How accurate are our reloads

CW that's AWSOME!
I tell you my reloads are doing well also.
My 27 year old son at 300 yds tells me the 7mm rem mag i loaded up are like lasers .
223 at 100yds all touching And 45s at 10yds 1 big hole.
Now the 9s and colt 45 good but a few flyers but all in the 10 ring.
Sometimes takes a few bad loads but think we are on to something.

I'm still pretty steady at 55 but do use a rest to fine tune my reloads. Over the weekend I finally dialed in my best 125 grain 9mm reload for the R1. Probably the best 10 yards off-hand 5 round group I could ask for. If it weren't for that one flier @11:00 this would have been a half inch group

cw308 said:

At 72 years old my both rotator cuff are blown out ,hands aren't as steady , so I made myself a shooting rest for my 1911 to see how accurate my handloads are , I'm also shooting with CT Laser Grips . I set it at 10 yards rested the pistol and shot a 25 cent piece group also adjusted the red Dot and sights to line up at that distance . It's nice to shoot tight groups again even though it's not like freehand but my pistol and reloads are working great . For those of you in the same boat as me , make yourself a rest , makes for a fun project.

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Great shooting. At my age I also need all the help I can get.

I am going to ask the obvious follow-up questions:
-What is your load that shoots a 25 cent piece group?
-Can you post a picture of the shooting rest you made.

Since I asked for loads data, it makes sense for me to also provide some of my load results. Following are two of my better results in 45acp, using a MTM rest and a scope on my Sig P220 at 15 yards:



45acp, P220, 4.4"
Case: S&B
COL: 1.240"
Xtreme, 200gr, SWC, CFEpistol, 6.7gr, CCI300
Average: 814
Force: 294
PF: 162
Velocities: , , , 814, (had some problems with my chrono this day)
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.49"
Test Date: 12/24/2018


45acp, P220, 4.4"
Case: S&B
COL: 1.175"
Berrys, 200gr, RS, SportPistol, 5.6gr, CCI300
Average: 814
ES: 33
SD: 13.9
Force: 294
PF: 162
Velocities: 828, 795, 810, 828, 812
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.539"
Test Date: 03/04/2018

I've yet to work out a good way to rest a handgun for testing handloads. So I end up resting my dominant arm on the rest itself, with support elbow on the bench, and grade on a curve. The gun doesn't touch the rest or the bench, but I can still compare loads this way.

That said, I've got a .44 mag load that made a 10 shot 5" group at 50yds (excluding a pretty obvious flier). Which works out to 1" at 10yds.

I also have a .41 mag load that groups under 2.5" (but not yet under 2.0") at 25yds.

I'm using Montana Bullet Works hardcast gas checked bullets, and Alliant 2400 powder for both loads. I'm quite confident both loads would show better accuracy, if I could only shoot better.

cw308 said:

vaalpens
4.7gr W231 under a PrecisionDelta 230 fmj set at 1.255, light load works the slide 100% no feeding problems . I give the pistol a good cleaning every time it's shot . Don't own a chronograph , have no idea how fast it's moving . I use the ChargeMaster 1500 for 13+ years and double check my rifle rounds with the GemPro 250 nice little very accurate scale to a hundredth of a grain . My 308 I'm getting a consistent .5 group at 200 yards , three 10 shot groups . Pistol is a different story quarter size at 10 yards rested.
PS: Your shooting nice groups . Don't know how to post pictures , keep up the good work .

Chris

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Thanks Chris. I have been able to get good precision (groupings) using 200gr bullets, but only decent grouping with 230gr bullets. I will have to revisit HP-38 in 45acp. I started my load workup at 4.9gr, but maybe should take it down a notch or two and see how they group. This was the best I did with HP-38 and 230gr FMJ. Definitely need some tweaking. I will report back once I have tested some additional HP-38 loads:



45acp, P220, 4.4"
Case: KFA
COL: 1.255"
RMR, 230gr, FMJRN, HP38, 5gr, CCI300
Average: 663
ES: 68
SD: 25.8
Force: 224
PF: 152
Velocities: 631, 699, 667, 648, 673
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.72"
Test Date: 12/24/2018

Rested/supported or not, this is all fantastic shooting, gentlemen. I would guess that with the kind of skill you folks display, the differing quality of the reloads may not reveal much.

If I want to evaluate something other than myself, I use things that remove me from the process as much as possible.

Keeps things simple and easy.

I read this tread as I just get no real joy from loading for hand guns......It really is a cost thing for me.....and the reasons are what is talked about here....how do I take the loose nut behind the trigger out of the picture....I will try some of the suggestions here.

Now Rifle loading....I am all over that, and have worked up loads for all kinds of odd ducks....last year it was a Carcano....this spring it is a trapdoor. Put it on a rest be as steady as possible.....I have thought about a remote trigger but have not gone down that road yet.

I am very anal about my rifle loads and will make and check each cartridge, weigh brass, bullets, measure all that can be measured, and in the case of the 45-70 some of the loads are inside of 10fps of eachother.....

Hand guns I just never found a good way to take me out of it.

After I know what the gun will do on its own, then I will shoot it to see how (I) will do.

.I have thought about a remote trigger but have not gone down that road yet.

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I have, it’s not difficult to do.

When I first started using an optical chrono, I was shooting offhand. One day, I pulled a shot, knew instantly I had pulled it, and expected to look down and see a hole in my chrono. I was lucky, somehow I had missed it. But, I made the decision to ALWAYS shoot from a rest when using my chrono. Plus, it allows me to take myself out of the equation as much as possible so that I can do accuracy testing at the same time. If possible, I use a rail mounted laser and have the laser POA about 2" from the expected POI, so that I don't end up trying to aim the laser at a hole in the paper for following shots.

I use a MTM K-Zone rifle rest, with the rear rest removed. It works very well for me.

cw308 said:

j
Doesn't feel like shooting without hands on. More like a Bruce Willis movie.

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Yeah but it’s not fictional.

Here's the rest I made. It will adjust for someone sitting in a chair or someone 7 feet tall standing. I still need to add some adjustable feet for the rough ground.