Best range for load development?

[Grizz1148]

i know I'm going to get diff opinions on this but still like the feedback. This is a discussion I've had with my local gs and my shooting buddies. What is the best distance to test loads? 100? 300? 500? 1000?
Most of my testing has been done at 100. Gs says 300, but seems to me environmental factors would become too much of an issue at that distance to get true results for load development. What's everyone else do?

 

[Rich Coyle]

I go for 100 yards because there is less wind drift. Later I switch to 300 for sight in.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Here is what I do.
Ladder testing: 400-600
Charge weight testing: 100 (course) & 200 (fine)
Seating depth testing: 200-300
Load verification: 500-1200+

 

[memtb]

I go for 100 yards because there is less wind drift. Later I switch to 300 for sight in.

Much the same for me, except if my 300 yard groups are not satisfactory....I start over with load development. This system works well for me, as I have a 100 yard and 300 yard range in the backyard.

Having a range out of the back door, means that I can easily pick those "windless" days. I live in one of those rare areas of Wyoming, where the wind doesn't blow often....usually, only when a weather front is moving through!

Rich, I think we're part of a "very" small crowd that uses a 300 yard zero! memtb

 

[beaver hunter]

i am also getting ready to do some load development , but i'm a greenhorn , where does one start , do you choose a bullet brand or weight , then try different powders , then try different powder loads , what is the correct procedure to get the best combo that works in a particular gun ,

 

[Slick8]

I do most of my work at 300. Wind can be a factor meaning you have to pick your days and usually go early.

I feel like 300 is a good starting point for a long range rig with minimum environmental impact.

If you're resting a custom or any rifle which consistently shoots under .5moa I just don't feel like 100 yards tells a good story. My charge weight initial test is always a 10 shot ladder. The closest I would do this is at 300.

 

[Plinker147]

First I do ladder loads at 200-300. You can see the nodes way better than 100.

Once that is done I will shoot groups at 100 if a have chrono and can do ES and SD at same time. I never had a load with low SD and ES fall apart at distance.

When I don't have chrono I shot at 200-300, then reverified at 600 once load was found. If it groups at 600 yards you can safely assume ES and SD are good.

 

[palerider3]

I do it all at 100 with a chronograph. Then after I have the load done I verify it at 1000 and then the range it starts to go transonic in I can, otherwise I just shoot at my 1530 target. I do load development starting with a ladder through a magnetospeed. I don't even try to group them, I just get the scope close while I'm burning these rounds. Once I find the node I want I load a couple 4 round sets at the seating depths I'm expecting to work and shoot groups at 100. Shooting at 100 reduces any exterior ballistic variances and gives me a true indication of what I am getting accuracy wise. Then I shoot a group at 1k, and a group farther than that. Verify drops and I'm set. Almost always have a load verified and ready to hunt in 40 rounds, sometimes less. I did load development a month ago for 230 ATIPs in my 300 wm and had a .4" load with an SD of 6 and ES of 17 in 28 rounds. Then shot 20 more just playing around and still have over 50 to hunt and play with.

 

[Deezel]

I've done load development at 100, 200 and 300 yards. I'm pretty confident that I would have come to the exact same conclusion if all were done at 100 yards.
Now, all my development is done at 100 yards then verified at 600+ yards. I have found that if I can get 1/2 MOA results at 100, I usually can get the same result at 600 yards, with hand loads.
The only time I have not got the same results at 600 as I did at 100 was with factory ammo.

 

[308stillbrass]

I've recently been developing loads at 100 yds for shooting at ~700 and have been culling charge weights & confirming the smallest groups for the longer ranges, just as you wrote. I think I need to go back & look at my previous targets & data a little closer now.

As a side note, I had read online that VLDs won't group well at shorter ranges, but I have been seeing just the opposite with some loads in my testing. I'm thinking that the instability you're describing and my personal grouping of VLDs may be related? Or am I way off here?

 

[corsair4360]

Much the same for me, except if my 300 yard groups are not satisfactory....I start over with load development. This system works well for me, as I have a 100 yard and 300 yard range in the backyard.

Having a range out of the back door, means that I can easily pick those "windless" days. I live in one of those rare areas of Wyoming, where the wind doesn't blow often....usually, only when a weather front is moving through!

Rich, I think we're part of a "very" small crowd that uses a 300 yard zero! memtb

Lucky stiff.... shooting range in the backyard.... Mine is 3 miles west of the house at the public shooting range (300 yards max). The closest 1,000 yard range is 30 miles away half of the year - closed enough to be an irritant to me.

 

[cjuve]

I have done it all sorts of ways but the fastest way was seating depth at 100, ladder/pressure at 300 and then a group with the magnetospeed to get average speed/Sd then verification out to 1000 with a couple LR groups.

 

[memtb]

Lucky stiff.... shooting range in the backyard.... Mine is 3 miles west of the house at the public shooting range (300 yards max). The closest 1,000 yard range is 30 miles away half of the year - closed enough to be an irritant to me.

Yep, pretty lucky. I have to travel about a mile for unlimited distance....but, really don't take advantage of it. Have done very little shooting over the last few years! memtb

 

[Greyfox]

Most all my load development is done at 200 yards. I like this manageable range for minimal environmentals/wind influence with sufficient shot resolution. Accurate chronographing is critical. I'll generally run a 5-10 shot ladder depending on my particular experience/knowledge of the cartridge/components. I'll then move to groups/seating depth tests. Once accuracy and ES is optimized, I'll verify at 500 and 1000 yards. With the exception of the occasional ballistic velocity calibration at 1000 yards, loads developed at 200 yards, will hang together at 1000+ yards.