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Thread: Your Preferred Loading Manual?

  1. #1
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    Your Preferred Loading Manual?

    To get started, I have just been using VV’s app on my phone.

    But I’m thinking I should get a real reloading manual.

    Speer
    Lyman
    Hornady
    Lee
    Someone else?

  2. #2
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    I have all of those except Lee. Also have Sierra. Speer, Hornady and Sierra only have data for their own bullets. Lyman has a lot of lead bullet data that you don't see as much of in others.

    Hodgdon/IMR, Western Powders and VV paper manuals are free at my local reloading shop. They are mostly data without as much in-depth instruction as the big books provide. All of these include data for a range of projectiles. Hodgdon online data is pretty thorough and revised from time to time, with a very convenient interface. Western and VV have their data online as well. Western has answered an inquiry I made about .45 Super loads with some "off manual" data they don't normally publish.

    Barnes and Nosler have most of their data online, although you have to mine it one chart at a time. Barnes sometimes has additional data if you request it.

    Swift will send you data if you have a specific request, but their manual is spendy.

    Check any manufacturer's web site for updates/errata/addenda. If you can't find something online or in a manual, ask.

    Some of the older manuals have interesting data on reduced loads or other oddball stuff that has been cut out of newer editions.
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  3. #3
    Site Supporter Paul D's Avatar
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    I like to refer to this book from time to time. It has great articles for each caliber for hunting applications.

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  4. #4
    Phone/Tablet:
    Sierra -- Honestly, the best interface I've ever used. Even if you're not using Sierra bullets, you can judiciously apply the data to same weight/type bullets from other brands.
    Hornady Reloading Manual (Kindle) -- Really cheap, you might have enough saved coupons and such to pick it up for free or nearly free.

    Paper:
    Lyman #50 -- My default go-to.

    Online, I use Hodgdon's excellent reloading database for their powders. I have found Alliant and Accurate's data to be rather wanting.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Wow. Watching to see if he gets a bid.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Any-Sho...l/331623883418
    .
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    Not another dime.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter Paul D's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Wow. Watching to see if he gets a bid.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Any-Sho...l/331623883418

    Yeah, they are running about $190-200 used these days. I got my copy back in 2007 brand new for about $30. I must of read or browsed through it a hundred times.

  7. #7
    Site Supporter
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    I have Lees and Lymans latest with Lees being the preferred. It has more current bullet information with Lymans being a more traditional/ hunting flavor. As said above, it can have data not listed in other books. Truth told, I really don’t reference them much anymore. Once you work up the load you want, they just kind of sit on the shelf till you change powder, etc. Once you have read all the “Concepts and fundamentals of reloading” information in the front, I think it’s almost easier to just scan copies of the bullets you are interested in from a buddies book or the online information from manufacturers.

    @RevolverRob
    My Lee book is already lent out and I don’t remember who has it but if you want to borrow the Lyman manual, PM me.

  8. #8
    I try to buy a different one each year, if updated.
    #RESIST

  9. #9
    They're all a little different, so I have and use several of them. Data can be all over the map since one of them might use test barrels only from a specific manufacturer, another might use barrels of the same length even if that length is unusual or unrealistic for the cartridge in question, and another might use only well-worn examples of popular factory models.

    I don't pay much attention to velocity in handguns, but I do with rifles. People often complain that a particular rifle won't reach the velocity shown in the book with the charges listed in the book. The answer is not to crank the charge up, but to find a book that lists results very close to what you get in that rifle. When I find a manual that matches what a particular rifle does, that book becomes the manual of choice for that rifle.

    Among online sources, I like Hodgdon (https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/node) and https://loaddata.com/ from Wolfe publishing.


    Okie John
    “The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
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  10. #10
    Site Supporter LtDave's Avatar
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    Online resource with load data for handgun & rifle cartridges from powder company sources:

    https://shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/
    The first indication a bad guy should have that I'm dangerous is when his
    disembodied soul is looking down at his own corpse wondering what happened.

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