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Old February 20, 2010, 03:41 PM   #1
Ken29745
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Pistol Load Development Distance

Generally speaking; what distance should I use when doing pistol load development? 25feet....25 yards????
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Old February 20, 2010, 03:44 PM   #2
mrawesome22
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7 yards is the norm isn't it?
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Old February 20, 2010, 03:51 PM   #3
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Load development or sighting in?

"I think"......the further away the better. Whatever load is most accurate at 50yds is going to be the most accurate at 25yds., and at 15, at 10 and so on.

And by most accurate, I mean group size. If you're group size is acceptable to you, you then can adjust your sights accordingly to whatever distance you want.
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Old February 20, 2010, 04:55 PM   #4
Peter M. Eick
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I do my development at 15 yrds to 25 yrds. Normally 15 and I normally check my loads with 50 shot groups. Bad combinations show up quickly when you try and put 50 on single sheet of paper.
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Old February 20, 2010, 07:27 PM   #5
Ken29745
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I'm looking more at load development right now but at some point I'll need to sight in which another question altogether.

I tested 4 different powder loads with 5 variations of each powder today. At 15 yards, they were all shooting 5+ inches high. I've never adjusted the sights on this gun so they are right where the factory set them. It is a S&W 44 Mag with 8 3/8 barrel.

Should I try again @ 25 yards and see where they land or should I go ahead and adjust the sights down @ 15 yards?
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Old February 20, 2010, 07:37 PM   #6
Loader9
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I develop all pistol ammo at 25 yds. Mostly because it's what I have outside but if it shoots at 25 yds, anything any closer is a no brainer. I consider a 1" group at 25 yds from bags to be close enough. A group bigger than 1.5" at 25 yds is not good enough and I'll either keep working with the pistol or get rid of it. Most are capable of 1.5" at 25 yds though.
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Old February 20, 2010, 08:21 PM   #7
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I always use 25 yards. It's the shorter bullseye target range, not counting gallery ranges. 50 yards is enough to get off paper with some fixed sight loads.

Point of impact usually has more to do with the weight of the bullet you are firing than the powder charge. At least, that's true at a range as short as 25 yards. Heavier bullets hit higher. It's just because the heavier bullets both increase recoil and allow the muzzle more time to climb upward in recoil before they exit the muzzle. When you change a powder charge, but keep the bullet the same, it has much less effect because recoil goes up and down with the charge as well. Thus, a small charge might let the bullet have a lot of barrel time, but the recoil is lower so the muzzle doesn't climb as fast. The two effects cancel each other out, give or take.
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Old February 20, 2010, 08:23 PM   #8
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At my range we have two sets of pistol bays, 15 yards and 25 yards. I do my load testing at 25 yards. I use the 15 yard bays for regular shooting. When devoloping loads I don't care where the group is on the paper. I can adjust the sight to fix that easy enough. It is the group size that matters.
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Old February 20, 2010, 08:35 PM   #9
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I develop loads at 25 yards. In order to conserve primers, powder, and bullets, I load 10 shot groups.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly anal, I fire a known round at someother target to seat the cartridge in the same manner as the rest will be seated, then add another cartridge to the magazine (for those that are 10 rounders).
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Old February 21, 2010, 10:28 AM   #10
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I tend to develop loads with an eye towards the ranges that I will use them for, as well as the gun.

If I am shooting something like an 8-3/8" barrel .44 Magnum revolver, I tend to use 50 or even 100 yards to develop loads, because that is the range that I would tend to use that kind of load. I know that some loads that look good at 25 yards can show some instability at 100 and open-up groups.

But, if I am developing loads for a 3" barrel pocket pistol, I use 50 feet. I would never attempt a shot at a live target out at 100 yards with that kind of gun. And, I might not be able to get them on the paper at that range, even with a good load, just because of the gun's sight radius and my eyes' inability to hold to a precise point of aim with the iron sights. So, I tend to use 50' for that kind of gun and load, because that covers most of the IDPA target distances, and is far enough to produce group size differences and still close enough to get a decent sight picture.

Whatever gun and distance I am using, I try to buy or make a target that allows ME to see a sight picture that is easy to align the same way each time. On close targets with open sights and flat-topped front sight blades, a six-o'clock hold on a round black bullseye works well for me, with the bullseye adjusted to be the same apparent width as the front sight blade. With bead front sights though a rear peep, I find that an open circle target with the black ring sized to give just a little light around the bead works best. And with a scope, I find that an "X" with 90° crossing lines works best for me.

If you are using a scope on your handgun, another thing to consider is the distance the scope is set to be parallax-free. Taking parallax out of the equation helps with the group size consistency.

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Last edited by SL1; February 22, 2010 at 08:21 AM.
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Old February 21, 2010, 11:31 AM   #11
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For me it's 11 yards. That is the middle target range for what I shoot.
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Old February 21, 2010, 01:56 PM   #12
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I develop pistol loads to fall withing certain velocity parameters, usually to meet a specific purpose. That purpose, in my case, will always include the ability to engage varmints (without respect to their leg count) at minimum of 50 yards.

My standard for those loads is five shots in under four inches at 50 yards, rested. Minute of noggin'. YMMV.
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Old February 21, 2010, 02:09 PM   #13
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From the end of the barrel, to the hill side of the day.

5 yards. 15 yards. 22 yards. 53 yards. Anything goes.
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Old February 21, 2010, 02:14 PM   #14
Sidewinder72
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I hunt for loads at 25 yards. But I love to see how they shoot at 50 yards. Actually I do pistol loads just like rifle, except closer.
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Old February 21, 2010, 05:23 PM   #15
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15 yards. This is all I have availiable.
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Old February 21, 2010, 10:33 PM   #16
Ken29745
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Looks like I need to stretch it out a little bit before adjusting the sights. I bet that reduces or even eliminates the shooting high problem. I wonder what distance the factory sights them in at?

BTW Win 231 seems to be performing best with 2400 coming in a close second. I'm shooting 240 grain Magtech SJSP bullets. For some reason Bullseye and Titegroup didn't perform that well. I may do some more testing on them later but for now I think I'll hone in on 231 and 2400. This is fun!! My wife calls me a nerd.....
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