Best Metallic Cartridge Manual

I like Lyman

I have an electronic Kindle version of the Hornady on my iPad.

I have:
Hornady
Lyman
Sierra

I like them in that order.

I would like to see Nosler & Speer.

I signed up for Loaddata.com a couple of years ago.
It is hard (for me) to navigate, but there is a ton of info there.

Hornady App
Lyman

Hornady guy here.

I too have many manuals. It pays to have more than one.

Fishingted said:

Just wondered if You were Going to Buy a manual Today which one it would be. Any help appreciated. Thanks

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For an all-around manual, I like Hodgdon the best, and I buy a new Hodgdon "Annual Manual" off a newsstand every year. However, you didn't say which "metallic cartridge(s)" you're planning on loading, nor which bullets you're planning on using. I mean, I use Sierra bullets in my 308 Norma, so a Sierra manual gets the nod there. But my wife uses Speer bullets (GSs) in her 7mm Rem Mag, so we use a Speer manual to load for that.
On the other hand, I use a Lyman "Pistol and Revolver" manual a lot when I'm loading for handguns. And IMO, a Lyman "Cast Bullet Handbook" is pretty hard to beat if you use a lot of cast bullets.
Nevertheless, I repeat - for an "all around" manual, I like Hodgdon the best, and having few copies of the Hodgdon "Annual Manual" has come in handy more than a few times for me.

Anymore I just use the internet and a copy of Quickloads.

I buy reloading manual like novels. I have the Lyman because of the story behind the cartridge. Did you know (Lyman manual) the .40 SW craze of the early 2000 came from 10mm the FBI wanted but the smaller people could not handle 10mm Love. So S&W created .40, hence the name .40 Short and Wimpy

Speer is my favorite, but the Hornady is right behind it, mostly because it includes data for Service Rifle.

Put me down for Lyman as well

Speer #14 and Lyman #49 are excellent. If you just need data most any will work, but finding data for the specific bullet you have chosen is best. It's generally the component with the greatest influence on pressure (other than powder choice).

Manuals published by the bullet companies have data for their bullets.

Manuals published by the powder companies use a range of bullets from different companies but have data only for their powders. Powder companies also have an on line presence greater than the bullet companies.

The Lyman manual gas a mix of both powders and bullets.

I find no one manual satisfies my needs and I consult several sources when starting out with a new cartridge or compnents.

I do have books from several bullet manufacturers and consult Western Powders, Hodgdon, and Alliant Powders web sites frequently.

The Lyman book or Hodgdon annual magazine would be good starting points.

I was thinking paper books.

As mentioned, Hodgdon's on line is great. I also get their annual publication since it is cheap.

I have Quick Loads as well.
There is a lot going on with that program.
I have found the benefit of using it to compare to all of the manuals data.
This has helped me see where things "should" end up when adjusting the charge etc (within suggested ranges).

There is a lot of good info around.
So much so, you can go into information overload.

This Forum can help with that if you have questions.
The more data and specific the question, the better the answers get.
There are some really sharp cookies here!!!!

Numerous digital versions of hardcopy manuals are available here thanks to whoever Marvin Stuart is or was. Lyman 48 & 44, Speer 12, three from Hornady and assorted publications from Lee. Not the latest editions but certainly valid fundamentals, and current load data is generally available via the internet at various sites as discussed earlier in this thread.

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading Manuals/

Load data sets including out of print MidwayUSA load map booklets

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Caliber Specific Load Data/

Older (vintage?) vendor load data publications

http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Vendor Supplied Load Data/

I don’t use manuals.

I use recipes posted on Internet forums, like THR.

cfullgraf said:

Manuals published by the bullet companies have data for their bullets.

Manuals published by the powder companies use a range of bullets from different companies but have data only for their powders. Powder companies also have an on line presence greater than the bullet companies.

The Lyman manual gas a mix of both powders and bullets.

I find no one manual satisfies my needs and I consult several sources when starting out with a new cartridge or compnents.

I do have books from several bullet manufacturers and consult Western Powders, Hodgdon, and Alliant Powders web sites frequently.

The Lyman book or Hodgdon annual magazine would be good starting points.

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I like the Lyman's first and foremost because of their variety of powders and bullets. Along with listing the test pressures.
Western Powders does a good job of listing a good variety of bullets with their powders.
Online data, I prefer Hodgdon and Western Powders data.

These days I usually use the internet and go to the bullet makers site or one of the powder manufacturers sites. I’ll be the odd one out on books. When I started I had the Lee book and the Lyman. I much preferred the Lee. Lots of load recipes all in one place, and a pretty decent read at the front about the basics of reloading. When I started that is all I used. Now I have two Lyman manuals, Sierra, two Hornady, and a couple of the individual caliber books for the calibers I load, and a couple I don’t.
Jeff

The caliber specific manuals I found in a Dillion catalogue way back when I started reloading for my S&W 696.

P5 Guy said:

The caliber specific manuals I found in a Dillion catalogue way back when I started reloading for my S&W 696.

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The One Load books are a good source for specific cartridges. A little dated, but usually can find something that makes it down range in a safe manner.

Ru4real said:

I don’t use manuals.

I use recipes posted on Internet forums, like THR.

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Really?

I'm hoping he was joking. After all, his username is @Ru4real

While I don't use recipes from Internet forums, I do use you guys' experience to confirm and check what I'm doing. And I learn about the real-world differences in powders.

+1 on Hodgdons Annual