Jusy wondering what range you guys shoot at when developing your hand loads. ......... snip .......
Here are my thoughts.
Every 5 shot group is different. The question you're trying to answer during load development is WHY? Usually you try to hold absolutely everything constant except one variable. Often that's charge weight, but it could be primer brand, seating depth, neck tension, or what have you. Anyway, typically you shoot careful groups of each different variable under study with the goal of detecting differences in performance and later on trying make sense of those (often small) differences.
One thing you don't want to deal with is wind. Anyone who has shoot and scored targets at 600 yards or greater on a gusty day with swirling winds would trade his "really good stuff" hand loads for factory ammo if only God would whisper the instructions for exactly how to compensate for the wind at that moment in time. Wind is nearly always the biggest mystery when it comes to precision. Therefore, why go out of your way to expose your bullet to more wind?
That's why testing at 100 yards makes sense. Yes, the differences in group size are smaller. If you use a coin or a carpenters tape to measure group size, you'll be wasting your time. But that's why you should scan your targets and measure them with a computer program like On Target, which costs only a few bucks. You can measure the exact location of the bullet hole to very fine tolerances with ease.
Remember, you're searching for tiny differences in performance. "Aim small; shoot small" is good advice at the moment you pull the trigger. "Measure small; learn the truth" is good advice when you get your targets home.
After you know where the bullets hit, you need to sort the data eight ways from Sunday using a spread sheet like Excel and study the information carefully so you can separate the fly s**t from the pepper. A scoring program will provide all sorts of data which is hard to measure by hand, especially mean-radius which some folks believe is more important than group size.
Often using the ability to draw graphs with Excel will reveal trends otherwise hidden in a matrix of confusing numbers. Extracting the truth from a pile of data is the goal and you need to be as careful doing that as you are when you measure your powder.
Bottom line: Study one variable at a time. Gather your data very carefully and measure it as accurately as possible. Study it to extract what the data is trying to tell you. Most importantly, eliminate extraneous external variables, and for the most part that means minimizing exposure to wind and generally speaking that means testing at short ranges.
