Looking for a new manual--any suggestions

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coyotehitman

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I've been out of loading for a while, but recently fired up the presses again. I have an older Speer loading manual that I use (the .40 S&W is not in it if that tells you the age), but I am looking to pick up the best, most comprehensive manual(s) for my money right now. $50-75 max is what I am willing to spend. I was considering "Ken Water's Pet Loads". Does anyone have any experience with this book and do you recommend it or not? If I buy that manual, I should have enough left over to purchase a manufacturer's manual as well.

I am mostly a handgun shooter (dept. quals, regular plinking, hunting, and occasionally GSSF/IDPA), but I shoot some rifle as well. I am interested in loading 9mm--.45acp, .38spl--.44 magnum, .22 centerfires, .308 and the occasional belted magnum.

Any recommendations are welcome, but please include what the manual specializes in and why you like it best. As I understand, some are swayed heavily toward rifle, others pistol, and some just like to pimp their reloading gear to you.

Thanks.
 
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Lyman #49.

If you can only have one new book, that is the one to have.

If covers most everything, old, new, in between.

Both jacketed & lead bullet rifle & handgun data, as well as reduced loads for most rifle calibers.

rcmodel
 
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Lyman #49.

If you can only have one new book, that is the one to have.

If covers most everything, old, new, in between.

Both jacketed & lead bullet rifle & handgun data, as well as reduced loads for most rifle calibers.

rcmodel
Click to expand...

My thoughts EXACTLY! Great Advice!
 
Seeing 6 posts where everyone agrees is an odd occurance on this forum.

The Lyman manual it is.

Thanks for the quick responses.


Anyone know if the "Pet Loads" compilation is worth spending the money on as well (45.00)...I searched around a little bit and it seems that some claim it's info is getting dated.
 
It is getting dated, but it's still good information. I've never tried one of the loads listed as the most accurate in Pet Loads that wasn't accurate in my guns. In several calibers, it's saved me a whole lot of time and experimenting.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Since I tend toward military surplus rifles, I prefer the Hornady manual, having the Seventh edition on my shelf. It lists the M1 Garand .30-06 as well as commercial .30-06 loads, plus my other favorite, the 7.5x55 Swiss. I also have the Lyman's 48th edition and while I like it and use it for my pistol loads (9mm and .40 S&W), I am slowly gravitating to the Hornady for my pistol loading as well.

I guess it depends on what you want. I can't deny that for general loading info, the Lyman wins because it is not preferential toward any one powder or bullet manufacturer, nor does it push it's own reloading gear on you either. That, as I have said above, is my second choice.
 
Pet Loads for $45 bucks isn't the complete set.

They have a new edition out now for $65 I think, that includes the original, plus all the later additions.

Still, it left off way before all the new powder, bullets, and "Cartridges of the Month" that have been coming out in recent years.

It's good reading for sure.
But it won't have anything on the .339" Hornady Whiz-em and such.

rcmodel
 
I use the Seirra manual for jacketed bullets and the Lyman for lead. I own a bunch of manuals but these two are my "go to" info.
 
I have the Lyman 48th...very complete. I use downloaded info from the powder companies ect for additional load data.
 
Another vote for Lyman. I like the newest edition especially since they still include a lot of data for lead bullets.

I bought a Ken Waters manual and was a little upset a lot of the data was for powders or bullets that are no longer available. Even though it is a huge source of data I found it to be less than useful especially with handgun loads. I'm thinking of selling ti off. It's the one just before the newest $65 book. IMO the Ken Waters book isn't worth the money especially when you can buy 3 or the most current name brand books instead of just that one.
 
Well I'm gonna vote for Sierra...for lots of reasons.

They don't really have a lot of data for lead bullets though.

The only thing I don't like about Sierra is that they err a bit too far on the side of safety for me...their max loads are a bit "soft" in most cases, but thats no problem really...I work up slow until I see pressure.
 
I feel better......

I loaded a lot quite a few years back, and then moved. In that next house my range access wasn't as good and my reloading set up not as convenient. I went 12 years without loading anything at all.

Then I moved again. Still have a lot of powder and components and started to shoot up the old loaded ammo (worked fine, some of it was 18 years old). But I couldn't find any of my old loading manuals. I didn't find this site until yesterday... but working from my feeble memory I did order a new reloading manual --- the Lyman 49. (I wonder which Lyman manual I was working from back in the late 1980s?)
 
i just got the lyman 49, and the sierra 5th for Christmas. i have only had time to thumb through both of them. but even with just thumbing through them, i can say that both of these are better manuals than the hornady or lee manual. of the two, so far, i am leaning towards the sierra manual. but honestly, i have spent more time in that book. all of the manuals have good useful information. it just seems that some have more usefull information than others. if all you want is load data, pretty much any of them can give you that. it is all the extra info that make a manual usefull. i have been relying mostly on my lee book. nothing wrong with it. but there is a lot of information in the lyman, and sierra that is not in the lee, or hornady. so, really, you need every book made, until you have more experience than all of the authors!
 
I wonder which Lyman manual I was working from back in the late 1980s?
Click to expand...
pmeisel,
Welcome to the forum...

Lyman 45th Edition was released in 1970. I have one but many of the powders listed are mostly not manufacture now. If you bought it new you were probably using Lyman's 46th Edition which was published in 1982. I have never looked at the 46th Edition. Actually I don't remember looking at the 47th Edition either. I did have a 48th Edition and now the 49th Edition which I do like a lot.
 
I ended up with two Lyman 49's for x-mas. Listed the other one on the forum and it sold in about 10 minutes. I'll be adding the Sierra on my next mail order. I have looked through the 49 and it is a comprehensive manual.

Thanks to those who recommended it.
 
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