Working Up Reloads

[Catdaddy]

I've been reloading for over 50 years and when working up a new load i have always started at the minimum recommended load and stopped at the maximum recommended load. I usually makes loads for 3 to 5 cartridges going up 1 grain at a time and shooting them waiting an ample time between shots to not be testing with a hot barrel. I measure the groups to determine which load shoots the best. When I do this testing I never cleaned the barrel between groups. Yesterday I did a Weatherby recommended barrel breakin with a new rifle and it was a PITA as I shoot at a public range and when there is a Cease Fire there is no handling of any firearms. I used two different boxes of factory ammo to do the breakin. At the end of the 20 round breakin I noticed that my 3 shot grouping got better with both boxes. My question is, when working up handloads do you clean your barrel every time between starting loads until you reach maximum looking for the best grouping? As I stated I never have done this but maybe I should? Yesterday when I would shoot 3 rounds and then clean, by the time I was ready to shoot another 3 rounds the range officer would make a Cease Fire and all 18 benches of shooters could go down and check targets,  etc. I was there for 4 hours before I finished the breakin and then shot 15 more rounds just to get used to my new rifle.

[Grouchy]

I'm not much on the brake in ideas on new rifles,just don't  overheat. Mostly, I buy used anyway. I agee with the reloading starting at the lowest.Very few guns have I ever found the max load as the most accurate. Finding the right powder and bullet seem to be more of a chalenge to me. Good luck with it!   

[Catdaddy]

You are so right about the right powder and bullets. The Hornady 178 gr ELD-X shot a 1 1/4 " 5 shot group and my handloads with Imr4831 and Nosler PP shot a 5 shot 2 inch group. I didn't wait very long between shots with the handloads as I wanted to finish my shooting before the next Cease Fire and go home. My other Weatherby shoots the same handloads a little over an inch while the Hornady Precision Hunter shoots all over the paper. My next range session I'm going to try some Hodgdon 4831SC with the Nosler Partition Point starting at minimum and going up to maximum compressed loads. Hopefully somewhere I'll find a load that will make a good elk round.

[PARA45]

I don't remember the barrel maker who said it, but he stated that more barrels get ruin by improper cleaning.  I've never done any barrel breaking per say.  I clean the barrel when I get a new/used rifle, and take it the range.  Like Grouchy said, I never let the barrel get too hot, that's the killer to a barrel specially with the Weatherby calibers. 

[224KING]

You can tell very quickly if you would benefit by doing the break in procedure.If you have a new rifle and it's collecting copper after you shoot it a few times,and patch after patch is dirty,then I would say do the Manufacturer's break in.If it cleans up quick after a box of shells at the range or any other shooting then I'd say it doesn't need the break in.

[TexWeatherby]

I honestly don't really know how beneficial doing the break-in process actually is, but Weatherby recommends it, so I do it. Heat without a doubt is your barrel's worst enemy.

[Catdaddy]

I cleaned the rifle when I got home and very little copper, more powder residue than anything.  Next range session I'm just going to shoot 5 rounds of minimum and work up to maximum with the Hodgen 4831SC powder loaded with Nosler Partition Power Point Spitzers. I'm not planning to clean my barrel at all when I do this. I'm going to wait 5 minutes before each shot. Will evaluate the best two loads and then reload in .3 gr increments to fine tune and find the Best load with this powder and bullets.

[Grouchy]

I clean both new and used guns as soon as I get them home.  The 1941 Savage 99 I bought had tons of copper in it. Working up a load is sometimes easy but not always. It can get expensive. I do take a second rifle to shoot while the first one cools a bit. 

[Dino82520]

I guess I've been lucky or spoiled but many of my rifles exhibit excellent accuracy with max loads. MY .222 Rem shoots consistantly into a half inch while me .300 Wby shoots into 3/4 of an inch. my .300 Savage shoots into an inch or under with several loads as does my .35 Whelen.My .250 AI shoots into 3/4 " but my Wby delux .257 stubbornly refuses to shoot under 1 1/2". My little Sako L 461 .223 also refuses to shoot under 1 ".

With so many combinations available I'm sure I'll eventually get all my stubborn rifles to shoot acceptably, it's just a matter of time. Some rifles haven't been shot in a couple years but I haven't given up on them.

One of my biggest bones of contention is that my high $ Savage heavy bbl .22-250 varminter won't shoot under an inch but my bone stock cheap ass 788 Rem in 22-250 shoots bug eye groups.

It does keep life interesting.

[224KING]

Why no mention of your 240 Weatherby,Dino?

[Dino82520]

Why no mention of your 240 Weatherby,Dino?

Right now it shoots at about an inch to an inch and a quarter. Acceptable but not what I hoped for. I just haven't done much shooting since that Browning 1885 blew up in my face. I gotta get back on the bicycle.

[eford]

I could have used starting loads that were lower than what I did with many rifles. For smaller cases I increase the charge by 0.3 grains and heavier ones get a whopping half a grain increase. Usually, I find a good load and then try to find a second one in case I cannot get the bullet - powder combo again. I did the most powder testing with my 257 Wby and it turns out to like just about everything I tried. As for barrel break in process, the 257 Wby was the only new barrel that needed it and I followed the procedure to the letter. Turns out that rifle didn’t like the 100 grain Norma bullets much. I have ER Shaw barrels on rifles put together by a gunsmith that produced itty itty groups right away.