Hi Mike It depends on how I am approching it if I have one type of powder and bullet to work with it is easier to work up a load but it might not be the best shooting combo for my rifle but the best I can do for that load.

Starting with the clean bore I shoot a couple of rounds swabbing with one wet and one or two dry between shots and then start my testing. If I am using a caplock or older inline I start at 70-80g and work up taking three shot groups and then going up 5g of powder until I pass the best load then test it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. If I get good results with one particular load it is off to the 100yd range for field testing. If I have other projectiles or powder I do not mix the results. I clean my rifle and start fresh doing the same thing. I can spend hours at the range and only shoot 20-40 rounds when I am testing..

With my Encore I start loads at 100g and work up from there I have no reason to test low power loads in that rifle I will never use it for anything smaller than Northern whitetail.