yeoman

I've been thinking lately (always frightening) about the way in which I experiment at the range. If I am going to shoot a single bullet and try varying charges, as I plan to do this coming weekend with the 54 cal, my procedure tends to be:

Shoot 3 shots with 70 grains, then 3 with 80, then 3 with 90 etc.

It occurs to me, it may be more revealing to shoot 1 with 70, then 1 with 80, then 1 with 90, three times in a row. By doing it this way, the variables are more evenly shared and no subsequent group is inadvertently punished or rewarded.

An example would be:

You arrive at the public range and are the only shooter. You get 3 shots in with 70 grains and 1 with 80, before a guy gets set up nearby and goes to work. Your results show the 70 grain charge produced the tightest groups. Might it have been the new distraction?

Or it's a hot summer day, and the 90 grain charge performs the best. Might it have been the hotter barrel of the final group or softer sabots warmed on the bench by sunshine?

It seems as though those variables which do exist would be more evenly shared by shooting 1 with 70, then 1 with 80, then 1 with 90 three times, or five as I prefer, to achieve the most valid, if not the most accurate, result.

Thoughts?