WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BEST RELOADING MANUAL IS?
MINE ARE 1980 ERA AND I NEED TO UPDATE PROLLY.ALTHO I DO HAVE SOME RECENT ALLIANT POWDER STUFF AND ABOUT ALL I USE IS BULLSEYE.ID APPREACIATE SOME INPUT PLEASE THANX GUYS.

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL................

Tasco, I like the bullet makers reloading manuals and tend to shy away from load books put out by powder makers. I figure they have a considerable conflict of interest. I use Lyman, Sierra, Nosler and Speer...in no great order of preference. The only time I consult a powder makers load data is if I have their powder and can't find any data in my other books.

But take them ALL with a grain of salt and use your experience and common sense with their data.

I find myself useing the Nosler and Hornady manuals the most.

I'll second the Nosler, and Hornady. But will also add the Hodgedon, as their's is the powder I use the most. But I also believe more accurate, and up-to-date information can be found on the diferent company's websites.

Phil

If limited to one manual, I'd have a Lyman. As my gunsmith said, "They don't make powder or bullets!" If I could have two, it would be the Hodgdon because they often give you not only their data but data from the other manufacturers. That being said, you cannot have too many manuals and don't ever give one away. Ku-dude

Ken Waters's "Pet Loads"

For the "got it all category"Hodgdons # 27,and for the specific category Swifts # 1,they tested individually for each bullet style,something I wish Nosler would do,rather than the generic data they publish.
Jeff

I have all of the manuals mentioned, I almost always fall back to the Lyman Manual. I just wish they would come out with a new version. I agree that the powder manufactures manuals are biased. It would be stupid to expect otherwise.

I like my Hodgdon because that is the most complete source for loading with their powders.
I like the Hornady best of all, but hate the fact that I HAVE to pay for both books when I stick one of them is some book case and never look at it.
I have looked in the accompaning book once since I purchased the last manual many years ago and don't remember what is in it. It has tables of bullet flight path I think, and who knows what else (Hmmm where did I put that thing, no telling what may be in it and I may just have a look when I get back from the range!)

LouisB

I own several manuals and would never let go of my old reloading books as I added new ones. Every reloading manual has wealth of information between it's covers few average reloaders ever read. They all are worth millions in material on their pages. Many millions of rounds were fired to compile all that information in any relaoding manual. A variety of different manuals gives the ability to cross check and compare data between reloading manuals information. No reloading manual is outdated it is just does not contain the information you may require. One manual may contain the information for a certain cartridge the others do not. Older manuals contain data for the old cartridges, while the new manuals contain data for the new Ultra mags and short magnum cartridges now being produced. I only wish I had aquired more reloading manuals in my 45 years of reloading.

I have powder manuals, bullet manuals, Lymans and the reloader's digest but for quick reference the "One Book / One Caliber" published by Loadbooks USA has all the information on one caliber in a quick reference booklet. It only contains reloading recipes and none of the supporting stories or articles.

PaulS

I agree with the recommendation that, if you can afford only one you should get the Lyman.

But there's no reason to stop there. Hodgdon, IMR, Winchester, and Alliant all offer free loading manuals in softback small booklet form. Other powder manufacturers may do so too. Generally, I find that through consulting a number of manuals I can arrive at some good notion of what good loads are likely to be.

Also, don't overlook Saeed's results given on his reloading pages here! I trust his results more than those of many others because he, like Lyman, makes neither powder nor bullets. In addition, he's a known reliable person.

Why would a bullet manufacturer have "conflict of interest" in selling a manual for their bullets, while a powder manufacturer wouldn't?

As for Lyman selling neither -- maybe that is why it is in some respects my least favorite manual. With the exception of a few X-bullet loads, the bullets listed are generally the lowest-priced out there, which means you have to be particularly careful applying their data to softer-jacketed premium bullets.

Additionally, in some calibers the choice of powders seems whimsical, to put it mildly -- for heavy-bullet loads in one cartridge where other manuals all show RL-19 and -22, various 4831s, etc., Lyman had IMR 3031, H4895, and the like -- I think the slowest burner was something like IMR 4320. I think the I can't remember which cartridge, may have been the .25-06 or 6.5x55.

I am also dubious of some of their data for which no pressure figures are listed -- why not?

I generally prefer bullet manufacturers' books because they'll tell you which powders worked best.

But I also make up a cheat sheet for each bullet I want to use in a cartridge -- simple columns showing the powder, maximum charge and velocity, data source, and any notes (e.g. Nosler's "most accurate" listing).

Generally they're all pretty close given the same bullet, and so is data from Waters' "Pet Loads" (he is more conservative than the companies, if anything).

John

Gentlemen,

I have a lot of loading manuals, but I do really like the Lyman and Hodgdon manuals the best. The Lyman manual has some very stiff loads in it for the 7 Mag, so be smart and work up. Don't just jump straight to the max load and think it's ok. It might not be in your gun.

The VV Manual has some hot loads in it, but I find my chronographed velocities are much higher than what they show...the complete opposite of the Nosler manual.

Joel Slate
Slate & Associates, LLC
www.slatesafaris.com

7mm Rem Mag Page www.slatesafaris.com/7mm.htm

Hey Tasco74, My recommendation is for you to have the latest Manuals from the folks that make both the bullets and the powder "that you use". And even then, always develop a Load from below while watching for the various Pressure Indicators.

For example, Hornady makes some "styles" of bullets that are simply faster than other folks bullets of the same weight and caliber with the exact same load. This is because of a reduced bearing surface and a couple of other technical aspects. That in no way means other bullets won't perform just as well, but they are all slightly different.