Ladder loads

[DrHenley]

Originally Posted by Gatorade

My Caldwell chronograph should arrive on Friday. Thinking about a ranger tip next weekend. Any advice on how I should set up and what to look for?

First, be aware that chronographs often raise more questions than they answer. Especially when you get drastically different readings on different days with the same load.

Make sure the chronograph is always the same distance from the muzzle. Make sure it's not too close to the muzzle or the muzzle blast can screw with the readings.

Using windscreens on a clear day can sometimes have a different reading than not using them on a cloudy day.

What you are mainly looking for is correlating variances in velocity with different points of impact. Those flyers might possibly be due to velocity. If so, it could expose flaws in your loading technique. Or it could just be a squirrely load that is far away from a sweet spot. If it's not due to velocity difference, then it is the shooter, or the bedding of the rifle, or a dirty barrel, or a damaged crown, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

When you find a load where the point of impact is not sensitive to changes in velocity (within reason), and the velocity is not very sensitive to small changes in the powder charge, then you have found a sweet spot.

Always record the temperature!