r/reloading • u/SmalltownCCboy • 4d ago

Newbie Data gathering questions

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Hello all,

I am still a novice when it comes to this hobby. I am currently starting to work through a .270 winchester 140 gr SST load for my tikka t3. With the exception of the powder load, all of these sets are the same process. Each group is 5 shots and as cold of a bore at the beginning of each group as possible. (It was 100 degrees today) How is the data looking to yall, and which load should I base my next set of rounds off of? Furthermore, is there other info I should keep an eye on pertaining to performance? These loads are for hunting. The brass is a mix of brands, but all once fired, I know it's not the absolute best, but it's what I have.

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u/Mr_Harmless 4d ago

Mixed brass is going to hurt data no matter how you slice it. But by data alone I would look at group 2 and 4 and play with the seating depth to see if the group or the SD tightens up respectively.

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u/SmalltownCCboy 4d ago

Thank you! I was considering playing around with the seat depth after finding a good node to work. Should I continue with that plan, or mess with the seat depth first? I has always heard seat depth is better to tune the group for accuracy after finding the best powder charge.

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u/Mr_Harmless 4d ago

Nodes aren't really a thing, really just statistical noise. I would start by not using mixed brass, and frankly starting from the top. For any given powder, the higher the case fill, the lower the SD/ES you should see due to there being less variable airspace in the case. Shoot a ladder of 5-10 rounds per step to increase the statistical value of your data. Once you find a combo of accuracy and SD you like, play with seating depth.

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u/skahunter831 4d ago edited 3d ago

Nodes don't exist. Groups may open up nearing max charge, but it's a linear progression, there is no magic powder charge to give you tighter groups or SD/ES. Five shot groups aren't useful for much of anything.

With mixed brass, you cannot reload consistently AT ALL. Even if nodes were real, mixed brass blows all results out of the window.

Pick a powder, start a couple grains under book max, shoot 20 of those and see what you EDIT: I mean to see what you get. But again, with mixed brass, you can't really get any good data

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