Old Firearms Manuals

[Snidely70431]

Today I went looking for a copy of the
Ideal/Lyman 1953 No. 39 Handbook and Catalog
which is not very easy to find. I finally found on in Cornell Publications LLC

http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/catalog-reprints/index.php?letter=I

which is a wonderful source for hard-to-find information.

Out of curiosity, I ran a search in The High Road to see if anyone had posted about this source, and I did find a mention of it in

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/gun-manuals.632176/#post-7812069

but the thread is not open for further discussion.

IMHO, this - sources for old gun manuals - is something that should be at the top of the General Discussion forum, because people are always looking for information about a new-to-me gun find and it is not always easy to access.

 

[kelp]

Today I went looking for a copy of the
Ideal/Lyman 1953 No. 39 Handbook and Catalog
which is not very easy to find. I finally found on in Cornell Publications LLC

http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/catalog-reprints/index.php?letter=I

which is a wonderful source for hard-to-find information.

Out of curiosity, I ran a search in The High Road to see if anyone had posted about this source, and I did find a mention of it in

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/gun-manuals.632176/#post-7812069

but the thread is not open for further discussion.

IMHO, this - sources for old gun manuals - is something that should be at the top of the General Discussion forum, because people are always looking for information about a new-to-me gun find and it is not always easy to access.

I ordered a manual re-print for a pistol I bought used a couple years ago from them. What I got was printed very poorly, like it was done on a 30 year old xerox machine, the pictures are upside down and the paper quality is terrible. I would try to find an old original on ebay if possible.

 

[troy fairweather]

I wish they made them like they used to. I have a few old ones done by the nra and are a great read even if you don't have the gun.

 

[Archie]

I rather enjoy 'old' books about various topics, firearms included. One gets a feeling about why certain things were done (that seem not to make sense currently) and find that 'new' ideas have usually been tried before. And I collect old rifles and pistols. Go figure.

I also enjoy and collect old loading manuals and commentary. Even if some of the powders are not produced any more or the names or numbers of those powders referenced have changed.

 

[22250Rem]

I have several things that I got from Cornell Publications and while they are reprints and not up to the quality of the original stuff, they are still interesting and informative for those who seek old, obscure information that is hard to find and priced a lot less than a high quality original would be if one could even be found. Got a bunch of Iver Johnson catalogs & product information for the latter 1930's and 1940-41 when I was researching Iver Johnson shotguns and Savage Arms stuff from the 1920's & 30's when I was looking for Savage info from that era. Even if it doesn't look like museum quality I purchase them for the information and details that I couldn't find elsewhere, and at good prices, too.

 

[Captcurt]

I loaned my first manual, a Lyman from the early 70's, to a friend so he could load some cast bullets and reduced loads. It has a lot of reduced loads that you don't see in newer books. Also had some obsolete cartridge loads like 218 Bee and 219 Zipper.