sungazer wrote:I actually thinking of doing as you suggested with the 50 rimfire shots. But is one hole better than 5 targets of 10 shots? should you cut out a whole in the middle to shoot through as when you shoot a lot of bullets into the same whole you do get a bit of ripping. Anyway good practice no matter how its done.
To Tarakai I would pick one and then just work with it. In my 243 I shoot a range of different bullets. I do all I can in the reloading room to produce consistent ammo that is the biggest factor in accuracy. The 243 does have a much shorter barrel life so think about how you want to spend it. IMHO between 1500-to max 3000 if you load right down, more likely 1000-1500 with loads in the higher end.
One thing to keep in mind when shooting groups, adjust your sight so the bullets are not hitting what you're aiming at. You don't want your aiming point to be changing shape and size as you shoot the group. And a smaller target is often better than a larger one - I tend to shoot better groups when I aim at the corner of a piece of tape or the junction of two lines instead of the target dot.
I think you are way underestimating barrel life. In the .243 loading hot I would think 1500rds is easy, and 3000rds is probably more realistic. If you back off from max velocities it should last much longer. But if you shoot one continuous session running the barrel as hot as possible it might go off within just a few hundred rounds.