I load 4, go up .3 grains, load 3, go up .3 grains load 3, go up .3 grains and load 4.
The 4th round in every 3rd group is a fouling round as I clean the barrel after every third group.
I think 5 round groups provide more information but at this point I’m just getting started.
Most times I’ll see groups shrink as I go up then at some point, near or over max, they’ll begin to widen.
At that point I’ll go back and load 5 round groups just below and above where I got the most accuracy.
Besides cleaning after every 3rd group, there are a couple other things I do. I set up a minimum of 3 targets for 3 different guns and shoot one shot from each gun allowing the other guns to cool between shots. Between looking at the last round fired through the spotter, opening the bolt and inspecting the brass for pressure signs, removing the gun from the line and putting it in the shade, getting the next gun out, adjusting the Lead Sled for the new gun and sending another round down range, by the time I get back to the first gun it’s usually been 10 minutes since i shot it. So in an hour I’m lucky to get two 3 round groups out of each of the three guns. Add 15 minutes to clean after every 3 groups and it’s normal for me to only get 5 groups of each gun done in 3 hours. If the wind starts blowing, I’m done and that happens here a lot.
PS: I usually buy 1 box of factory ammo to condition my barrel with. If I still have some of that, I’ll use it for fouling rounds until it’s gone.
PSS: I usually start .005 off of the lands. If I can’t get accuracy, I’ll mess with that after I do my initial ladder. I make a dummy round and cycle it several times through the gun. Slowly close the bolt to try to feel if I’m getting any contact, or smoke the bullet with a match and chamber to see if I’m getting any contact.