Should I expect more from my handloads?

I have a Ruger Varmint 243 with older Bushnell 4x12 that has been sitting around. Have always shot factory 100 grain loads and it printed 1.5 moa groups. Decided to work up some light bullets handloads but figured I would get a baseline with f/l sizing some once fired brass that I pickup and 85gr bthp Sierras. Had 3 powders to work around and ended up with some 75gr AMaxs to go with the 85 bthp bullets. Haven't been shooting rifle much at all other than maybe 10-15 rounds a year till lately. Second outing to range with test loads and getting some trigger time in for myself the rifle and myself were printing 1.25 groups on bad side and down to 11/16" groups at 5 shots each. This was from 8 different test loads. Not getting real picky on case length yet or rifle tweeks (trigger has been tuned)just attention to powder being spot on weight and bullet seating consistant. Am I on right track or what direction do I need to go...or just leave things alone?

If you can identify what's working best with certainty AND you want to tweak it some more, then by all means, you should. If you can identify a load that's satisfactory already without further screwing around and you want to go with it, then hunt with it and be happy. I'd say this much, though...if you' haven't really messed around with charge weights and seating depths then you might be leaving some accuracy potential on the table. Whether or not you want to fool with it any more is strictly up to you.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it seems like you're throwing a few loads with a few powders together. Pick a bullet and a powder then choose a starting oal. Then play with powder charge to find something you like. Go back after that and play with oal to fine tune. Only change one variable at a time when working up loads.

Course I left a lot out...just trying to hit the basics

I have wrote the 11/16" group load down and going to leave it as is. The others I am going to tweek the powder and see if they pull in a little and mess with seating depth if powder doesn't have much change. They are paper punch or playday rounds wouldn't want to hunt anything I care about with them....wouldn't think twice about letting air out of a yote with them!

X2 For Sure

^^BINGO^^

Tweaking a hand load for a rifle is nothing more than a science experiment. Your "controls" are same brass, same primer, same bullet, same seating depth. Your "variable" is varying powder charge. Once you find THE powder charge, for that particular bullet, then go play with seating depth.

You switch bullets, you start all over again.

I got you. I am leaving one load as is and working on another load with another bullet in case I can't find one bullet I have data for the other if bullets are more available.

For decades I used one bullet per rifle and fiddled with powders and seating depth to get the best accuracy I could. That was pretty simple and worked fine till I got into .224 caliber rifles, and bought a bunch of bullet weights and types. Now I load for a bunch of guns, with more than a few bullets. Things can get confusing at times. It's best if you solve the load equation with one bullet/powder combo before you get to working with a second combo. And keep detailed records of the loads - what worked and what didn't.

I don't load for 243, but if I did I'd get the consensus from this forum as to what powder to use with my bullet choice. Solve that combo and then move on to the next. That may be what you are doing, but that's not what your posts suggest to me.

.243 gets a CCI 200 and H-4350 on my bench. I've used it for 90-105 gr bullets and got stellar results every time.

This^^^ except I like IMR 4350, which I also use in .22-250, 25/06, .270 and 30/06. The wide variety of bullet weights in .243 are a plus and a negative--right now my Kimber and my grand daughter's Remmy love the 50-year old Herters 100 grainers Dad left us. Once those are gone I'll look for another match that works well.

I am working one one weight at a time but two options,if one works I tune it but have another I watch also. Confusing but keeping data on both separate, don't expect both to print the same but have their own highs and lows. It's fun just to see things change and outcomes of little changes in tuning.