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Posted: 4/9/2009 3:43:08 PM EDT
| Just wondering, does everyone have a load for each of their handguns that is accurate, or do you just pick a moderate load from the manual and go at it? I'm starting to acquire more handguns and I have a good load for my 1911, but I don't want to work up a load for all of them individually. Just taking two guns and grabbing some loose ammo from an ammo can seems easier. |
| I usually load a handful of each powder charge in the range listed for my caliber and powder. If the min, for example, is 3.6gr and the max is 4, that leads 5 loads (going up by .1gr...3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0), so I'll take a box and make 10 rounds of each load, each load on new targets. Then I'll compare to see which was the most accurate. |
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I used to, but testing all your guns with all your candidate loadings really makes for a long enough day that you're not sure if the groups are because of you or the ammo.
These days I periodically test for function in all guns, over time, only. This being said, you'll get a feel for that pretty quickly. If it groups better, great, but only one gun has that as a main criteria. In short, you end up with ammo that works in all, but one will likely shoot it the best.The difference won't be huge though. |
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Quoted: I used to, but testing all your guns with all your candidate loadings really makes for a long enough day that you're not sure if the groups are because of you or the ammo. These days I periodically test for function in all guns, over time, only. This being said, you'll get a feel for that pretty quickly. If it groups better, great, but only one gun has that as a main criteria. In short, you end up with ammo that works in all, but one will likely shoot it the best.The difference won't be huge though. The biggest problem I have with sorting through handgun loads is focus on the front sight, shot after shot. This gives my eyes a real work over. A good aiming bull is also important. I've experimented around with different ideas for square targets that align with the front blade, or are a little narrower, and so on, and have settled on a round black bull that is about the same width as the front sight. Getting the blade tangent to the bullseye is about as much precision as is feasible with a post sight. I also need a better rest for this work than using various stacks of sand bags. |
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Quoted:
Just wondering, does everyone have a load for each of their handguns that is accurate, or do you just pick a moderate load from the manual and go at it? I'm starting to acquire more handguns and I have a good load for my 1911, but I don't want to work up a load for all of them individually. Just taking two guns and grabbing some loose ammo from an ammo can seems easier. All new load data should be evaluated.........start low and work your way up. However, there is nothing wrong with using one moderate load for firearms of the same caliber (once you find your favorite).........it's called compromise. Aloha, Mark |
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