reloading manuals

[Edventures]

I am looking for opinions and information.
Is there a devinitive manual on reloading,a bible if you will.
I have a copy of "complete guide to handloading " by Sharpe dated 1947.
and I have a copy of "sierra bullets" from the seventies.
I have searched thr and lymans comes up often,
I dont mean to beat a dead horse,or refry the refrieds.
I am just looking for sage advice

 

[jwrowland77]

Lyman's 49th is a great manual. I think I ordered mine off of Amazon.

I also like the Hornady and Sierra manuals as well.

 

[rcmodel]

Lyman & Speer are my favorites.

Lyman for lead bullet data you can't find anywhere else.

Speer for a lot of historical info lacking in other manuals.

rc

 

[Schwing]

I am echoing here but my Lyman 49th is where I find most of my useful data. I have Lee and Hornady manuals as well but 9 times out of 10 I find what I am looking for in the Lyman manual.

 

[Kuyong_Chuin]

I have the Lyman 49th and the Lee 2nd ed. The Lee list more load data than the Lyman but the Lyman has cartridges that the Lee doesn't have. Example you will not find the 7.62 x 25 Tokarev in the Lee but you will in the Lyman. But it works both ways you will find stuff in the Lee that is not in the Lyman. Most will tell you to get at least one of each major manual and compare data.

 

[matrem]

I started with a seventies "Sierra Bullets" and it worked fine, but the Lyman later filled in some blanks.
Get your hands on, read, and understand as many of them as you're able to.

 

[grubbylabs]

I like to have a manual for what ever rifle bullet I am loading for so I have a Hornady manual and a Speer manual so I can have the data for the hunting bullets I shoot. And I like the Lyman book as well, as others have said lots of good data in their.

 

[41 Mag]

Well here is how I look at it.

If I am strictly looking for a "load" for something particular I grab up one of the Lyman manuals.

If I am looking for something specific with a particular bullet I try to use that manufacturers data.

Likewise if I am working with a particular powder I try and use the powder companies data.

When I am researching all of the above I use everything I can get hold of.

You will find that most of the later manuals and even some of the older manuals still have plenty of great data in them. What you have to remember is that charges have been dropped somewhat in all of them due to, pick your poison, lawyers or better pressure reading instruments.

Some powders have been discontinued some have been added but there are plenty which have remained relatively unchanged.

Case in point, I recently was wanting to load up some 146gr DEWC's for my wife simply to punch holes in paper with out of her .357. Well there are plenty of loads listed for cast bullets in .357 but in the latest and greatest manuals nothing for the DEWC. So just out of sheer luck I was browsing one of my pop's old Lyman manuals circa 1962, and low and behild there were several loads listing the identical DEWC I was wanting to use along with several loads for which I had the powder. I jumped on them like a cat on a mouse and they shoot wonderfully.

But this cannot be said for each and every case so you have to know some about the powders as well as the current data for a particular bullet.

I prefer to have a shelf full of loading manuals handy as well as looking up and downloading the powder manufacturer's data as well. In several cases I have particular pages printed out from a copy and pasted Word document on calibers like my 7mm STW so I don't have to look it up.

The more you have the better off you are IMO. But I loaded out of the Lyman #42 for a LONG time before upgrading.

 

[GJSchulze]

If you want information other than load data you can try ABC's of Reloading and/or Reloading for Handloaders. Both are excellent books and available for the Kindle as well as paper bound.

 

[VrockTDSaz]

I have the Lyman 49th, the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual and the Hornady.

I also went to Hodgdon website and downloaded the most the popular rounds and put them in a three ring binder. Western Powders has a whole manual free for download; which I did, and it went into the same binder.

 

[oldcelt]

I have a sharps complete guide to handloading, but most of the powders listed are long gone. It was printed in 1942. I still consult it on occasion.

 

[savanahsdad]

join "www.loaddata.com" and HandLoader Magazine , get the ABC's of reloading and whatever book that has the same name on it as your bullets and if you are going to be playing with different powders then a must have is "Propellant Profiles 5th Edition" and watch for some older books to show up on E-bay there good info in them older books that aren't in the new books ,

(Warning !! I spent over $800 on used books last year alone )


.

 

[hovercat]

The NRA published a reloading handbook many years ago. Best I have seen.

 

[Sniper66]

I don't think there is one manual that says everything, but as stated by GJSchultz, ABC's of Reloading and/or Reloading for Handloaders are great sources. I also use Hornady, Sierra, and Hogdon for sources. Also I pick up caliber-specific booklets at gun shows. I've read them all and reread as needed.

 

[tactikel]

I always try to have 3 current manuals; Lyman's, Speer, and either Sierra or whatever bullet I am running. Of course the internet has endless options, Hodgdons, reloaders nest, MD Smith, hand loaders.com, etc.

 

[plmitch]

If it has to be just one go with Lyman

 

[Zeke/PA]

The Phil Sharpe guide is of course a great book written by one of the most knowledgeable persons in history regarding the reloading game. What you'll find though is that some of the reloading components, mainly powders, are no longer manufactured.
A few years back, I purchased a Sierra manual (3 inches thick) that seems to be very comprehensive.
Hang on to Phil Sharpe's book however.

 

[steveno]

Sharpe's book in good shape will be at least $50 at a gun show. I paid $50 for mine and if I would have looked a couple of tables down there was a signed copy for $75. yes a lot of the powders shown are no longer available and some of the loads might a be a little on the warm side but it still has a lot of information that can still be applied today

 

[buck460XVR]

If you are looking for information on the reloading process, the "The ABCs of Reloading and the Speer manual are very good. As for recipes, the Lyman is probably the best, but I suggest you always reference more than one manual when developing new loads. Powder manufacturers generally have free recipes/reloading data on their website.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I like Lyman and Speer as well.
If I had to pick a favorite I'd have to give Lyman the edge because they use several different makers of bullets.
In the Speer, Hornady or Sierra manuals, they will have data for their bullets.
If you go with the Lyman or the powder manufacturor's manual like Hodgdon or Alliant they will give data for their powders with various different bullets. Usually these will be in a small magazine type of publication that gives several loads, but not much in the way of instruction. They are handy to have around though.

If you're looking for information about the process, don't rule out Youtube videos. Now some of them are from crazy guys who I wouldn't take advice from but you can find videos from RCBS with one of their employees going through the reloading process. Dillon also has videos with a nice lady demonstrating the use of their machines. If I were a beginner I would look to those first. When you've got a little experience you can check out the individuals' videos and decide what to use and what to ignore.

 

[chevy_dmax]

Lyman 49th is very good manual to *start* with. I suggest hard cover, as my soft cover is showing heavy signs of wear from mild use after a handful of years. I also do like the speer 14.

@Hovercat, what is the NRA book you mentioned?

Thanks,
Bill.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Lyman 49th is very good manual to *start* with. I suggest hard cover, as my soft cover is showing heavy signs of wear from mild use after a handful of years.

Agreed. The $5-$10 extra would definitely have been worth it.

 

[boom boom]

I agree with those above: For general reloading data, I use Lyman, Speer, Hornady, and Sierra in that order. I use Lee for pistol data (I use their Autodisk for dispensing powder for handgun rounds) and the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual as I primarily reload for revolvers using lead bullets. I also agree for a good overview, The ABC's of Reloading last couple of editions, and Patrick Sweeney's Reloading for Handguns cover a lot of ground. Lyman and Lee also cover bullet casting as well. Usually also buy Hodgdon's manual every year and use Alliant's and Accurate/Ramshot websites as well to crosscheck and deal with a specific bullet/load. Accurate and Ramshot have data using specifically Remington Golden Saber, Berry Bullets, and Oregon Trail bullets that I have not seen authoritatively tested elsewhere.

Have belonged to Loaddata in the past which often has older manual's data along with old Handloader articles' data. If you are trying to develop the most accurate load for a very particular gun such as a Browning High Power then Loaddata is a good goto sources if you don't need much explanation--many of the specific gun/bullet/powder loads in Loaddata came from old issues of Handloader magazine.

 

[Potatohead]

+1 to Reloading For Handgunners but I've got to jump in here and say ABCs of Re is way down on my list, like last place by far. I wouldnt care if I lost it. I wouldnt care if my daughters knocked it in the tub at bathtime. I wouldnt care....you get the pic.

You can say the author knows what not to do as he blew his hand off and has a hook.
Hopefully he's not the Ayoob of reloading and Im not about to get flamed by the old guys here but...


And before some smart A-double comes along and says Potato didnt like it because it didn't have pictures to color----that was only ONE reason I didnt like it!

Seriously, their is probably something you can glean from it but it's not a favorite of mine..maybe I was expecting to much, it was my first book and I was practically waiting at the mailbox for the mailman to deliver it.

Oh yeah, pardon my manners, welcome to THR.

 

[rg1]

I usually consult the bullet company manual first then the powder company manual or on-line data. A manual I've passed over until recently is the Modern Reloading second edition by Richard Lee. Has a lot of data that looks to be gathered from several sources and other manuals. Also plenty of how-to's. Since I shoot a lot of Hornady bullets it's my main source. Lyman has a very good manual but I have collected and keep up to date on Hornady, Sierra, and Nosler manuals also. Speer is my least used manual. Also, unless you want to read history of reloading and bullet casting I see no use for ABC's. Good reading but not a source of reloading data.