Read the Manual?

[CastingFool]

When I first went into the army in 71, learning to work on helicopters, I was taught to read the manual. In fact, if you were doing a task on a helicopter, you had better have the right TM out with you while you're doing the job, regardless whether you had done that task 500 hundred times before. Later on, when I was in the Air Guard, you had better had the TM out, opened to the right page. So I became a firm believer in reading manuals. Whatever I'm doing, especially if it's something I haven't done for a while, I get the manual out and read it.

[Hard_Cast]

btroj..... you crack me up!!!

I can see both sides- there really are many things that a loading manual cannot describe or areas they leave sparse. That is what we do in the forums, fill in the gaps!! However, I keep seeing, "I don't have the funds for a reloading book" or "I don't own any reloading books". Well..... you have a computer. And hodgdon, alliant, accurate, and others all post their data online. Why is it taken as insult to refer them to a manf.'s website? It really is as simple as READING A GRAPH. And there's no worries over transcription errors... I don't understand how this is insulting?

[str8shot426]

Aren't they "ENTITLED" to that information? Why should they have to read it?

[TXGunNut]

....They are taught in school to use the computer to find knowledge....leeggen


I'm well aware of that, just one of many things taught in today's schools that I disagree with. If they come here to continue their education I hope they don't mind cracking open a book.

[308w]

I used to shoot silhouettes at Gateway Rifle and Pistol club in Jax Fl back in the mid 80's, they had on the wall what was left of a rem 700. Some one had mistakenly chambered a 308 in a 2506 and pulled the trigger! It literally was in the form of many pieces of shrapnel with a few larger recognizeable parts.
I guess this is just one of the things that always made me respect the forces we deal with when handloading.
I know this was not a handloading mistake per se, but a rifle load with the wrong powder could and would do the same or worse!

[35 shooter]

First came a manual, then later was fortunate enough to find a mentor to help out with some of the grey (to me) areas, then came more manuals right up to the present. Ton's of information on the internet now and i'm glad it is...but i always cross reference info found there with my old and new manuals. If you care about your gun and your own anatomy staying intact it only makes sense to do so. Then accidents can still happen but i don't want it to be because i didn't know better.

TxGuNut i got a good laugh from your library trip. LOL!

[TXGunNut]

TxGuNut i got a good laugh from your library trip. LOL! -35 shooter

True story! Major university, no less. My brother uses a section of card catalog in his workshop, would love to have a row or two atop my loading bench for small tools and stuff. My eyes get all Dewey just thinking about all those carefully maintained card files of years gone by.

[Wayne Smith]

I am of the generation of the Dewey Decimal System generation too. I recently bought a camera - the 'manual' essentially told me how to turn it on. Everything else is internal to the camera - the 'guide' that I can't print out and don't remember multiple steps to do something. There is not a more complete manual online.

I am glad reloading companies and bullet companies and powder companies still print manuals!

[fecmech]

I have a fair amount of manuals next to my upstairs "throne" and study them regularly. Reading the manuals as opposed to looking for a loading "recipe" gives you a better feel for concepts like powder speed vs pressure or bullet weight vs powder speed vs velocity. From posts that I've read from new shooters I don't think many even grasp the concept of powder speeds and it's relationship to bullet wt and velocity. Where you really see it is questions regarding the autopistol cartridges when they can't get an oal for a particular bullet or in some cases use the same oal with different bullet designs. The internet is a really great place for knowledge but I do like my manuals.

[sidecarmike]

[Love Life]

I'm with you on this. A recent example is that I sat down to load some 10mm last weekend. As we all know, 10mm data is all over the place and changes from manual to manual and even edition to edition.

By flopping out 4 different manuals I was able to start a load and work up safely. FYI-the Speer #13 manual has hotter loads than many others for the 10mm.

I know why people get offended when you tell them to read the manual. I get it. That is why I don't give any replies in those threads where it is immediately evident that they A) Don't have a manual B) have a manual, but skipped the 1st 3/4 of the book and went straight to the load data C) Come across as lazy.

I work hard in my research and load development. If I can save somebody who is truly trying soome heartache then I will. However; I will not freely give my hard work up to somebody looking for a freebie.

[tazman]

A few years ago my niece was taking basic chemistry at college and was having trouble. I agreed to tutor her. We went through a few basic concepts and began to balance chemical equations. At that point, I found out she had been allowed to use a calculator during her years of mathematics training and could not do multiplication or division in her head or on paper by hand.
Talk about deficiencies in education!
I actually had to teach her basic math and make her memorize the old multiplication tables because you can't punch a chemical equation into a cheap calculator. She hated it of course.
A few weeks/months later she realized the value of knowing this stuff since she found she had to teach proportion concepts to her students who were not trained any better than she had been.
I think not wanting to read the manual is an side effect of the poor education our children are getting in school. They have been taught that everything they need to use is available on the web for a few clicks and don't need to understand how to deduce it or how it was developed. Hence the indignation when they are told to use their brains or read a manual.

[sidecarmike]

I...I think not wanting to read the manual is an side effect of the poor education our children are getting in school. They have been taught that everything they need to use is available on the web for a few clicks and don't need to understand how to deduce it or how it was developed. Hence the indignation when they are told to use their brains or read a manual.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. In the early 90's, physical limitations dictated a change of careers. I went back to school for computer network administration. I had never turned on a computer until my first day of class. Hardly a day went by that I didn't hear an instructor say, Our job is not to teach you, but rather to help you find the information you will need to learn." I was successful in the career and advanced rapidly, but never really felt like I knew what I was doing.

[Larry Gibson]

Because they want "their" questions answered, right now, without waiting.

The precise answer; they want instant gratification as they've come to expect from the internet, via forums, FAQ pages, Facebook and twitter.......and I agree whole heartily on the "poor education" and allowing calculators and now smart phones to give the answer...........especially when so much information is bogus on the "information highway".........

They really do need to read manuals, especially for casting. Very hard to beat Lyman's #3 CBH for the beginner. I consider it to be the "primer" for all beginning castors and an excellent reference for us old time casters.

Larry Gibson

[fecmech]

I found out she had been allowed to use a calculator during her years of mathematics training and could not do multiplication or division in her head or on paper by hand.

That is one of the big problems today that extends into every facet of life. People don't comprehend proportion and how it affects everyday living. They may be able to get the answer with a calculator but many times the "how" and the "why" are more important than the "answer".

[Hawkeye45]

I agree with the " how and why". To me it increases the enjoyment of our hobby ( obsession), or any hobby or work. I can't just follow the recipe, I have to know why. JMHO

Mr. Ed

[LeftyDon]

When I first went into the army in 71, learning to work on helicopters, I was taught to read the manual. In fact, if you were doing a task on a helicopter, you had better have the right TM out with you while you're doing the job, regardless whether you had done that task 500 hundred times before. Later on, when I was in the Air Guard, you had better had the TM out, opened to the right page. So I became a firm believer in reading manuals. Whatever I'm doing, especially if it's something I haven't done for a while, I get the manual out and read it.

Ditto on how it worked for the nuclear Navy in '69. The Tech manual was your friend. Don't have it out and go directly to captain's mast. Do not collect $42.50 on your next pay day. "This is your manual, this is your ..... er, oh wait, that was for something else."

[Animal]

You should always look to the books when you are trying to learn. But book or no book, intelligent conversation always seems to stimulate curiosity, which leads to further learning.

[Love Life]

That is assuming that it is intelligent conversation. "What is the mostest accuratest load ever in the 38 special...ever?" is not intelligent conversation.

[smokeywolf]

The internet is a source of information that is becoming or has become of almost infinite value. However, I don't always have a computer in the shop, in the car or at the range and my cell phone, although modern and capable is too small to conveniently display the info that I usually want.

I have several books and don't foresee the internet ever (in my lifetime) replacing them. Also, I make notes in the margins of my reloading books, which is a great convenience to me; I can't do that with a webpage.

Can't afford a reloading manual? Then you can't afford powder, primers and casting equipment.

Too lazy to read a manual? Then you shouldn't be reloading. You're the type of person who will try to take shortcuts. Shortcuts in casting and reloading can get people hurt or worse.

I'm rarely too far from a reloading manual as I have a couple in the garage, in the living room, in the bathroom and sometimes in the truck. In fact I'm using one for a mouse pad right now.

smokeywolf