4th Ed. Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook Review

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, finally picked mine up today and got a chance to briefly peruse it. Agree with most the others' comments here, but I've got to say, I've never found any loading manual I'm completely satisfied with.

Regarding the articles in the front -
* I like Mike Venturino, but by having him write nearly the whole front half of the book, it looses a lot. They couldn't get Harris to re-write his cast boolit article? How about an article or two by Glen Fryxell?? Another thing is that if you're a fairly consistent reader of Handloader or Rifle magazines, it all sounds like you're heard it before... Nothing against Mike or the contents of what he wrote; I love his writing, and was a fan when I read his first piece about Sharps Rifles in the Amer. Rifleman back in the late-70s/early-80s, but to have one guy write the whole front half (mostly) was a big mistake, IMO.

* Second, there needs to be certain articles in the front of a cast boolit manual. There's the obligatory safety article, and the tips and overcoming obstacles, and the chemistry of lead alloys. (This one looks revised to make it more readable for layman, so I'm very excited about reading that one when I have some alone time so I can concentrate.) However, there are also articles that could have been condensed, combined, or eliminated, and the pages turned over to more data.

* Third, and most frustrating to me, is that there was a lot of good data with newer powders, and more moulds than just Lyman's; however, as Lyman has done in the past, they'd use a powder for loads in five of the six boolits for a certain cartridge, and then leave that powder out for that last boolit! ***?!? The load data was skimpy in some areas but thorough in others. I wonder how much time they spend running the tests to come up with these loads, but I would think that after 30 years of a-waiting, the data section could have been thicker and more thorough.

Not sure if it's the paper or cover material, or what, but this 4th Ed. feels thinner than the 3rd. A telling sign, I'm afraid...

OH, and BTW, I'm in for writing the 10mm section of the CB loading guide 1st Ed.!!

[Rocky Raab]

Guys, I carefully read all posts in this thread (and others) for six weeks before I began my official review. I used some of your comments, especially things I had not noticed myself. Thanks!

I'll boil 1200 words down to this: Taking both pans of the scale into balance, this is a valuable addition to your bookshelf. If you cast your own bullets or use commercial cast bullets, you need this book.

Mailing the piece to Handloader Monday.

[btroj]

Looking forward to seeing it in the future Rocky. I agree, it is a valuable addition to my shooting library. It will not, nor was it intended to, replace anything I already have. New bullets, new powders, what can be bad about that?

[jdfoxinc]

Handgun data starts with .30 cal. Which edition has .25 cal. data. I have a Lyman 51 gr .251 cal. mold, so one or more of the first three editions should have data for it.

[rockshooter]

For 25 ACP, both first and third editions have data for the 252435 51 gr bullet- the data is the same in both editions. That bullet does not show up for .22 Jet or .22 Fireball
Loren

[Geezer in NH]

For 25 ACP, both first and third editions have data for the 252435 51 gr bullet- the data is the same in both editions. That bullet does not show up for .22 Jet or .22 Fireball
Loren

Because it is a 25 caliber and not a 22 perhaps?

[rockshooter]

that would be a good reason, but I was letting you know that there is also data beginning at .22 in those editions
Loren