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Posts: 28849 | Location: western Nebraska | Registered: 27 May 2003
I own the manuals for the bullets I reload the most. You can’t own to many manuals in your library. If you were looking for reloading instruction, I would suggest Lyman’s 49th edition. As a tutorial it’s very good (as far as reloading manuals go) and it also gives you a little 101 into bullet casting. As far as loading data it’s not brand specific on jacketed bullets but its good data. If you’re planning to use lead-free bullets, IMO you need to own the manufactures manual.
Posts: 2650 | Location: Lakewood, CO | Registered: 15 February 2003
You should have more than one. For any given cartridge, different manuals have different loads, powders, etc. and they all have a lot of info. If you are only loading for one or two cartridges, you might be able to get by with the caliber specific load books and some of the stuff on the internet like Steve's reloading page can be helpful also. I have Speer, Sierra, Nosler, Barnes and Hornady because those are the bullets I typically shoot.
Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark
Posts: 3829 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: 09 August 2001
Lyman 49th for it's coverage of reloading, though their loads are now of the "lawyer proof" type (H4831 dropped from 60 to 58gr for 130's in 270Win...). I have Speer, Nosler & Lee too, plus there is a lot of manufacturer's data here on the web.
Posts: 610 | Location: Cumbria, UK | Registered: 09 July 2007
If you are starting at ground zero, a place to pick up a couple of load books on the cheap would be Ebay. If the book is a couple of year old, you can get it for $.50 on the dollar and the introductory data would be the same. In fact, unless you are loading for a new cartridge or using some aesotheric powder, the load data wouldd be the same.
A good manual for a beginner ought to include a good set of instructions in the early parts. Lyman, Hornacy, Lee, Sierra have well written instructions and very good illustrations.
I've been reloading for a looong time and have a few dozen manuals. I see absolutely no benefit to a newbie having more than one good manual that covers his cartridge. None of the different manals list the same charges so all they can do is cause confusion that need not happen. The ONLY valid reason to buy a new manual is for info on new cartridges and/or new powders.
All reloading manuals are good and the listed data is generic by cartridge and bullet weight. There is nothing special about a book from the particular bullet or powder maker, none of them are anymore "accurate" than any other manual. The one rule, "start low and only move up to max unless you see early signs of excess pressure" applies. And that one rule makes all of the books "equal" in use.
Posts: 1615 | Location: South Western North Carolina | Registered: 16 September 2005
Originally posted by Oddbod: Lyman 49th for it's coverage of reloading, though their loads are now of the "lawyer proof" type (H4831 dropped from 60 to 58gr for 130's in 270Win...).
I noticed the same thing; nothing to push a 240 grain 44 mag past 1400 fps, one load for a 225 grainer and only two loads that get a 200 grainer up there. OTOH, Hornady's fourth lists two loads for the 265 gr. at 1400 fps and 4 for the 240 gr.
However, Lyman is using a 4" barrel and Hornady a 7.5". FWIW, my 7.5" Blackhawk shoots 300 grain cast/AA#9 about 60 fps faster than my 6" 629.
Posts: 7725 | Location: Peoples Republic Of California | Registered: 13 October 2009
I guess Im alone on this one, but I like the Speer manual.. I find their data more often than not to be right in line with what I consider to be pressure limits, and there is lots of other very down to earth usefull info in them.. Good reading for beginers.
Hornady is good too. My least favorite is probably the Nosler manual. I find a lot of its contents to be testosterone charged and slanted.. I do like their bullets though.
Posts: 10160 | Location: Tooele, Ut | Registered: 27 September 2001
IMO, you need mor ethan one. You will never find data that is the same form one to the other, incuding powder manuf. So having two sources, then cross ref w/ the powder manuf, allows you to average the data & get a better result. For handgun, I like Lyman #49 & Speer#14 because they have some lead bulelt data. For rifle, I like the Speer & Nosler. they seem to give me vel results closer to what I actually get over my chronograph. The Lee is my least fav. They omit many good powders & often do NOT tell you what bullet they use. Yes it matters when getting to the top end of a load.
LIFE IS NOT A SPECTATOR'S SPORT!
Posts: 7752 | Location: kalif.,usa | Registered: 08 March 2001
You can now get Hodgdon, Nosler, Barnes and Alliant info online. This site has loads listed in the reloading pages. Print all of these and then watch the classifieds on AR for additional manuals. You cannot have too many different ones.
IMO, you need mor ethan one. You will never find data that is the same form one to the other, incuding powder manuf. So having two sources, then cross ref w/ the powder manuf, allows you to average the data & get a better result. For handgun, I like Lyman #49 & Speer#14 because they have some lead bulelt data. For rifle, I like the Speer & Nosler. they seem to give me vel results closer to what I actually get over my chronograph. The Lee is my least fav. They omit many good powders & often do NOT tell you what bullet they use. Yes it matters when getting to the top end of a load.
X2
My preference for manuals in order ,as others have said dependent upon the bullets you reload with ; Sierra ,Hornady ,Nosler ,Barnes ,Speer
Also Powder manuals !, which ever powders you use are more than likely available on line . Hodgdon ,IMR ,Vihtavuori ,Alliant ,Accurate.
There's no such thing as to much data ; perhaps only insufficient time to Decipher it all !.
I have been using a lee reloading manual for a couple of years.when comparing notes with my father in law he would come up with different load data.That is the primary reason I wanted to look into another good manual. I appreciate all the feed back. When my father in law got me into guns I bought a nice 22 cal rifle and a S/w 357 pistol. That was five years ago I now have a fever for guns and love learning as much as I can. One of these days I will post the loading bench and play area I built .
