Ladder Test Load development HELP!!

[nooch2222]

First time trying the 10 round Ladder test with my wife's 6.5 Creedmoor.  I could only get out to 230 yards where I shoot and this is what I came up with. i'm thinking I should load 5 rounds of 40.0 grains and another 5 rounds of 40.6 and find the better group. Or am I missing something? Any input would be great. sorry the image is coming out sideways orange target should be on top

[firstcoueswas80]

40.4 and 40.7 seem to have the least vertical separation to me.

 

Never mind, photos are rotated I see. 

[nooch2222]

[Big or Bust]

Did you hit pressure? If not, go higher. If you did your upper node looks at 40+.

230 pretty close as you know..

 

[nooch2222]

44 minutes ago, Big or Bust said:

Did you hit pressure? If not, go higher. If you did your upper node looks at 40+.

230 pretty close as you know..

 

Im not seeing pressure signs

[lancetkenyon]

If you haven't found pressure, unless you want to stay at a low charge, keep going.  

 

Looks like your node was 39.5 to 40.7gr.  

 

A little more info would help.

Bullet?

Powder?

Primer?

Case?

CBTO/COAL?

Velocity?

Barrel lengrh?

Twist rate?

[nooch2222]

1 hour ago, lancetkenyon said:

If you haven't found pressure, unless you want to stay at a low charge, keep going.  

 

Looks like your node was 39.5 to 40.7gr.  

 

A little more info would help.

Bullet?

Powder?

Primer?

Case?

CBTO/COAL?

Velocity?

Barrel lengrh?

Twist rate?

Rifle is a Bergara hmr 6.5 Creedmoor

Bullet-----Berger 140gr VLD

Powder----H4350

Primer-----CCI no200

Case------- Hornady

CBTO------3.125

Barrel Length---24"

twist--- 1 in 8

Don't have a Velocity yet don't know how accurate my caldwell chrono is 

[Zeke-BE]

Caldwell does ok.  Once you find the right one you need to take an average of 5-8 shots and you should be right there.  Hornady case I would try to stay away.  If these are just hunting rounds out to 400 yards then your ok.  If your wanting to shoot out there maybe pick up nosler.  I couldnt believe the weight change on that brass

[nooch2222]

34 minutes ago, Zeke-BE said:

Caldwell does ok.  Once you find the right one you need to take an average of 5-8 shots and you should be right there.  Hornady case I would try to stay away.  If these are just hunting rounds out to 400 yards then your ok.  If your wanting to shoot out there maybe pick up nosler.  I couldnt believe the weight change on that brass

Ok thank you. Yes just hunting rounds for the wife. 400 yards would be her max for now. 

[AZAV8ER]

Bergara HMR PRO? Mine loved factory HORNADY loads. Shot great with HORND American Gunner 140's better with 140 ELD Match. My Seekins Havak the same way and my son will use the Seekins with 143 ELD-X Precision Hunter at 1/2 MOA. Both rifles shoot same point of impact with American Gunner as other loads, at $15 per 20 rounds. I like reloading but I also like an easy out for a low round count proposition like wife's hunting load.   

[AZAV8ER]

Looks like  maybe try 5 at 40.5 5 at 41 and 5 at 41.5 ??? Like Lance said, looked to like the heavier charge.

[lancetkenyon]

Yeah, you are still fairly low on the charge weight scale.  I am betting you are in the 2700-2775fps range at the top end of your loads.   

I am not a fan of Hornady (or Federal) brass.  For a 6.5CM, that I planned on handloading, I would go with Lapua, ADG or Alpha brass.  WAY better than any others.  Will last a lot longer, be more consistent, and much higher quality.

For primers, I prefer BR or Match primers.  CCI BR2 or Fed GM210M.  They are more an upgrade than a necessity.

H4350 is tough to beat for accuracy and temp stability.  Great choice.

Berger 140 HVLD, again, great choice.  You will need to work on seating depth testing, as they can be picky sometimes.

CBTO, I think you have the wrong measurement.  No way a 6.5CM has a 3.125" CBTO (Cartridge Base To Ogive)  You should be more like 2.190" or so.  Even COAL would be long at 3.125".  Should be like 2.825" to 2.995" to fit in the SA magazine, even with a Wyatt's Extended box.

[recurveman]

So this is what I do.   Normally I start out with a lower charge for the cartridge and add power in .5 grain increments.   I will typically shoot 3-5 rounds per load.   I always use a chronograph.  I will typically load up charges that I know are going to be past max.   I start out shooting the lower charges and go up in grain weight with each new load.   I'm always looking for pressure and I expect to hit it at some point in the day.  Stop shooting the hotter loads once you hit pressure signs.   You will need a bullet puller to get the bullets out.  Normally you will see the groups open up and tighten up as the load goes up in grain weight.   Normally I will find 2-3 nodes (or loads) that are better than others and at different speeds.   I'll pick the speed that I want to shoot the gun at and then I will fine tune the grain weight of powder from there.    Then I will do .1 or .2 grain changes in powder as needed to fine tune the load.   

So in less than 50-70 rounds you should have your first round done and then about 20-30 rounds the second trip.    Side note.   Normally the hottest load isn't the most accurate.   I usually pick the second load down and use that one.   Never had a deer complain about 50FPS slower bullet yet.     

[nooch2222]

2 hours ago, recurveman said:

So this is what I do.   Normally I start out with a lower charge for the cartridge and add power in .5 grain increments.   I will typically shoot 3-5 rounds per load.   I always use a chronograph.  I will typically load up charges that I know are going to be past max.   I start out shooting the lower charges and go up in grain weight with each new load.   I'm always looking for pressure and I expect to hit it at some point in the day.  Stop shooting the hotter loads once you hit pressure signs.   You will need a bullet puller to get the bullets out.  Normally you will see the groups open up and tighten up as the load goes up in grain weight.   Normally I will find 2-3 nodes (or loads) that are better than others and at different speeds.   I'll pick the speed that I want to shoot the gun at and then I will fine tune the grain weight of powder from there.    Then I will do .1 or .2 grain changes in powder as needed to fine tune the load.   

So in less than 50-70 rounds you should have your first round done and then about 20-30 rounds the second trip.    Side note.   Normally the hottest load isn't the most accurate.   I usually pick the second load down and use that one.   Never had a deer complain about 50FPS slower bullet yet.     

Good information thank you.

[nooch2222]

16 hours ago, lancetkenyon said:

Yeah, you are still fairly low on the charge weight scale.  I am betting you are in the 2700-2775fps range at the top end of your loads.   

I am not a fan of Hornady (or Federal) brass.  For a 6.5CM, that I planned on handloading, I would go with Lapua, ADG or Alpha brass.  WAY better than any others.  Will last a lot longer, be more consistent, and much higher quality.

For primers, I prefer BR or Match primers.  CCI BR2 or Fed GM210M.  They are more an upgrade than a necessity.

H4350 is tough to beat for accuracy and temp stability.  Great choice.

Berger 140 HVLD, again, great choice.  You will need to work on seating depth testing, as they can be picky sometimes.

CBTO, I think you have the wrong measurement.  No way a 6.5CM has a 3.125" CBTO (Cartridge Base To Ogive)  You should be more like 2.190" or so.  Even COAL would be long at 3.125".  Should be like 2.825" to 2.995" to fit in the SA magazine, even with a Wyatt's Extended box.

I'm getting a COAL of 2.770   Now since im not getting any pressure signs should i load up 10 more rounds starting at 40.7 gr and go up from there? or could I just fine tune the 40.5 grain charge with seating depth?