So today at the range I tried out one of my first handloads. Now these were actually loaded under the supervision of an experienced and quite accomplished reloader, so I know that inconsistency in the bullets is not to blame -- with that preface here is the deal. I tried out a 5 shot group with 168 smk's over 42.0 grains of RL 15. I thought it was a good place to start, and I guess it was -- no pressure signs at all with a .015" jump to lands. They shot OK, somewhere in the low to mid .4's. Next, just for fun, I shot a group with some factory Hornady BTHP (168's as well) that I had for sighting in, which was a .227" -- very happy with that one off a bipod and rear bag. So where do I go with my reloading guesses in the next few days -- should I back off the lands a little more -- the Hornady's have a .023" jump. Without a chrono I can tell the reloads are going faster (they are grouped about .75" higher than the hornaday factory ammo). What is proper procedure now -- should I play with my jump to the lands, go closer or further or try both? Also, could I be in a weird in between speed, where I could back off the charge and match hornady velocity and tighten things up, or go up to say 42.5, 43, 43.5 and try out these increased velocity loads? Like I said, I will be reloading some more trials up with RL 15 and 168 SMKs, just need to hear maybe 5 or 6 rounds to experiment with based on the info I've just given. Hope to make more estimated guesses on what might shoot better rather than just throw lead down range and hope to get lucky. Thanks!