BigBlack

Okay I want accuracy plus speed. I know faster does not always equate to better accuracy but I want a blend of both. Here is my game plan on developing some future hand loads. My goal is to achieve the best accuracy/speed combo without wasting a lot of components and since I have started reloading various calibers I am working up a collection of partial powder containers.

Step 1: Load up one cartridge of each weight stepping up in .5 grain increments from min to max. Shoot each cartridge over the chronograph going from lightest charged to heaviest. Watching for pressure signs and monitoring speed. This step is basically to test the upper end of the charge scale and see if it is safe in my rifle and also to see the approximate fps gain for each half grain increment and see if the speed increase flattens at a given point.

Step 2: Once complete with step one load up 3 cartridges each of the top 5 loads from above. Now shoot these for groups at 100 still using my chronograph. If one load shows promise then work around it in smaller increments and more shots per group (maybe 5). If not try a different powder that I have on hand known to work in the cartridge I am loading and repeat from step 1.

Again my goal is to find a good accurate load with upper end velocity. I know sometimes slower is more accurate in certain combinations, but I feel with the right combination I should be able to get both or at least a good balance.

Thinking out loud but thought this would be good food for the brain!

bigcountry

I would do it a tad differently myself.I have about 25 different powders.I would take a promising powder, start 10% below book max, and load min middle and max load in 1-2gr increments for std calibers like 308. For big calbiers like 300RUM, maybe 2-3gr increments lowering increments closer to max. See how it works for you as far as speed and accuracy goes. I would then try another powder. The powder type is critical. You can't trust the books.

So in other words, if I was going for speed/accuracy with say my 300winmag.And I wanted to do it quickly.I would pick a desired bullet, and load it up with 3 different powders. And out of that, see if anything is promising as far as speed and accuracy. If something looks good, concentrate on that powder, and now fine tune with powder and COL. Only problem is getting close to max pressure. You need to be careful there. As you seem to know.

Pawildman

What bc told you is basically sound advice. I, myself, work in a little small er parameters as far as powder charge weights are concerned, but that is just the way I like to do it. One thing I would like to say is that I have totally frusrated myself on more than one occasion in the attempt to try to get a particular bullet to shoot in a given gun. On several different attempts with a multitude of powders, it has become impossible for me to get the bullet I wished to shoot to perform to my expectations. Once I switch bullets, I can often find exactly what I'm looking for. As we all know, guns are individuals to themselves, and they will definitely tell you what they want.
I think we all strive for maximum velocity with the accuracy that is acceptable in the reasonable parameters we seek.....
You definitely seem to have a good grasp on the concept.....

Remnard

The way that works best for me is to first pick the bullet I want to use and build the fastest,most accurate load around that.

I load three rounds of each powder I have on hand. 1 round at max load and one at 1 grain and 2 grains below that.
Then I go to the range and fire each powder type at a separate target.

I shoot the lowest powder charge first and the hottest one last of course.
This let's me see if there are any pressure issues, and it would probably start to show at thethird charge weight.
For the record I have never seen any of my guns show any signs of high pressure with any published load data.

I clean the gun after each powder.
This lets the gun cool down and removes any powder residue from the barrel.

I just loaded 12 rounds of 338-06 yesterday behind a 175 Grain X Flat Base.

With just 12 rounds (3 each of 4 different powders) I will be able to tell which powder the gun/bullet likes best.

Then I will load 12 more rounds of the winner and shoot groups to confirm the combination.
The accuracy is surprising even though they are 1 grain and 2 grains apart.it is amazing how close the right powder will group even at different charge weights.

If I don't get where I want to be (< 1MOA) I will either purchase some other powders to try or move to another bullet, But have never had to give up on a bullet yet. Primers have never been an issue, and I have had more luck changing powders than changing primers.