Yesterday one of my reloading manuals finally fell apart! Wore out from many years use. A couple others have duct tape for binders!! I have other ways to get loading info (off the Net!) for one, but as you know you can't always trust the Net . There is one site that has many loads some that are scary hot in my estimation sometimes several grains different from other sources I have access to. No matter I was wondering what modern reloading data manuals you have and find useful. I am interested in as many loads as possible. I load for mucho calibers. The latest manual I have is a Hodgdon I found it useful as it has many powders (that I use) and wasn't specific to a particular bullet manufacturer. Sierra used to be the cat's meow in the old notebook affair. I still have it but it is very out of date. I mainly need loads and not much in the how to department although I suspect that is in most manuals anyway. What are your choices for reloading manuals and why? Thank you for your help. STBE
My newest manual is by Nosler. I like that they show the most accurate load for each powder as well as the most accurate powder tested for each bullet weight.
I got the Nosler manual with my RCBS reloading kit and bought the Lee and Hornady books when they were each on sale for about $17.
Edit: And like the Lyman, the Lee is good because it lists all the different bullets available.
But most of the manuals are available online and the best thing is that you can just grab the pages for the calibers you load. Between the bullet and powder manufacturers I've downloaded pages from a half-dozen manuals for free.
Yesterday one of my reloading manuals finally fell apart! Wore out from many years use. A couple others have duct tape for binders!! I have other ways to get loading info (off the Net!) for one, but as you know you can't always trust the Net . There is one site that has many loads some that are scary hot in my estimation sometimes several grains different from other sources I have access to. No matter I was wondering what modern reloading data manuals you have and find useful. I am interested in as many loads as possible. I load for mucho calibers. The latest manual I have is a Hodgdon I found it useful as it has many powders (that I use) and wasn't specific to a particular bullet manufacturer. Sierra used to be the cat's meow in the old notebook affair. I still have it but it is very out of date. I mainly need loads and not much in the how to department although I suspect that is in most manuals anyway. What are your choices for reloading manuals and why? Thank you for your help. STBE
I suggest you consider a package deal: Sierra version V and Infinity (ballistics software calculator) are available at Midway for $60. The loading manual is both printed and on CD. I got them separately and use the book and the calculator all the time.
Dumb question, since I've only been reloading for 5 months and one caliber:
what data do you keep going back for?
In my case, I used my reloading manual to get starting points for powder and bullet selection. Then once I got into refining the load I didn't need it anymore.
That said, I'm reloading for accuracy and I'm tailoring the cartridge to the exact barrel and chamber. I can see how the reloading guides would help if I never fully developed that one ideal load for each rifle.
Dumb question, since I've only been reloading for 5 months and one caliber:
what data do you keep going back for?
In my case, I used my reloading manual to get starting points for powder and bullet selection. Then once I got into refining the load I didn't need it anymore.
That said, I'm reloading for accuracy and I'm tailoring the cartridge to the exact barrel and chamber. I can see how the reloading guides would help if I never fully developed that one ideal load for each rifle.
That works.... if you only have one rifle in one caliber. I load for multiple calibers in multiple rifles.
The Hodgdon annual issue (magazine type ) comes out once a year and stays on top of all the new powders. It’s always been my favorite, you find it on any news stand that carries gun magazines. I rarely use my hard bound load books anymore.
Buying a reloading manual these days has 2 purposes - 1/ to give instructions on "how to" which will be good for tyros. 2/ obviously is for load data.
Virtually all the latest load data for both powder and bullet manufacturers is now available via the net. Personal load data that people post I would treat with great caution. And reloading manuals very occasionally had errors in their data too, not common these days though - double double checked for fear of litigation?
I still have my old Speer circa 1966. I just love glancing through it every so often - all those great writers long gone. I recently thought I would update, mainly for the cartridge info, and bought the latest Speer. Extremely disappointing. Just a reprint from what I can tell, of previous modern Speer manuals with out of date data and quite aged script. Plus missing a few of the very latest cartridges.
I also have recently also ought the latest Lyman which is very good and is as already posted "It doesn't have any relationship with powder or bullet manufacturers".
Not a real great fan of Lee stuff (use their collet dies though) but the Lee manual is quite good in the "how to" except of course based around Lee products.
For load data I use powder and bullet manufacturer's online data and then run checks for my application using Quickload.
I have several and seem to get the most useful information out of Hornady manual. I tend to be using Hornady bullets.
Many manuals are limited in bullet selection. For example, Nosler will only show data for Nosler bullets. It take a lot of resources to developed and test these loads. Hornady offers the most bullets and has the resources to develop a lot data. In some cases Hornady as data for old guns and modern guns.
Since I mentioned Nosler. That manual does high light the most accurate load. I typically will have Hornady and Nosler both open to try and select a first choice powder.
I like to cross-reference loads across manuals. When I load a new bullet weight I check it in as many manuals as I have access to just to have as much data as possible. Different manuals like different powders.
I have the Nolser, Hornady and Lee manuals. I've read every word in the front sections of each to learn as much about the process of reloading as possible.
Makes sense. Do you then have certain loads circled that you keep going back to?
Not really. Once I have a load developed for a specific rifle, it often turns out to be a good load for another rifle in the same caliber. I may have to tweek it a bit for OAL or exact powder weight but it's usually easy to do.
I try to keep my different powders to a minimum. I find that H-4895 and H-322 work well for most of my cartridges.
I also rarely go near maximum loads as best accuracy is often well below max and I'm more interested in best accuracy.
Like has been mentioned if you have several rifles and pistols it is good to have several manuals and there can be great differences in what the manuals say are the maximum loads. If you have a 308 Win and a bolt gun you might be able to shoot "hotter " loads than if you have a gas gun like the M14 some manuals have specific loads for each. Same for a semiauto in any caliber and a bolt gun. M1 Garand and 30-06 is another. I like to be able to check between several sources for a load. What if you have a caliber that you want to hunt coyotes with fast short range light bullets with fast a powder and then want to shoot long range targets, but you aren't a deer hunter you might need components and loads that aren't in a single manual. You can get info off the net, some from reliable sources that's great but some are specious. I sometimes load in a remote area I can't access the net. I am looking for the most updated info in a book. I believe the Lee manual gets their info from component manufacturers. All but one of my manuals are as old or older than me and folks still hunted mammoths when I was born! Besides I feel you can't be too informed when making and setting off stuff that creates 60000PSI and 4000F+ temps right next to your noggin.
STBE
. There is one site that has many loads some that are scary hot in my estimation sometimes several grains different from other sources I have access to. No matter I was wondering what modern reloading data manuals you have and find useful. I am interested in as many loads as possible. I load for mucho calibers. The latest manual I have is a Hodgdon I found it useful as it has many powders (that I use) and wasn't specific to a particular bullet manufacturer. Sierra used to be the cat's meow in the old notebook affair. I still have it but it is very out of date. I mainly need loads and not much in the how to department although I suspect that is in most manuals anyway. What are your choices for reloading manuals and why? Thank you for your help. STBE
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