A chronograph will tell you a lot of information, but will not tell how accurate your load is. The name of the game is accuracy. Low SD does not necessarily mean you are going to get your best accuracy - an indication, but not positive. Richard - I bet your hand loads are more accurate than the Wolf stuff, even though the SD for your hand loads is much higher. Bullet alignment, being concentric and bullet quality are just a few factors that effect accuracy. It is not velocity. Velocity just tells you what you are getting, so you can figure bullet drop. Do not let the pursuit of velocity be your guide. A game animal will not tell the difference between a bullet at 2800 fps muzzle velocity vs 3000 fps. The only difference is how much bullet drop you are going to have at extreme ranges. Before I had my Chronograph, I developed a load for my 222 Remington 700. It was very accurate, the most accurate rifle I have owned to date. I never did shoot it over a chronograph, but I bet I was in the 2800 - 2900 fps range, when I should have been able to get some where around 3100 fps. I knew I was low on velocity by the load data, but when it shoots lights out, time after time, why argue? You can use your Chronograph to indicate an overpressure situation too. When developing a load if you reach the maximum velocity and you still do not have accuracy you are looking for, it is time to start over with a new component or powder and work your way back up. When you are developing a load and you hit that point where your accuracy starts to drop off without exceeding the top velocity - you know you hit the best velocity for accuracy - so what if it is 200 fps under max? it is rare that top velocity gets you best accuracy - lucky you if that happens, but do not count on it. Good Shooting and Good Luck
