How often should you get a new manual ?

If you have the extra funds buy them. If money is tight every few new editions.

It seems like most of the bullet makers reloading manuals are updated every three to five years. At that rate, most of the reloading data is unchanged except for the addition of new cartridges (and dropping of old ones) and the addition of loads with new powders (and the dropping of discontinued powder loads). When comparing new manuals with older ones from the same source, a considerable amount of the loading data often goes back decades. Therefore, the primary need for new reloading manuals is to remain up to date regarding new developments of new bullets, powders, and cartridges.

As far as Lyman's Cast Bullet Manual, I only have the 4th edition, and can't speak specifically regarding what has changed between the 3rd and 4th editions. I do notice that the loads in the 4th edition largely use very well-established powders (introduced 40+ years ago). Newer powders in the manual include Trail Boss, Titegroup and Power Pistol. Newer rifle cartridges include 260 Remington and several of the new short action magnum calibers from Remington, Ruger, and Winchester. Newer pistol cartridges include the 45 GAP and several of the .460-500 bore Magnum cartridges.

The 3rd cast has loads the 4th don't have. I use the 3rd more than the 4th. https://cornellpubs.com/ makes copy's of the 3rd.

I buy them if I must due to new data being in the new one which I need, or when I see them on sale. I also buy old ones when I find them at a good price. So, unless there is something you need in a new one, or haven't bought one in a long time, I would not be in a hurry to buy one.

I use online data. It is free and updated often.

Hodgdon, Alliant, Ramshot, Nosler, Berger, Barnes, Hornady and a probably several others are all online.

I have used online data but would rather just have it in a manual sitting in front of me. Just old school.
Not to good doing online stuff and I don't have a printer.

I wouldn’t say there is any reason a reloader needs to update to new manuals. If you believe data may have changed for a given powder, or you start loading for a new cartridge not found in your existing manual, then the data is almost assuredly available through whichever device you are using to read this.

I have one manual and have no plans to ever buy another.

For what purpose would I?

Load data? Didn’t Solomon tell us there’s nothing new under the sun? What he meant in this context is by the time load data is published in a big clunky manual, it’s already out there on websites, blogs, and forums. (He didn’t mention THR specifically however, sorry)

So what else is in a manual that isn’t already in a prior edition? How to reload? How to cast bullets? Anything? Bueller?

$50 manuals are a vestige of the past deserving of a spot in the Library at Alexandria, but nowhere else.

I haven't bought one in several years. I haven't added anything that the ones I have do not cover. If I do add something new I'll find it on the internet. A phone, ipad or kindle takes up much less room than a bunch of books.

The last one I remember purchasing was before I entered the information superhighway. I still have a number of them but can get data directly from the mfg, distributors and many users quicker than I could gather all of the books I purchased to one table.

A lot of what I load is old stuff that the loads haven’t changed or new stuff that’s probably not in a printed book yet anyway.

For a new reloader? I think having a couple on hand to read before you start is a good idea

But to update for the sake of updating? Meh, powder manufacturers data is best and you can get that for free on the internet.

The last manual I bought was the Hornady 7th (I believe...) for the .348WCF and Service Rifle data, specifically.

Highland Lofts said:

I have used online data but would rather just have it in a manual sitting in front of me. Just old school.

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There is something to this... the quickness and availability of instant reference data... my own version of 'bang, flop' ... that is, the spine of the manual hitting the bench, and flopping open. I often reference not only load data, but OAL and trim data, etc. I have tabs on my books for the cartridges I load for, and I can have a look-see in about 5 seconds, vs going to the computer, pulling up a website, looking at what I want... and usually getting distracted... (skwerrel!)

When I started loading for the 6.5CM, none of my manuals had data for that... so I had to source it online. I can see where, assuming you are an experienced reloader, you would not really need the reference of a physical manual... in my case, the 6.5CM data is right from the bullet maker, or the powder seller, online, there is not much ambiguity. I could see, however, for a newer reloader, getting into rifle cartridges, for example, where a good manual... and up-to-date manual... would be worthwhile. I could also see where something like a Lyman manual would be handy for esoteric data... cast bullets in the .30-06, for example, where a bullet manufacturer's manual may not have something like that, or with a wildcat cartridge.

It really boils down to individual needs.

Save the old ones. Loads for Unique, Red Dot, and Bullseye as well as some other old-timers often come from my Speer 9 and an old Lyman.

My idea of using the Hodgden magazine type manual as an update was a bust. They don't list 35 Rem, 44Spcl, or Alliant powders (understandable), and their bullet abbreviations don't show up on the supposed 'key' page. Yet they list 44-40.

Lee manuals aren't bad, sort of like the Hodgden but more complete and their bullet descriptions are understandable. However, it's all dated and all someone else's data.

I'm waiting for the next Speer manual. Hope they have more up-to-date powders.

I currently don't have anything with BE-86 loads and have to rely on online data. That makes me nervous. Thanks to a sale, I've got a lot of the stuff but haven't loaded any yet.

Varminterror said:

I wouldn’t say there is any reason a reloader needs to update to new manuals. If you believe data may have changed for a given powder, or you start loading for a new cartridge not found in your existing manual, then the data is almost assuredly available through whichever device you are using to read this.

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This^^^^^^^^^^. I'm a pretty boring type of shooter and like my life simple. Never really deviated to new type calibers when I started buying and shooting firearms. My calibers are few, 30-06 , 30-30, 5.56, 45acp, .357, and 10mm. Nothing much has changed.

At one time there was no "free" online data from powder and bullet makers. If you bought a new caliber that wasn't in your old manual, you had to buy a new one. My .460 was a good example. Nowadays, online data is as complete as printed matter. I believe one reason powders and bullets have gone up in price is the loss of income from printed manuals that no longer sell. So while the online data is "free" we all still pay for it up front when we buy powder and bullets. Any more, for new powders and bullets, I just use a loose leaf binder and print off the online data from their manufacturer. Cause as I said before, I've already paid for it.

I'm with the others that don't bother with updating manuals, the info you need is available on line and/or from the powder manufacturers.

I've gone pretty much digital for everything and l have a dedicated laptop in my reloading room. I download the PDFs and keep them in a file on my PC. I use excel sheets for my load development, chrono records (Labradar) and component inventory.

BBarn said:

It seems like most of the bullet makers reloading manuals are updated every three to five years. At that rate, most of the reloading data is unchanged except for the addition of new cartridges (and dropping of old ones) and the addition of loads with new powders (and the dropping of discontinued powder loads). When comparing new manuals with older ones from the same source, a considerable amount of the loading data often goes back decades. Therefore, the primary need for new reloading manuals is to remain up to date regarding new developments of new bullets, powders, and cartridges.

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That’s a really good summary. Not much to add except to say, personally I don’t trust online data. I read “1984” long before I started handloading. Books can’t be changed on the fly; online data can. For good or bad. Might want to keep that in mind when telling people books are useless.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

That’s a really good summary. Not much to add except to say, personally I don’t trust online data. I read “1984” long before I started handloading. Books can’t be changed on the fly; online data can. For good or bad. Might want to keep that in mind when telling people books are useless.

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Books aren’t useless they’re just not always necessary in physical form. Yes, digital stuff can be manipulated, but it’s less likely when one accesses it from a reliable source/site.

But I also agree completely the cost of editing and physically publishing a book made for a more reliable document.

buck460XVR said:

I believe one reason powders and bullets have gone up in price is the loss of income from printed manuals that no longer sell. So while the online data is "free" we all still pay for it up front when we buy powder and bullets.

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This one’s pretty hard for me to chew, hard enough, I know I can’t swallow it.

As a paradigm, books aren’t big money-makers, they’re a volume game, and the publishers are the majority profit in the product waterfall. So the net revenue on a $20 reloading manual really isn’t a substantial portion of a business line. But comparatively, a $20 manual co-sells with hundreds or thousands of dollars of equipment, and hundreds or thousands of dollars of components, generally with much greater margin. Reloading manuals are what we call “loss leaders.”

So if there IS a cost-adder riding the price of our bullets which has anything to do with online manuals vs. print, it would have FAR more to do with the cost of operating websites, user interface design, server management, etc. We’d be trading publishing costs and distribution logistics costs with digital UI/UX, which I expect ends up CHEAPER (based on doing this kind of work), so it’s favorable for the consumer and favorable for the manufacture. And of course, consumer traffic on an owned IP property APP or website is always profitable, so I’m betting HEAVILY that the online transition to displace print media sales has been a MASSIVE boost in revenue for these companies, and has not been a revenue loss. Alternatively, we’ve shifted one loss-leader for another, and a more valuable one at that.

I seek out older manuals for loads no longer published. The same exact thing can be done in grt or quickloads. New data is free everywhere

Over the past few years I've turned into a load manual whore. I bought a lot of manuals and sometimes several releases in a row. I currently own 39 manuals from Speer, Lyman, Hornady, Nosler and a few others lol...

Lyman #49, #50 and #51 are very similar and the #51 was disappointing because they didn't include many of the new powders and some newer cartridges in that manual compared to #50.

As much as information is readily available online, I find I'm rather fond of having physical copies of reference data. Even though I don't reload many different cartridges at the moment, I am an inveterate tinkerer with trying different bullets and powders in what I do load. Or maybe that's just a symptom of the two component shortages we've had in the past decade.

Now I wouldn't say there's a need to "update" every time Lyman or Hornady release a new book just because they've released a new book. But I could certainly get on board with having a copy of the book from your favorite bullet manufacturers and a Lyman book, and also using the available online references. This morning I have a 2010 Hodgdon Annual, a Lyman 49th and a Nosler 8th at hand, and I keep contemplating adding a Sierra or Hornady book to the pile.

Highland Lofts said:

I have used online data but would rather just have it in a manual sitting in front of me. Just old school

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Same here. I like to have a physical book in front of me.
I always check 2 handloading books to see if they coincide. But the real source of truth is the on line load data from the powder manufacturers. They do a lot of testing and the most up to date info is on line.

These 2 books show how much the data can vary. (357 Magnum) The Nosler book on the left used a 8.3 inch barrel. Hornady on the right used a gun with a 8" barrel.
Hornady says you can't get over 1250 feet/sec unless you use Power Pro 300.
Nosler has lots of options that go over 1400 ft/sec.
Look at some of the powders that are in both books. With 2400 Nosler says you should start off with 11.3 grains to propel a 158 grain bullet to a speed of 1480 feet/sec.
Honrnady says the MAX you should go is 14.3 grains of 2400 and that would only propel the bullet to 1200 ft/sec.

EDIT: My chronograph shows speeds closer to the Hornady Book.