Is is safe to think that if test loads group well at 30-50yds, then they will group well at 100yrds? I loaded up some test loads for the 348 and am shooting with open sights. Naturally I will create more error at 100yds than the load will. Is this a safe assumption?

Bill

Have had some loads that did group well at 50yards that didn't do so well at longer distances.

It's safe to say that if they won't group at 30-50 yards, then shooting at longer range is pretty much a waste of time. OF the ones that do shoot well at 50yards, some will not shoot all that well at 100 and others will shoot "better" than their 50ayrd groups indicate they should.

I do sort some ammo by shooting at 50ayrds...just to find the ones that are hopless...but the only real test of the "final four" is to shoot them at long range.

Never tried 50 yd groups (except for cast bullets), so can't say what you can reasonably expect at 100. Have had rifles that didn't group for squat at 100 and then do fine at 200 and better at 300. Guess they just hadn't stabilized at the 100 yd mark.

Is is safe to think that if test loads group well at 30-50yds, then they will group well at 100yrds? BillI don't believe that rule holds true in all cases. Due to the trajectory of different load combinations, the only way to tell for sure is to shoot at the distance you are trying to determine. Personal example: While recently bench testing a .38 Special load, the load shot well at 15 yards. When I bench tested the same load through the same gun at 25 yards, my group opened up noticeably. Some of this was my shooting errors :( but the final results still held true. A good load at one distance does not guarantee the same results at another.

The ideal would be for a 100yard group to be twice a 50yard group...seldom happens that way.

HAve read of loads that shoot better MOA (not measured size, but MOA size) groups at longer distances....didn't belive it was possible until one 6.5RM that would demonstrate that tendency with one or two loads. USUALLY it's a scope paralax error...but if slinging very long for the twist bullets, believe it's possible to have a 1MOA 100yard group (1.00inches) and then a .75 MOA 300yard group (2.25 inches).

BUT I I've never heard of a 5MOA 50 yard group "faith healing" to a 1MOA 100yard group...so testing at short range still seems best for sorting out the real losers.

Takes less time to change targets at the 50 yard line!!!

Seriously, when I have a old mauser or something with a ratty-looking bore, I start at 50 yards; more likely to hit the paper on the first shot (certainly no guarantee) and easier to see bullet holes with cheap 8x binos. Also much easier to get a good sight picture with some of the old, thin, pointy front sights that may be encountered.

After I know where it's hitting on paper, will go to 100 if it looks promising.

Most folks do the first sight in at 25 yards. That is the point where most bullets cross the line of sight the first time from a rifle. This veries with calibre and load a little, but gets you close enough to the hundred yard zero that once dead on at 25 yards you can sight it in at a hundred yards.

Once there I used a free balistics program downloaded from Remington's web sight to decide where I want the bullets to strike at 100 yards for the optimum effective range I want to shoot.

Most of my scope sighted big game rifles are sighted in about three inches high at a hundred yards. This gives a pretty good trejectory out to between 275 and 325 yards for most of the faster cartridge combos. As I get older I'm finding that those ranges are getting to long for me and I'm starting to think twice about shooting at anything much past 200-250 yards except for the varmints.

I'm not an iron sight shooter by choice except for the muzzle loader, but I would probably sight those type of rifles in for an optimum trejectory of 150 yards. I'm not sure but this probably would put the bullets about an inch and a half high at a hundred.

The remington software will give you the optimum range for any bullet weight, velocity combination and it is free