I have the Lyman manual and IMR. I want to add another manual to my collection. Which one would you recommend? Also why is the Hornady manual so expensive?
Rd, Midway was blowing out the Hornady manual pretty cheap a little while ago, I don't know if they still are. Maybe it costs more because it's two books (more expensive printing costs). I see where Swift has charged me for one of their new manuals, but no manual yet. (29.95 from Midway, 48.95 from Swift, Doh!). The A-square manual is pretty pricey as well, but there's a wealth of info in it. FWIW - Dan
Posts: 5285 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 05 October 2001
I personally like the nosler manual.I find the trajectory tables in the back useful.I have tested my loads against the tables and although there are some differences they are reasonably close and provide a good reference point.One thing to note though is that with all manuals published velocities can be a lot different than the velocity a certain load will provide in your gun.The only way to actually know your velocity is with a chronograph.
Posts: 3104 | Location: alberta,canada | Registered: 28 January 2002
Hey Ranger Dave, I normally recommend the Hodgdon and Speer Manuals. I find their MAX Loads to be fairly accurate, but you still have to rely on the good old Pressure Indicators to know when to stop.
However, if you use a different brand of bullet or a different brand of powder, then my recommendation would be to get the Manuals from the folks whose products you use.
The good news is the Manuals provide excellent reference information besides how much powder to dump in. I think I "might have" at least two in each room.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
Hornady manual is so expensive because one gets two hardcover bound volumes. Personally I wish they would make the trajectory tables book an option. I have too many sources for trajectory information to need a manual. Hodgdons has a pretty darn goo manual with a few loads in each section for "other" powders. LouisB
Posts: 4283 | Location: TN USA | Registered: 17 March 2002
As posted by Clark, you can get wuite a bit of data from the various powder manuf. I also like the Nolser & lates Speer manuals. For me, the data seems closer to my own.
Posts: 7752 | Location: kalif.,usa | Registered: 08 March 2001
Gun time: 99% gun forrums on line, buying gun stuff on line, driving to gun stores, driving to range, driving to hunting, building guns, designing guns, repairing gunsmithing machine tools, selling guns, handloading, taping unrepresenatively good targets on the wall, and BSing at gun store.
1% hunting and shooting [hunting season is only two months away]
I recommend Modern Reloading by Richard Lee. It has all of the major powder producer's loads, and a lot of interesting information on reloading in general. The formula for reduced cast bullet loads is worth the price of the book. The book is biased toward Lee products, as you would expect, but at least it isn't biased toward any component producer. You can look at the thread about this book on this forum.
Get as many manuals as you can fit on the shelf. So many manuals have different data on different cartridges. The more info you have the better off you are. I find the Lee manual to be quite tame on many loads. Manuals made by bullet companies have a wider variety of powder selection from varying powder companies with the bullets they make. Manuals from powder companies have a wider variety of bullet weights from different bullet companies with a more narrow scope of powders (except for Hodgdon which includes several different powders from other companies).
Guess I'm in the minority here. I really like the Hornady manuals and the ballistic tables in the rear are excellent, IMHO. However, I also think the Nosler manuals are top shelf and I use a lot of Nosler bullets anyway, sooooo...... Hogdgon is also a good one to have, since they also list some good loads for other powders and they aren't married to any one bullet manufacturer.
Over the years, I have picked up a bunch of manuals; but I believe that before starting a project, one should check all their manuals. Because of this, I like the Hodgdon manual. It presents loads for IMR, WW, and RL as well as Hodgden. In addition, I check the freebees that the companies provide for their powders. Of course, the Lyman manual is a real standby.
If I were stuck on a desert island, I'd pick three manuals: Lyman, Hodgdon, and Sierra. The Lyman because if provides some good data on overall cartridge length you won't see in other manuals, and its general reloading info. Sierra for its ballistic tables, discussion of reloading generally, and its data. Hodgdon for the same reasons. Please note that all of these manuals present data for multiple powders, bullets, etc.
Some of the bullet and powder makers put their stuff out on the net. This can also be a good source of data. One of the things that I've done is to make up "manuals" for calibers that I load from all these sources. These can be very informative and interesting when comparing loads. Ku-dude
I buy every manual I can get my hands on, there is something of interest in all of them. But if you only want one buy the Nosler, the case capacity % for the differant powders is very useful! Chain
Posts: 127 | Location: yuma, AZ | Registered: 22 August 2002
I guess I'm the cheap one here. I don't even own a manual, I go to the powder manufacturers websites and download their info. I keep all the pages in a file marked for a particular cartridge and so far have never had a problem locating a load for a powder/bullet combination. I start low and work up using a chronograph. I've been reloading for 20 years and haven't blown a primer yet, knock on wood.
Clark Thanks for the links. http://www.stevespages.com are also good. As to book sources, I use Hogdons the most. I don't have their latest yet. Good idea to compare any max load with a couple of sources. If you havn't got a scale yet, GET ONE!
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