Hornady Podcast Reloading

[LocalJW]

Hey Yall

If you havnt listened to Hornadys next podcast about a month ago just skip.

My question and summary though is…

The change in powder range from 5-8grains is minimal in a 30 shot dispersion is what they found.

So they are saying instead of building ladders, OCW, POI and etc….

Pick a bullet and pick a powder. Load 20-30 bullets at a powder drop you wanna shoot.

That will tell you what that bullet and powder combo does. If that doesn't work pick another powder. Then again. Then again. If that doesn't pan out, then switch bullets.

This was my understanding.

Anyone have thoughts? They basically say your better to shoot

 

[cajun]

Well the point was you really need 20-30 shots to make the data valuable. Now if 3 shots go into 1 1/2" its not getting better. I think also it's a matter of degree. So your really good load is not 1/2 moa it's closer to moa. Unless your shooting past 5-600 yards it's not going to make much an impact. The takeway for me was what I already knew some powders are really accurate with some rounds. Like H 4350 in the creed. The other big one was confirming zero. That 3 shot zero might be good for 300 yds but not 800. To me thats a bigger deal.

 

[LocalJW]

Well the point was you really need 20-30 shots to make the data valuable. Now if 3 shots go into 1 1/2" its not getting better. I think also it's a matter of degree. So your really good load is not 1/2 moa it's closer to moa. Unless your shooting past 5-600 yards it's not going to make much an impact. The takeway for me was what I already knew some powders are really accurate with some rounds. Like H 4350 in the creed. The other big one was confirming zero. That 3 shot zero might be good for 300 yds but not 800. To me thats a bigger deal.

But example. I'm buying a Seekin 300PRC.

I have no previous development for 300PRC. So if I am trying to find a load then I need to just picking a powder drop and bullet and powder and load 20-30.

That will show me what that is capable of right?

Don't even do ladder testing.

 

[Beluebow]

Now if 3 shots go into 1 1/2" its not getting better.

It can't get smaller than the first two shots.

 

[GetReel]

I listened to the podcast too. I was trying to figure out how I wanted to ask almost the same question as you.
They make it sound like it's not worth going through the trouble of OCW, Ladder, seating etc.
I am starting a couple new rifles and I think I'm going to shoot 2 ladder tests (also to find max charge weight) load 25 in the velocity node and see how it shoots.

 

[LocalJW]

that was my thought.

Maybe load in 1 grain increments for my 300PRC. 1 bullet each.

Shoot into target and look at POI.

If 2-3 shoot same POI group I like then load 25-30 in that exact grain and see what it does.

But they make it sound like the change in grain is so small that it won't even change your groups

I listened to the podcast too. I was trying to figure out how I wanted to ask almost the same question as you.
They make it sound like it's not worth going through the trouble of OCW, Ladder, seating etc.
I am starting a couple new rifles and I think I'm going to shoot 2 ladder tests (also to find max charge weight) load 25 in the velocity node and see how it shoots.

 

[cajun]

But example. I'm buying a Seekin 300PRC.

I have no previous development for 300PRC. So if I am trying to find a load then I need to just picking a powder drop and bullet and powder and load 20-30.

That will show me what that is capable of right?

Don't even do ladder testing.

I would say pick a bullet you want to shoot. Do some internet research. See what the most popular powders are. Noslers most accurate load they list is also good. Then I would pick a seating depth and load some 3 shot ladders like normal.Or what I have been doing is shoot a one shot ladder. See if you can notice the horizontal clusters. In short the only thing I would do different is shoot multiple 3-5 shot groups to validate the load and the zero if you are planning on shooting at distance. If it shoots bad from the get go move on.

 

[GetReel]

that was my thought.

Maybe load in 1 grain increments for my 300PRC. 1 bullet each.

Shoot into target and look at POI.

If 2-3 shoot same POI group I like then load 25-30 in that exact grain and see what it does.

But they make it sound like the change in grain is so small that it won't even change your groups

That's what I got out of it too. I'm no where near a BR shooter level of reloading/shooting so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

They make it sound like those little bug holes at 100 yrds in a 3-5 shot group are invalid tests. When someone says they have a 1/4 moa rifle with a 3 shot group, it's actually closer to a 1/2-3/4 moa rifle (if they would shoot enough shots).

But, one of my rifles I'll be playing with is a 6.5x47L so with 40gr of powder per boom, it won't be crazy to do some testing/experimenting, and will be fun to sit at the range too.

I do get the zero they they were talking about though. That makes sense to me.

 

[crashlanding]

Sounds to me like you would deplete your supply of powder, primers and bullets

 

[parshal]

There's a very long thread on Rokslide about this subject. Lots and lots of posts.

 

[GetReel]

Sounds to me like you would deplete your supply of powder, primers and bullets

Yes and no.
Yes because of the large sample group verification size.
No because if you commit 20-30 shots for a proper zero and group validation then you know what you got and you are not chasing your tail at distance because of being "slightly" off and not knowing it.

It's kinda a double edged sword type thing to me.
The podcast is very interesting though.

 

[QuietTexan]

Pick a bullet and pick a powder. Load 20-30 bullets at a powder drop you wanna shoot.

That will tell you what that bullet and powder combo does. If that doesn't work pick another powder. Then again. Then again. If that doesn't pan out, then switch bullets.

Pretty much. Don't bother with trying to do anything until you've shot it quite a bit. 100+ rounds at least, shoot all your brass and try out the bullet/powder combos you want to ultimately use. If something doesn't shoot under 1.5" for a 10-shot string move on to the next combination.

There's a difference in starting completely cold like you're doing, and having a history with a chambering. If you've previously loaded something you can take a known load and fill up all your new cases with that load, and be surprised at how well it shoots.

Give up on the concept of "group size" as normally defined by maximum spread. Get the Ballistic-X app and move over to using mean radius/average to center.

Precision & Group Size – Statistics for Shooters Part 3

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The vast majority of tinkering that goes on in hand loading doesn't move the needle on precision in a meaningful way once you really overlay groups and stop cherry picking the best ones. It's the same theory as excluding flyers but applied to sequential groups.

Sounds to me like you would deplete your supply of powder, primers and bullets

Isn't that the whole point? I didn't buy it for it to look pretty sitting on the shelf. Shooting more is always better than shooting less. Components can be replaced.

 

[crashlanding]

With great difficulty and expense

 

[LocalJW]

So my question is...

How are you going to take this information (more bullets equal more accurate data) and apply it to your reloading development if changing at all?