Thread: Variables affecting precision

Originally Posted by longshot

I think you’re definitely onto a few things here.

Firstly being able to create a simple visual that ranks influential factors in order of influence is gold.

Secondly, and I think if the other thread proves anything, it is that in reloading, it is easy to confuse the noise for the signal and the signal for the noise.

Where your diagram gets difficult, and this is in no way trying to discredit the idea, because I personally do like it, but the difficult part is that accuracy is actually three main triangles in parallel.

One is the rifle
One is the shooter
One is the load

Some aspects of each are independent, others are interdependent, and it is the sum of all, that decides the tightness of the group.

To complicate it further, cost to isolate/manipulate a given variable, isn’t necessarily proportional to the amount of change.
Knowing what is the low hanging fruit helps, and I think in many ways, your diagram seeks to show it.

If the diagram could account for and accommodate all of this, it would really be useful. The hard part is getting it there.

Appreciate the feedback.

I probably should be more specific by saying something like "reloading variables affecting precision", to avoid scope creep beyond my intended purpose - i.e. helping newer reloaders. (Obviously there are lots of other factors - something like reading the wind is a useful skill to develop if getting into longer range shooting, however not that relevant for maximising the precision of a certain load and not where you need to start necessarily). What I tend to see is people starting in the middle of the pyramid (e.g. fiddling with 0.2gn powder variations), which seems a less helpful place to begin if your goal is maximising precision.

I think the details of this stuff has all been pretty well hashed out on this forum by gimp and others already, so I don't have any real expertise to add to that conversation - I'm just wondering if it could be communicated in a more succinct way.

I think any good visual model needs to strike a balance between generality and specificity - and probably leaning more towards the former. I probably need to make it more simple, rather than more complicated. Maybe a flow chart might be more useful.