Bronze Lifetime
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I chronograph the majority of my rifle loads in order to make accurate ballistic D.O.P.E. chart as in data on previous engagement.
When you know velocity and bullet BC, you can get very close with a ballistic program to match a given distance and required scope changes
If you "calibrate" when shooting at known distances you can adjust the bullet BC value to match your exact rifle.
Plotting a powder test can be cumbersome and the latest program Chronoplotter.exe makes it super easy
https://chronoplotter.com
In addition to getting info on the program and downloading it, He's got a real life story/experiment with powder and humidity that is very informative.
There are spreadsheets with macros out there but if you don't have excel I don't think they work.
Here's my data from a Varget powder test for 6BR.
Note that nothing magically appears but if you know what you are looking for this is useful data
For me, I want low extreme spread (ES) and an average velocity in a sweet spot that has proven results.
2800-2850 FPS for example is a good velocity range for a lot of precision shooters
Depends on the cartridge, action, shooting discipline etc. No absolutes.
These charts often highlight there may be more than one node.
After getting good velocity data, performing a seating test can help narrow down where your accuracy settings are.
If I have a couple of nodes from a graph, sometimes I'll include both in seating tests and see who wins.
Note there are a lot of factors to consider. Temp stability or elevation deltas between testing place and shooting place for instance will affect results.
enjoy...
When you know velocity and bullet BC, you can get very close with a ballistic program to match a given distance and required scope changes
If you "calibrate" when shooting at known distances you can adjust the bullet BC value to match your exact rifle.
Plotting a powder test can be cumbersome and the latest program Chronoplotter.exe makes it super easy
https://chronoplotter.com
In addition to getting info on the program and downloading it, He's got a real life story/experiment with powder and humidity that is very informative.
There are spreadsheets with macros out there but if you don't have excel I don't think they work.
Here's my data from a Varget powder test for 6BR.
Note that nothing magically appears but if you know what you are looking for this is useful data
For me, I want low extreme spread (ES) and an average velocity in a sweet spot that has proven results.
2800-2850 FPS for example is a good velocity range for a lot of precision shooters
Depends on the cartridge, action, shooting discipline etc. No absolutes.
These charts often highlight there may be more than one node.
After getting good velocity data, performing a seating test can help narrow down where your accuracy settings are.
If I have a couple of nodes from a graph, sometimes I'll include both in seating tests and see who wins.
Note there are a lot of factors to consider. Temp stability or elevation deltas between testing place and shooting place for instance will affect results.
enjoy...