what is your favorite loading manual and why.

[rmatchell]

I figured this could be an interesting thread to start. What is everyones favorite load manual and why.


I myself love everything from the late 40s till the 70s. Lots of great stuff in them. I always liked the Lyman artwork. My favorite manual is my speer #10 that was given to me by a coworker. His brother passed away and he had no interest in his loading stuff so he decided to give it to me. Once I opened it quickly new it was somthing to hold on to. Inside was packed full of handwritten notes both on pages and index cards with results from different loads to just random stuff on his mind.

[pworley1]

I have always liked the Lyman manuals best. They have the widest range of the information I need.

[lancem]

I got hooked on loaddata.com this year. I think it is because every time I came home from the store it was with a new to me kind of powder. Being able to look and see what cartridges I could load sorting by powder was easy and it grew on me. In the shop I have I think all of the rest of them in hard copy. I have more Lymans than anything else and their the most dogeared so I'd say they are my favorite.

[bangerjim]

I take the Lyman, Lee, and internet load data sources from powder manufacturers and make my own custom load data book, "Banger's Boolit Bible", by Xeroxing the appropriate sections and compiling them in a binder.....enlarged so I can read them easily!!!!!! Saves time and wear & tear on the hard bond books that reside in my library. And I can make notations and hi-lights freely without ruining the original.

banger

[dragon813gt]

Lee, they do a nice job to taking a lot of published loads from multiple sources and putting them all in one book. Hard to find a book w/ more load data in it. You can't have just one book. I shoot Hornady bullets so I have all of their manuals. I started shooting Sierra bullets in my AR so I have their manual. I also go to the powder manufacturers sites and print out their data for the cartridges I shoot. You can never have enough information.

[chg]

I've settled on the Lyman and Speer manuals and the Hodgdon site on the internet. They seem to cover just about all the information that I need. I started out with the Lyman manual in the 1960s and just came to trust it. I like where they publish the pressures in most calibers for starting and maximum loads and show if cup or psi. All the componets used are shown right up front. Speer manual is another that states max pressures for the cartridge in the cartridge write up. Speer has really improved over the years (remember those .308 loads so hot you couldn't come close to duplicating?) since they started manufacturing centerfire ctgs and have the equipment/personnel to put out an excellent manual.

[Toymaker]

I don't think anyone has independently developed their load data in years, and the "safety" margin seems to keep increasing. The general manuals all seem the same, it's the additional information that attracts me. I've pretty much settled on Lyman for the past couple of years. Other manuals are from specific bullet manufacturers who's products I use.

I like my information to be a little closer to actual, and the general guidelines are good, but not good for that. So a while back a friend turned me on to a program called QuickLoad. I'm still learning things about it (something new just yesterday), but it's loaded with data files on bullets and powders I've never heard of, and I can put in specifics about a rifle and a reload and get theoretical performance results that are amazingly close to actual. Plus, data updates are released to keep the data current. Updates aren't frequent, but they're sufficient.

[Janoosh]

Lyman cast manuals. The first two. Great for any cast load.
Lyman #45, a good cast and jaxketed load book. Use the accuracy load for jaxketed to get close.
Sierra #4/5 for jaxketed loads. I use their "accurate" loads, with a comparable powder if I don't have the powder listed, to get close to what I want/need for accuracy. It works.

[kfarm]

I too, am amazed just how accurate QuickLoad is. Won't replace my manuals but I think using it with today's prices can save enough to pay for it self. Now if I was smart enough to use it to its fullest.

[snowwolfe]

Hornady. They seem to upgrade more often than the others and do a better job at having reloading info for the newest rounds on the market.

[FlatTop45LC]

Ken Waters Pet Loads complete edition is my favorite. While not the last word, it is a very good book.

[DR Owl Creek]

I recommend using the manuals for the brand of powder you use and the brand of bullet you use. They have done the testing and research, and shoulder the liability if something goes wrong. Other sources that merely pick-up some data from elsewhere probably haven't actually tested anything.

I use a lot of Hodgdon and IMR powders, so I have the Hodgdon Manual No 27, and all the "annual manuals" since then. I also use a lot of Alliant powders, so I have their annual load guides (free BTW). I also use Accurate powders, so I have the old Accurate No. 1 manual, right up to the latest Western Powders Reloading Guide No 5.0 (or whatever the number is). Same with Vihta Vouri, even though I don't use it.

The same goes with the bullet companies. I have the latest editions of the Sierra, Nosler, Hornady, Speer, Lapua, and Barnes manuals. I also have manuals for some companies that are no longer in business. I always cross reference data for the bullet I'm using with the data for the powder I'm using. Which one is my "favorite" depends on what I'm loading at the time.

I also have several of the Lyman manuals, and the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook No. 4 which I use for cast bullet data.

Dave

[texassako]

Loaddata.com here as well since it has a whole lot of the other books in it. The fee is only about what one book runs per year anyway. It is really nice to be able to search by powder, cross reference different manuals, etc. Plus it has lead me to hunt down some magazine back issues since it includes data from Handloader and Rifle articles. Recently started working on .270 Winchester loads, and there were something like 1500 loads listed.

[John Allen]

Lyman has always been my favorite. Of course because I mainly shoot lead it has a nice selection of data

[Idz]

I like the Lee book except it doesn't list the bullet length. Without knowing bullet length the OAL is meaningless. Other manuals usually only list their own manufactured bullets or molds but again don't list bullet length. I use multiple sources and then put the manual loads into the QuickLoad program as a crosscheck.

[Wayne Smith]

Sierra since I was in LA County just down the street from where they were in Santa Fe Springs, years ago. I used to go up and buy seconds by the pound in brown paper bags. Since I started casting I have discovered the Lyman manuals. I have Speer, Hornaday, and a bunch of others.

[groovy mike]

Lyman because they include information on a variety of powders and bullet brands as opposed to say Hornady or Nosler who only show loads for their bullets.

[N4AUD]

My favorite is my Lyman #46 from 1982. I have a few others like Speer and Hornady but I like the wealth of information in that Lyman.

[troyboy]

Lee and Lyman. Then on to the manufactures.

[Plate plinker]

No favorite I use all of them. But I guess the Lyman is my go to book. Favorite by default.