New load ...way left

I found a new load I like for my .308. It groups great, but is almost 8 inches to the left. I have had some loads move around a bit but this seems a little extreme, especially for something that is MOA. Just to test the scope I shot a few rounds of the last load that I zeroed the scope with and it was still perfect.

Just curious.

Dial 8" right, and call it good. If you are switching bullets with drastic different weights or types of bullets, they can go wherever they go.

My 270 will shoot 5-6 different bullets and loads through an inch circle. My 243, 300, 280, other 270 223, not so much.

I'd be surprised at an 8 inch shift in POI. Usually I see maybe 2 inches or less when I start varying loads. If it's a light barrel I'd expect more of a change than from a heavy barrel.

I am working on a load for my 7mm Mauser working my way up the powder charge scale in small increments as I get near the max. In the testing I have the same powder load, same primer, same bullet and case. One load will group 2.5 inches to the left of the other. The only difference is bullet seating. One load is touching the lands and the other is just a little bit back. I didn’t begin to see the split until I got nearer the top of the charge….

I'm no Chad, but I'd say either pick a seating depth and stick with it or back off the charge a bit until it doesn't matter any more. I've only been reloading for about three decades, and I seldom if ever load anywhere near max for anything any more. I'll load warm, that's where I usually find the best accuracy and consistency. Good luck to you, sir.

I didn’t provide a lot of detail as to what I am doing with the load because it didn’t seem to answer the OPs question…. and I don’t like “hot loads” in the first place. That being said, Hodgdon site indicates that 46.5gr of H4350 is max for my particular setup. The Hornady manual indicates that 48.3 grains is max – that is almost 2gr difference. I noticed that at 46.9grs (1.4gr below the manual max) the horizontal spread at 200yrds tightens from 1.5 inches to about .6 inches and the “group” becomes more vertical. Experience says that would seem to indicate the load is near a sweet spot. By creeping up on max I mean that since I am past what the Hodgdon site indicates – and below the manual’s recommendation, I am bumping my charge by .1 grain. I suspect I will find the best charge in the next couple of increments. There are no signs of pressure either from the case, primer or bolt handle.

I am also trying two configurations with the only difference being the seating on the first is touching the lands and the seating on the second is .01 off the lands. Seating can also affect pressure and subsequently grouping and although it is said that 7mm Mausers aren’t sensitive to seating, I do see some interesting differences. However, touching the lands seems to be best from a group size perspective.

Sorry, I thought since Chad had already answered the OP you were piggy-backing a question, which would make perfect sense vs. starting a whole new thread.

No problem – I wasn’t real clear in my first post either… my apology... what I was trying to say is that with a faster load and all other things held constant… seating depth can cause some horizontal movement as it did with me..… otherwise it seems that you just keep “climbing” up the target as charge increases…. But this is part of what reloading is about… good discussion….