Before you even begin reloading you need to understand load developement. This is a method of developing a load that is optimised for your firearm. By stepping through the process, not only will you have a safe load for your firearm but it will be far superior in both accuracy and stability.
Audio version here.
Reloading priority number 1
Load developement is the the most important step in reloading. By ignoring load developement, you could potentially; damage your firearm and/or cause yourself an injury.
The advantage of load developement is you are going to optimise the round for your firearm and situation. This will mean you will have a more accurate and stable round then any factory manufactured option.
If you are considering reloading, load developement is your number 1 priority. If you don’t have time for this, then you shouldn’t be reloading.
Common reloading mistakes
I can personally testify of 2 friends that did not develop a load for their firearms and as a result both quit reloading.
In both cases the same mistake was made. They purchased the projectiles, powder and primers. Looked up the data for their stock and proceeded to reload the maximum recommended charge wait.
The first mate had nothing but dramas; grouping was worse than 150mm and all the cases were jamming the chamber after firing the round. The second mate was getting terrible groupings of about 100mm and then having issues resizing the cases afterward (as the cases had stretched).
The first mate has never revisited reloading.
The second mate came to me some time later with his issues. After asking if he had done his load developement he stated that he had. However, upon investigating his methods of load developement, it turned out he had not (only selecting the maximum charge weight from the chart).
He then did a proper load developement and has had fantastic results ever since.
If you want to have a pleasurable experience with reloading you need to do a load developement. Don’t take any short cuts, don’t waste your time or money thinking you can use someone else’s data.
Getting data off of Facebook is not load developement it’s a meme.
Why do your own load developement?
Every gun is different. Barrel length, twist rate, barrel material, barrel profile (thickness), land depth, crown shape, chamber size, bolt face, firing pin, tolerances, powder, primers, projectiles, cases and the list goes on. These factors all change the performance of a projectile.
The tools used to machine the chambers and barrels wear over time. This means there are micro differences even between firearms that may be considered the identical.
Are you shooting in an area with; high humidity, cold, hot, windy or wet? External factors of your environment can affect your bullet performance even for an identical firearm.
You need to work out your own load specifically for your firearm under your local conditions. Do not get your load developement from Facebook or somewhere else. You do not know what “load developement” means to them and their firearm is not yours.
A successful load developement will get you punching clovers!
How to do a load developement
Most powder and projectile manufacturers will provide the data required to assist in developing a load for your cartridge. ADI which would be the most popular and common powder used in Australia have this available on their website.
All you need to know is the powder, type and weight of projectile you would like to use (selecting the right projectile is a whole topic on its own and I wont touch on it here). Find the right powder and type of projectile from the list and record the details.
I’m going to use .223REM as the example, loaded with Sierra 55gr soft point boat tail (AKA Sierra Super Roo load #1365) and ADI 2206H.
It important to note you need to choose a seating depth before doing the load developement. As changing the seating depth, changes the pressures in the case and the end results. In this example I used ADI’s recommended length of 2.2 inches (this can be changed, but is a whole other topic) which will allow it to fit all magazines.
ADIs current recommendation is a minimum of 25.0gr and a maximum of 26.0gr of 2206H for a 55gr SP (as at the date writing of this blog). So to get a good range of loads to find something consistent I’m going to load in 0.2gr increments (for larger calibres I might load in 0.5gr depending on the recommended min/max). I will load up 5 rounds at each increment: 25.0gr, 25.2gr, 25.4gr, 25.6gr, 25.8gr and 26.0gr (aim for having between 6-8 different load weights spread evenly across the min/max range).
It’s really important to take your time and make sure every round has the same powder weight.
Clearly identified which rounds are what weights.
Once loaded up you will need to head to the Range (hopefully without wind) and fire the rounds on paper. Five rounds of the same weight at 1 target. Let the barrel cool and fire the next five and the next target.
This is why you don’t want to burden yourself with too small an increment as the length of time to cool the barrel and check the targets will take way to long (especially if you have to weight for ceasefires).
Check every case after firing. If you see a flattened primer stop! This means there is to much pressure in the case and you should not be using that weight of powder in your firearm.
Checking the load developement results
Now you have your rounds fired onto the targets it’s time to review the results. Typically you want to select the tightest group in the middle of a set of 3. You don’t want to select the “most powerful round before the primers flatten”.
I settled on 25.1gr in between my 2 best results (this was under extremely windy conditions)
What you want is the most stable load. The load that allows for the greatest variance with minimal change. That way if the powder drop is slightly more or slightly less than intended there is no change to the point of impact on the target.
Once you have found that perfect middle ground it’s time to load away!
Other concepts to consider for improving your groups (tighten your groups/accuracy) are:
- Seating depth
- Primer type
- Consistant powder drops
- Neck tension
- Matched cases (identical cases)
- Powder selection
For the purposes of hunting and saving money the above can be ignored, however selecting the seating depth is something I would definitely consider recommending from the start. But this is an introduction to people considering reloading and the seating depth is not a deal breaker, you’ll still out perform factory loads following this guide.
If you need more advise head over to the Australian Reloading Talk & Trade Facebook group.