[Okiecruffler]

For instance, I have a pet load for my .223 Contender that does consistant 0.4" groups from the bench, and one for my .308 Striker that does 0.5" groups. Now they're almost boring. I've done this twice before, once with a 357mag barrel that I ended up trading off, and once with a 44 mag barrel that I had rechambered into a 444 Marlin. Now I'm starting to look at my .223 and wondering what I could trade it for.
Anyone else lose interest in a gun after you find "THE LOAD"?

[Dave R]

LOL. I would like to be mature and say that doesn't happen to me...but it does.

Sigh. I suppose there's no cure, but you CAN treat the symptoms. Try a heavier bullet, or a lighter bullet, or a different powder....

Or buy a new gun.

[Mylhouse]

Yes.

It's a very hard-to-describe bittersweet yet depressing feeling.

[BigG]

Yeah, it's an old story with me. :o

[Thirties]

OK, now you've got yhe perfect load, go learn to shoot accurately offhand.

That will take you some time, so you won't have to sell your guns right away.

[Desert Dog]

No, of course not. I simply go find a different weight bullet for the caliber I am interested in and go again... :D

I confess that load development is almost as much fun as shooting... almost.

[Black Snowman]

Hmmm . . . I haven't shot my A-Bolt Eclipse since I got that 100 yard 5 shot cloverleaf. . . You might have something here. I wouldn't dare sell it though. It's the most accurate gun I own. Now I just need to use that accuracy to learn shooting at longer ranges.

What I usually do is just get another gun. I'll still keep something that performs well unless I have something else that fits it's nitche in my collection. Which is why I'm selling my CZ 550 VL. Since I got the Eclipse it's just not as interesting even though I never found the "one load" for it.

Guns immune to the "loose their fun after load testing" seem to be handguns. They're challenging enough to shoot that even when I find a very accurate load I'll still have fun trying differant positions and techniques. One hadned, two handed, off handed, rested, sitting, kneeling, rapid fire, drills, etc . . .

[Kamicosmos]

perhaps we should change the old quote:

Only accurate rifles are interesting.

to

Only load development for accurate rifles is interesting.

[R.H. Lee]

Post partum depression? :p

[rbernie]

Frankly, I live to crank out boxes of my pet loads - getting there is just a necessary evil.

OK, now you've got yhe perfect load, go learn to shoot accurately offhand. This sums it up for me. It's far harder to learn to shoot well and maintain that proficiency than it is to work thru the variables and come up with a decent load. I just do the load development so that I can ensure that the misses are mine and not the ammo's.

[Rabid Rabbit]

No, but whenI find it and I run short and have to buy some, that hurts because usually the store bought isn't as accurate and I hate spending money for less accuracy.

[Okiecruffler]

If you trade a gun off, you almost always lose money in the deal. But it's real easy to find someone with a Contender barrel they're bored with who will trade you straight across. All you're out is shipping.

[Poodleshooter]

No remorse here. I simply crank up production and make a bunch more of them. I like having a reliable load that my rifle is sighted in for, and that I have a plentiful supply of ammunition for.
There's always other bullet weights to try!

[dakotasin]

some remorse... i'll usually ramp production up and load up all the matching lot # stuff i have. then, i buy a new gun and start a new project - very rarely sell a gun...

off-hand practice... hmmm... if only there was some practical use for me to take my offhand shooting seriously... (i'm a bipod hunter, living on the great plains... really don't care about offhand shooting, because it has almost no application to me - prairie dogs are off the bench or bipod, everything else is off a bipod...)

[Okiecruffler]

I practice offhand with my carry pistols and my rifles. But my specialty pistols are made for the bench. One good thing about the Contenders is that if I get bored with one barrel, I can have it rechambered for something new. I have a 7tcu that might become a 7X444 very soon. :D