Reloading manuals..who has most data?

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sparkyguy

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I just got the Speer's Reloading Manual #13 in the mail and was a bit disappointed with amount of data that it contained. Specifically, it does not give alot of various bullet weights and powder tables. I also have the Lee Modern Reloading manual and it has considerably more, but I not to the degree I am looking for. Does anyone know of a better manual that does not only promote their own products as Speer does?
 
The more manuals you own, the better off you'll be. I have them all, but if I was going to limit myself to just one, it would be the Lyman 48th Edition Reloading Manual. It has data for lots of powders and bullets in a good variety of calibers.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Any of the bullet makers manuals only cover thier own brands of bullets.
What did you expect?

Lee is just a generic copy of all the powder companies info you can get free on the internet.

Lyman offers much more varity, but sometimes for bullets no longer being made.

No manual is going to cover every available bullet & powder combination.
If it did, you couldn't lift it!

rcmodel
 
+1 for the Lyman. I have several manuals and there is no one "best". Individual manufacturers of course will only list their products which is why I like the Lyman -- the cover a lot of powder and bullet types. I stay away from internet-posted data unless I can verify it in a book somewhere. I've used internet data as a starting point, but I've always cross-checked it. One exception is Hodgdon's reloading data center. Try google'ing it and check it out. Its very complete with Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester powders (which they own) all listed. The Lee book is fair with lots of different types of powder and bullets, but he doesn't list primer type, brass used or barrel length in his data.
 
Eveyones manual I`m aware of is specific to their product with the exception of Lyman whom does a good job of including lots of manufactures, and Lee who simply uses old data from the various bullet and powder manufactures. The best bet for lots of pressure tested data is to go to the different powder company web sites and download their data. The bullet makers often have data on their sites also, at least their newest loads/cartridges.
 
I find I use Hornady's and Lyman's #48 the most. Hornady's works for me because I use quite a few of their bullets, and Lyman's works well for me for the bullets I'm casting myself. FWIW.

Regards,
Dave

PS - Some of the internet load data sites scare me as you have no clue whether the guys posting loads are crazy or not! :)
 
hows this
http://www.reloadammo.com/reload.htm

with places like this who needs manuals.
Click to expand...

Scrat, I have to say that although, that manual has alot of good things in it. It lacks many powders not only better suited but safer for certain things. My example would be the 30-06 loads for 180 grain bullets. He has mentioned alot of faster powders including a pistol powder (2400). The slowest rifle powders he lists are RL15 and W760. Although adequate it fogets the tries and true 4350's and 4831's. Not to mention the RL series 19 and 22. Thats why I own 2 manuals and frequent Alliant's site as well as Hodgdons.
 
Since you already have a good reloading manual, may I suggest the One Book/One Caliber series of books? They're kinda cheap and have a lot of loads in them and some of the newer powders are listed. They're the books I use when I wanted good load data for Ramshot's Tac powder in 308 and 223.
 
Speer 13 is an abomination, not is completeness, but in accuracy.

Sierra rifles is much better.
Free on line powder manufactures for pistols is much better.

Quickload program is better still.
 
I load for over 10 calibers and over 30 firearms at one time or another.
I have Speer, Sierra, Hornady, Lee and Lyman books and several powder
manufacturer pamphlets. I have also referred to various powder mfr.
internet sites from time to time.

Lyman is my favorite sourcebook and I'm often tempted to throw the
Lee book in the trash (self-serving and dubious front end with an old
regurgitated data section). The bullet manufacturers are of course
one-way about things, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you're
using their bullets. Lyman lists several bullet choices, comments on
how they found performance under their listed test conditons and provides
believable pressure data. Their test rifle, if not a universal receiver, also
often coincides with the one for which I'm reloading (serendipity).

I suppose you can have too much input before settling on a new load,
but I like to compare several sources and don't believe on relying on
one source, including (maybe especially) this forum.
 
dmftoy1 said:
I find I use Hornady's and Lyman's #48 the most. Hornady's works for me because I use quite a few of their bullets, and Lyman's works well for me for the bullets I'm casting myself. FWIW.
Click to expand...
Same here. I check the free powder manuals data with the data in either of these manuals before proceding. I've had good luck using Hornady's data with other bullets (after comparing data of course). I especially appreciate the range of data and powders they include.

I would not rely solely on online data, as it is possible for a site (or several) to get hacked, and I'd hate to be the recipient of hacked data. Not that it would be up for long, but just the same - comparing data with multiple sources minimizes any risk of using bad data obtained from a single source.
 
I have the sierra and lee manuals. they've both got a ton of stuff in them. If i had to get anything it would be the combination sierra manual & infinity v. 6 software - good stuff.
 
I have the Lyman 48th edition the Sierra 5th edition and High power rifle accuracy loading I like Sierra the best. For me it has the most useful data per cartridge and has more cartridges than any other manual out there.
 
I'm pretty impressed with my Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition, lots of data, including plated bullets, paid $14 for it.:D
 
I have the Lyman 48th, Speer #13 and Lee 2nd Edition, as well as a couple of the Hodgdon yearly updates and two of the One Book/One Caliber and I always find mtself reverting to the Lee 2nd Edition. Lyman never seems to have the right combo's of what I'm loading, Speer same thing... Lee, has more recipes than Betty Crocker...
 
I'm coming back to reloading from a long hiatus, but I have a Hornady manual (best detail so far) and a Speer manual (not crazy about it, some of the velocities just don't jibe when compared with other resources)... I have also used the online data provided by Hodgdon and Accurate Arms (which I prefer). Some manuals show lighter max loads than others, probably due to variations in testing equipment, and probably some due to liability issues. While I don't EVER exceed the max in the most "liberal" manual for a particular bullet combination, I've always had a feeling there was a bit of "headroom" included in the reloading data. Again, I would NEVER exceed the max. In fact, most of my rounds are below max in one of the more conservative manuals, the Hornady manual. Just found it wasn't necessary to push it faster. :)
 
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