Accurate long range loads

[Rckymtnshooter]

I have been picking the brain of a very accomplished local 1000 yard competitive shooter. He's given me some insight as to what he believes make up an accurate long range load. Some of his thoughts are that your very accurate load at 100 yards may not be a good performer at long range and that low extreme spread is not always going to be an indicator of your best accuracy at long range. He is an advocate that it us what you see on paper that tells you what a good load is. He says get off the 100 yard range and get to 600 yards as quick as you can.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around why if I find a .25 moa load at 100 with a good es , why that load would not be a similar performer at 600 or farther. I'm wondering how common it is to have a great 100 yard load be a poor performer at longer range.

 

[elkaholic]

I have seen lots of low es loads that would not group at 1oo yards and high es that would. Barrel harmonics have a lot to do with where the poi is and if you are close to a node change, any variation counts. Having said that, low es is definitely a plus when you start gaining distance; all else equal. I do agree that what happens on paper (at long range) is more important than any data that may indicate otherwise. Good luck.......Rich

 

[HARPERC]

The only variable I can see is twist. Stabilization issues will show up as you stretch out, especially if your environmental inputs change at the same time.

 

[gohring3006]

I agree with Rich and HARPERC.
Consistency in loads is paramount. But consistent hold, parallax, trigger squeeze, all of hose factors come into play. You can have the best rifle, lowest ES loads and if you are not following thru and holding the rifle the same each time. You will blame the gun and the load when all the time it could be you, parallax, or all of the above.
Always test farther out, but don't always assume it's the load when things aren't right...

 

[Greyfox]

I do all my load development and very thorough testing at 200 yards. 100 yards doesn't seem to provide enough definition as to what's going on with the load....300 or more yards may introduce interfering variables(wind, mirage, etc) that muddy things up. Once I get a load I'm satisfied with, I will continue testing at 200 yards for several days with varied conditions to check for consistency. . There have been times when my load didn't turn out as great as I thought it was and I had to go back to correct it, Once I'm satisfied with the consistency of the groups, ES, and zero at 200 yards I'll then move to long range to test and confirm my velocity/drop data. Perhaps I'm just lucky, but all my loads that have made it through my 200 yards gauntlet have held together when subsequently tested at the longer ranges.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I have seen lots of low es loads that would not group at 1oo yards and high es that would. Barrel harmonics have a lot to do with where the poi is and if you are close to a node change, any variation counts. Having said that, low es is definitely a plus when you start gaining distance; all else equal. I do agree that what happens on paper (at long range) is more important than any data that may indicate otherwise. Good luck.......Rich

Same here Rich. My best load for my Sendero SF 7mm STW is not a low-ES load, but it's repeatable and shoots sub-1/2 MOA. Haven't had a chance to test it out far yet, but now have a couple of places to shoot, so I might have a place to shoot 1000 or so, thanks to one of my buddies.