the separate bullet impacts and if you do not color, take the time to go to the target look at them and mark the bullet holes for later analysis. Only thing different is that I use a chrono and log each bullets MV and look for the correspoding MV node that normally coincides with the POI node.

BH

I will check out BR Central for making my own setup, but I think I can just set my video camera on a tripod close enough to the target and label the bullet holes while watching the video after I am done shooting. That combined with the colored bullets trick (learn something new everyday!) should eliminate any guesswork.

Ditto on the Chronograph, I have said it before, but if there is any discrepancy between the target and the Chrono data I go with the Chrono data as it seems to be less fallible than I am

[phorwath]

Originally Posted by Forester

Ditto on the Chronograph, I have said it before, but if there is any discrepancy between the target and the Chrono data I go with the Chrono data as it seems to be less fallible than I am

I know enough from my experiences to confirm that good chrono nodes in themselves don't guarantee good results on paper. And the POIs are what really matters, when all is said and done. In other words, one could establish a good long range load without a chronograph, but one could not rely on chronograph data alone without the POIs on down range targets to confirm a good load. The chrono data might be helpful, but that's the most it can be - an aid to efficiently ID'ing loads with the potential to deliver quality down-range POIs.

[jmason]

I my limited experience You need both the impacts on paper and the chrono. I have experienced low SD/ESs and poor grouping as well as the opposite. I will add that I don't have a gun that shoots 4/10 MOA at 1000 yds (outside of the barrels node) like the author's of the article either.