Minimum number of rounds for a good ladder test?

[Comrade Mike]

I'm curious what the community at large considers a good number of rounds in a ladder test to develop accurate rounds both hand gun and rifle. I've seen people who said they load as few as 12 rounds which I think is crazy.

My standard hand gun ladder tests consist of 100 rounds, 20 per powder charge and shooting 4 groups. So I can average them out and see which load really shines.

Rifle my bare minimum is 50 across 5 charges, which allows for two five round groups.

My methodology has always produced fantastic loads, even though it's a little more time and resource intensive.

What is your practice? How does it work for you?

 

[GBExpat]

... I've seen people who said they load as few as 12 rounds which I think is crazy. ...

10 rounds/load usually tells me all I need to know.

 

[jwrowland77]

Almost sounds like you're talking about a OCW test more than a ladder test.

A ladder test consist of one round per charge working from min to max and normally shot at 300+ yards for s rifle. I use anywhere from 10-13 rounds total.

OCW test consist of multiple rounds per charge and shot.

I generally do 5 rounds per charge normally 10-13 increasing charges from min to max depending on the spread. I generally shoot them at 100yd then verify after that between the best 2-3 charges. I normally verify at 200yd

 

[joem1945]

10 rounds for me as well.

 

[Mostly Lead]

For me, it would depend on where I was able to test.

When I shot at an outdoor club with a bench to test my handguns from, 10 rounds each worked pretty good at 50' or 75'.

Testing at an indoor range, handheld, it would take many more rounds to notice any difference.. if I could tell any difference at all..

But that's just me.

 

[rchery59]

I used to load 5 ea in whatever increments I felt the load warranted. Now I load 10 ea. Whatever floats your boat. Handgun only.

 

[ironworkerwill]

5ea. +1

 

[ky8]

Five. Exactly the same.
Target at 15 yards and aligned with chronograph at 15 feet.
From a rest.
Each shot gives me accuracy and fps.
Sometimes may repeat with a different length barrel.
This is handgun only.
Works for me but to each his own.

 

[witchhunter]

Rifle loads = I use 3 each of 3 shot groups then average them for each charge weight. The same for different primers, then for different OAL to fine tune. I hear OCW guys can find a load in less than 20, but I have to try it my way, it has worked for years and I shoot pdogs, so I am most concerned with accuracy. I feel that I can get the most accurate load with my testing.

 

[CPLofMARINES]

15 to 20, 5 shot groups. I'll burn 3 at first to clear out
the barrel.

 

[vaalpens]

I am new at reloadong so I'm not sure what is the best. My load development has evolved where I shoot less rounds but cover more powder charges.

For me it really depends on the caliber and powder I use. Some powders like 700-X has a smaller range, where others have larger ranges.

I try to at least test at .1gr increments through the range, 5 shots only per charge at 10 yards.

The next step is to pick the best charges and test 2x5 (10 total) per charge. at 15 yards.

If I still can't decide, then I will select the charges go to 25 yards and test 2x5 (10 total) per selected charge.

Lately I have decided to maybe forego the 15 yard test and just go directly to 25 yards after 10 yards. Not sure how it is going to work out, but hopefully after my next range trip I will have finalized my testing process.

 

[LiveLife]

For pistol, I often use 10-12+ rounds per powder charge (.2-.3 gr increments to get me in the ballpark and .1 gr to fine tune for accuracy) so I could test at 10-15 yards and verify with another 5 round shot group or at 25 yards if the first shot group was small (around 1" or less). Once accurate loads are identified, I always like to verify accuracy on another range visit with several 5 shot groups.

For rifle, it's done at 100 yards using scopes. I shoot an initial 3-5 round shot group to warm up the barrel and use 5 round shot groups with barrel cool down (to where I can touch the barrel) between shot groups.

 

[WestKentucky]

I always load 10. 5 test test function where I am mostly focused on the gun and how it acts. The next 5 of the safe, good loads get put onto paper to see what is most accurate at 10 yards for small guns, 25yd for hunting handguns.

 

[spitballer]

The number of rounds I shoot isn't as important to me as having a clean barrel at the start of each group. Any fouling will skew the results of my next group. I shoot a lot of the soft varmint bullets and they foul the barrel with copper very, very quickly with any kind of overpressure. Fortunately with my bolt action I'm able to swab out the barrel with an effective copper remover rather quickly, and I can be back on line in just a couple of minutes without too much embarrassment. I'm not sure how autoloaders would handle this problem on a live range, esp with people waiting to use the lane. But starting each group with an absolutely clean, copper-free barrel is a must for me. As for the number of rounds, I still follow Lee's advice: 3-5 rounds for "roughing in", and 5-10 rounds for fine tuning. At the risk of digressing I would also highly recommend a chronograph to anyone who is seriously interested in understanding what's happening inside their barrel (obturation, fouling, velocity patterns, etc.). A chrony might reveal some surprises, like the bullets that land higher when they're travelling slower!