How many rounds do you...

[SW_shooter]

...load the first time you try a new powder or projectile or as a newb?

As a new reloader I have been reading a lot of the threads here and manuals. But no where have I seen anyone say how many rounds you make up the first few times to ensure you are doing it correctly.

Using the loading data from a manual is great for amount of powder for a specific projectile yada yada yada, but dang it how many should I load and shoot to make sure I'm making sound loads???

I really don't want to load up a 100 rounds and find out after a couple that I screwed up or am doing something incorrect. Pulling projectiles and dumping powder seems kind of a waste considering cost and availability these days.

As always, Thanks guys and gals.

 

[arjay]

I load 3 or 4 with a certain weight of powder and then 3 or 4 more and so on,then I shoot them off of a bench for group size.If one of them gives me a nice group,then that's the load I use for that bullet in that gun.

 

[Yorkie Man]

I usually load 10-20 of a new load and try it before loading 100's. It also depends on what you are loading, most loading manuals show the load that showed the best accuracy potential.

Mike

 

[robertrwalsh]

I usually go with groups of five, but that's just because they box conveniently that way.

 

[rwsmith]

About 20

I get three+ cylinders full for a good sample. If I'm working up a near max load mainly to check for velocity and pressure I'll load about a dozen. It's hard for me to get to the range so I do a lot of shooting at one outing. I'll have several test batches with me every range trip.

 

[retired_diver]

I at most to 10. If you are starting low and working up, then if the load does not cycle the slide correctly then you will need to pull the bullet and increase the powder charge. If you had done 50-100 pulling that many is a pain or manually shooting one round at a time in a pistol (not revolver) is also a pain.

 

[Will2]

Don't load more than you are willing to pull...

Been reloading just a couple of years... so, consider that in my opinion.

If i'm confident in the load, I'll load maybe 5 sets of 5 charge weights. I'll bring other ammo AND gun/ s to shoot in case of a stuck bullet or other problems. I will not dedicate my range trip to one trial, just in case I'm only able to take one shot with my trial load.

If I'm not comfortable with a load, then I won't load it.

Just my $.02...

Will

 

[Twoboxer]

First comes plunk tests, dummy rounds, etc to ensure that the physical dimensions of my reloads fit the firearm's magazine and feed freely. After that, function and accuracy can be tested at the same time.

For pistol, 3 or 5 rounds per pistol per charge weight are used. Usually the researched/recommended powder range is wide enough to select 3 perhaps 4 different charge weights higher than min and lower than max. So if I have one pistol in that caliber, 9-20 rounds. For two pistols twice as many rounds are used; at the end I will choose one load to be used in both firearms.

Shooting from a rest, I'll shoot a few factory first as a reference then test/compare function and accuracy of the reloads.

If the pistol fails to cycle a particular charge, I'll still single feed and fire the rest. If a charge weight (far) exceeds the recoil/eject of factory, I stop and will pull those rounds apart later.

For rifle, I use OCW - Optimal Charge Weight. That calls for several sets of 3 rounds each beginning at 10% below your researched max.

They will all fire, though some may not cycle a semi-auto. I treat semi-auto same as pistol. As charge weight increases, I'm looking for pressure signs.

Bottom line - many charge weights don't make the cut, but few if any rounds need pulling apart.

 

[ChiefStealth]

Been a long time since I was a newb, so can't answer that one. I don't screw up more than one round. And, when I do screw up, I know it before i shoot it. When I'm doing a new pistol load, I load up about 20. I know they will be safe, and function in my pistol, because I know the load data I'm using, and I know my pistol. I never use max charge, or really even near max, so I don't worry about over-pressure. Even if I have never used the specific data before, others have, so I know it's in the ball park. About the only thing I don't know is accuracy. If that load seems OK, I'll keep it. If not, I'll load up about 20 rounds with slightly different charge weights. Up to max, but never over. For pistol, I'm not looking for super accuracy. Not MOA, just MO bad-guy.

With rifle, I load up 3 rounds with several different amounts of powder. Powder charge starting about in the middle between starting load and max load. Up to the max. Fire 'em, and check for pressure signs. Then I'll load up about 6 rounds with powder charges that are a little under max and differ by rather small amounts. I'll do a OCW test and pick out a load range that seems promising. Then I'll load up 6 rounds with slightly different loads right around the OCW. Pick out the load tht seems best.

 

[JBnTx]

Six for a revolver load.
Five for a semi auto load.

 

[scooter123]

I will normally load up 25-30 rounds with a new recipe. Yeah, it sounds like too many but you cannot test for accuracy with just 3 or 4 rounds, you need enough ammunition to get a good idea of how it shoots.

Testing is a more conservative approach. First, I start with a clean target close enough to insure I won't miss with any load approaching "normal" velocities. The reason for this is that I want to see every single hit just in case I went too light and loaded a squib. In addition if the velocity is too low I want be be able to see if the bullet has so little energy that it's tending to tumble. Second, after each shot fired for the first 5 or 10 shots I will examine the case for each individual shot. Lots of clues to be seen on a freshly fired case and I don't want to miss an indicator of a potentially problematic load. Third, I pay close attention to the recoil, muzzle flash (and B/C flash in a revolver), and report profile for each shot. Because these factors are good indicators if your new powder is suitable for whatever bullet you are using.

If those first 5 or 10 shots seem to be good functional loads I'll then move my target back to the maximum of the range and shoot the remainder from a rested position while carefully aiming at the same point on the target. This will then give me a general idea of where the POI falls relative to the sights and a rough idea of how accurate the load is.

If the initial test shots didn't seem to function well I simply take the remaining ammunition home and break down the loads. Note, I've become a huge fan of my RCBS collet puller because I can recover every grain of powder used, save the primed cases for future use, and most times re-use the pulled bullets in basic plinking loads.

 

[Bkreutz]

When I'm working up loads for a powder (or bullet) I haven't used before, I start at .1 gr over min and load 10ea up to .1gr below maximum. I use separate targets (usually paper plates at 15 yards because that distance, or less, is what 80% of the target in USPSA are. Then I take normal off hand shots and see which ones are the most accurate. Sometimes, instead of a clear winner I'll have a couple that are very close so I'll load up about 50 of each of the loads that were most accurate. Then I go back and shoot faster with these two loads and pick the one that I'm the most comfortable with. I just worked up new loads for CFE pistol and the load that was more accurate at slow fire didn't work as well when I ramped the speed up, the load that came in second in slow fire was the hands down winner. Go figure I'm a firm believer in tailoring loads for the type of shooting you're going to do. Since I don't do "bullseye" type shooting, I don't develop loads that way.

 

[fredj338]

I never load more than 5 test rds per powder charge. More than that, you risk a long session with a bullet puller. You shoud be working loads up in small increments, with most handgun powders, 1/10gr increments.

 

[Harkrader]

I suppose everyone has their own Rule of Thumb (=ROT), depending on the intended result. I have a friend who loads his own deer rifle rounds (I can't remember the caliber) and says he loads about 10, firing a couple for ballistics and accuracy and a few to sight in, and takes 3 or four to field.

I load mostly for fun/plinking, and for IDPA and Cowboy: .44 Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 Colt, .45ACP, 9mm, 40S&W, and 10mm. I load black powder cartridges for Cowboy in .44 (Magnum shells) and .45 Colt. For my backpacking loads: .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, .357 Magnum and .500 Linebaugh. I don't load the .500 any more. I load three levels of .44 Magnum: 210 - 240 grain at .44 Special velocities; same bullets to around 1,000 - 1,100 fps; and 210, 240 and 300 as hot as I can, staying within SAAMI specs, and those of the powder and bullet makers. I don't load the 300-gr bullets any more.

I will load 10 rounds of any recipe, even the one I used without trouble last year, and try them at the range. If all go OK I'll load 50 and shoot most of them, adjusting the press if necessary. Then I'll load several thousand of what I want, pulling one of every 100 to test. MOA accuracy is not important to me. Reliability and "combat accuracy" is what I go for. My 7.62 NATO loads will consistently ring the 8" gong at 300 yards using the NM peep sight, and misses are almost certainly my fault. I use the Dillon powder checker and consider it mandatory.

When I find significant accuracy problems or wide variations in velocity, it has been due to crappy bullets. I've run into an entire box of them with extreme differences in weight, and several boxes from a local manufacturer who is now looong out of business, that were undersize.

I see a lot of people saying reloading doesn't save money, but my first press was a Lee Loader that paid for itself in 6 months. I then bought a Dillon 650 that paid for itself in 18 months. OH, yeah, it saves a BUNCH.

The attached pic is of my first S&W 329. It's performance with my handloads is written on the target.

 

[MyDads38]

When using new powder or different bullets, I will usually load 10-15 rounds (shooting groups of 5). I will usually start with the listed starting load, or an average starting load if 2 or more manuals have different starting loads. If there is a full grain from min to max, I will work up in .2 gr increments, but seldom do I go all the way to max. I shoot cast lead bullets and keep my velocities under 1,000 fps. Most of my loads are between 750 fps - 900 fps.

I am getting ready to make test loads using TiteGroup powder. Unfortunately, the min to max window for my use will be .4 to .5 grains. So it won't take long to come up with test loads-increasing only .1 grain at a time.

 

[webfarmer]

After much research from loading manuals (cross referenced of course), internet etc. concerning the reason I want to try something new, I usually load 50 rounds in 1/2 grain increments per 5 rounds looking for an accurate load. If possible, I start well below middle range and work toward max. Usually, those accurate loads are close to the middle range and then test in 1/10 grain increments with the chronograph. You start getting a pretty good picture of how these loads work in your rifle at that point. Then it's up to you if they perform to your satisfaction. Good luck!

 

[venomballistics]

5 rounds each in increments from minimum to abour 85 90 percent of the range.
5 will tell ya most of what you need to know.

Sometimes toward the top of the range, things get a little bit warm.
at which point you have only 4 to 9 to pull.

 

[rwsmith]

I'd rather.....

I'd rather shoot than pull bullets. Even if the rounds don't operate the slide I'll rack each shot.

 

[Rule3]

3 and half.

Usually 10 only because the primers come in nice neat rows of 10.

 

[fredj338]

After much research from loading manuals (cross referenced of course), internet etc. concerning the reason I want to try something new, I usually load 50 rounds in 1/2 grain increments per 5 rounds looking for an accurate load. If possible, I start well below middle range and work toward max. Usually, those accurate loads are close to the middle range and then test in 1/10 grain increments with the chronograph. You start getting a pretty good picture of how these loads work in your rifle at that point. Then it's up to you if they perform to your satisfaction. Good luck!

You can't make a blanket 1/2gr increment statement like that. Some handgun powders will be over pressure in 1/2gr. I break it down by powder & case size. I reload for 25 calibers. The only one that can be worked up in 1/2gr increments safely are the medium & big bore magnums, as they use very slow powders & large case volumes. Even the 44mag should be worked up in no more than 3/10gr increments, especially when nearing the top end & then only with slower powders.