How do you go about working up loads for a new rifle?

[deerhunter61]

I was wondering what process you all use when you start working up loads for a new rifle?

How many different bullets will you use on the first go around?

How many different powders?

Primers?

Do you focus on one bullet and one powder and just work on adjusting the powder measurements and the bullet seating depth? Or do you pick out two or three different bullets and two or three different powders and work up loads for each?

When you work up loads how many with you load up and take to the range the first time?

How many rounds do you load? 3,5,10?


Thanks,

 

[Cypress]

I use most of my rifles for hunting and do a lot of experiment with the latest,greatest, depleted uranium Godzilla killers so my methods are meant to test the bullet/rifle combination. I will usually select a bullet type and check load data to see what 2-3 powders give the velocity I'm looking for. I'll then take the powder of these three that I have on hand and load up 5 rounds of each loading. If the load data gives from 55-60 grains I'll load 30 rounds. 5@55,5@56,5@57 and so on. I'll usually find the most accurate range in the middle some where. I'll then break it in to .3 grain increments and go again until the most accurate load is found. If no loads are acceptable I switch powders. OAL is usually found by egg shaping the mouth of a fired cartridge and inserting a bullet so that it grabs the bullet snugly but can still be moved. I then insert the cartridge and close the bolt. The rifling will push the bullet back in the case. Measure and repeat. This gives max OAL. I then reduce by .030. This has always worked for me. Your mileage may differ. After all this I load up the two bullets I have left over and go shoot a pig. The pig dies and I get to buy a new gun and a brand new box of bullets.

 

[Seafarer12]

Depends on the gun, I usually get one kind of bullet and primer and a couple of powders. Then work up from their I usually load 5 rounds of each powder weight.

 

[NotSoFast]

I think each of us is different in how we test our loads. When I'm working up a load, I go in .5 increments from min load toward Max load until I am within .5, then I go by .2, then by point one, creeping up on Max Load. I also load 10 of each, and shoot two 5 round groups. This helps to determine if the first five was an anomaly or not.