What is everyone's method for reloading specific ammo to your competition gun?

For me, its just been the lowest amount of powder that will reliably operate the gun (G34) and makes power factor.
Is this is what everyone else is doing?  Currently, I load well above minor power factor (I shoot production) as it is needed to make the gun cycle reliable.  This is going to probably change when I get around to ordering custom springs.  My current load is 147 gr berry's plated and 3.4 grs titegroup.

Besides reliable operation and meeting power factor, I guess accuracy is also a consideration.  However, I have never loaded a 9mm (multiple powders, powder charges, bullet weights, bullet profile, etc) that was not accurate.
Thanks.

135pf with 147s is awesome on steel and cycles reliably, and I never hold my breath at the chrono.

1.  Accuracy

I start with power factor then check for accuracy. Reliability is hard to determine until a few matches have been shot with the load.

I use to check power factor only. Now I have a thousand rounds of reloads with Berry's bullets that won't group on a USPSA target at 20 yards.

I second this statement.  Some of my loads have been more accurate than others.  I currently run about 135pf.  I also practice with the exact same load, and shoot way more than I ever do at a match.



 

Wouldn't knowing power factor be important before wasting ammo confirming reliability? If the load doesn't make power factor is is useless if the competition has a floor.

I have a reloading bench at the back of the garage and a place to shoot over the chrono in the driveway. In 20-100 rounds I can determine accuracy and power factor for a new powder and/or bullet combination. Several hundred plus rounds are needed to determine reliability, it seems natural that would be the last.

1 power factor (173 min for Major)
2. function
3 accuracy.

If you do your research beforehand, you generally know if you're going to make PF for any given charge weight.  So I start with two or three charges that I am confident will make power factor, then try a few different COALs for each powder weight.  Whichever one yields the best accuracy is my preliminary load.  After that, I'm going to check reliability in feeding and case gauging, and fine tune any primer seating depth, COAL, or crimp settings.  Finally, I'm going to CONFIRM PF via chrono.

Then I'm going to pump out a shit ton of ammo.