Ladder Test Question

[Scratch]

Hello

I have yet to do a ladder test, my question is. Do you try and shot over flat terrain from your rifle out to your target? Or does it really matter as long as each shot is from the same situation shot after shot?

Thanks in advance

Scratch

 

[Scratch]

Nobody ?

 

[Barrelnut]

I really don't think it matters. But... I would try to avoid angles that significantly affected line of site rangefinder measurements. I always try to shoot at 300 yards or longer for ladder test.

 

[velvetant]

As long as you can complete the test before conditions change to much your test will be valid.
No it doesn't have to be flat, as long as you have a stable shooting postion.

 

[Rich Coyle]

It assumes your rifle is very accurate to start with. If you have a one minute or one and a half minute rifle I don't see how you can learn much from a ladder test. Maybe some one will clue me in here.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

As long as you can complete the test before conditions change to much your test will be valid.
No it doesn't have to be flat, as long as you have a stable shooting postion.

^Yup

It assumes your rifle is very accurate to start with. If you have a one minute or one and a half minute rifle I don't see how you can learn much from a ladder test. Maybe some one will clue me in here.

I dont see why accuracy would make much difference for shooting a ladder. You are really just searching for powder nodes to investegate further. So really if a rifle shoots 1moa of 3moa, as long as your far enough from the target and the powder increments are large enough to identify a trend, thats enough to go on.

 

[Rich Coyle]

How far is far enough for a two minute rifle and what should be the jump in powder weight?

 

[Canadian Bushman]

How far is far enough for a two minute rifle and what should be the jump in powder weight?

What cartridge?

 

[Rich Coyle]

What cartridge?

.264 Win Mag

 

[Canadian Bushman]

.264 Win Mag

Probably 3-4 hundred yards and 1gn increments.

 

[BountyHunter]

IMO if you have a 2 MOA rifle you are wasting time and bullets shooting a ladder. There is basically no way to see any grouping with that variance in group size.

 

[Rich Coyle]

IMO if you have a 2 MOA rifle you are wasting time and bullets shooting a ladder. There is basically no way to see any grouping with that variance in group size.

That's what I thought.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Everyone has the right to their own opinion. There are certainly plenty of other load development methods to choose from.

 

[redbullitt]

At 400 yards you will see the nodes whether the rifle is .5 moa or 2 moa. Wont matter, but you just might need a bigger target to catch all the shots for the less accurate rifle. You will see the vertical dispersion and where it is minimized either way. More distance generally makes it more obvious. You do not really need to worry about "grouping," as the horizontal spread is not really as telling as the vertical. We are looking for the points, nodes, where the barrel is most stable in its vibration/travel, meaning the top or bottom of its wave movement. If you catch it at these points the and the bullet exits the barrel at that time, the rifle will shoot groups with less vertical spread and generally will be the most accurate.

Once you find what looks like nodes, load em up and see. After that mess with seating depth a little bit to fine tune things. Voila, should be shooting well at this point.

Thats how I approach it at least lol.

Mind you this all assumes the rifle, optic, firing position, ammunition, weather, and shooter are all ON. You cannot shoot a good ladder test unless you are shooting well, otherwise you end up chasing your tail.