Most Up-to-date manual?

[sirgknight]

I have reloading data manuals dating back to the sixties and they have proven to be very handy at times. BUT, I want to buy a modern manual. What are the most up-to-date manuals available today for both cast and factory? thanks in advance.

[runfiverun]

the lyman manual is pretty good as far as both boolits/bullets go.
I also like the hogdons magazine type book it generally has all the new powders in it.

[Doc Highwall]

As far as I know the Lyman cast bullet manual is the only one out there now for cast. The consensus seems the third edition is the best. The Lyman manual has bullets from most bullet manufactures but might not have a particular bullet you want for a certain caliber. Sierra has only their bullets in their manual the same as, Nosler, Hornady, Speer etc. etc.

I have all of the manuals because sometimes one manual might have powder load data that is not in another manual for a bullet that weighs the same that I am going to use and at least gives me a starting point.

[DR Owl Creek]

You can't have too many loading manuals. I shoot a lot of different guns and cartridges, so I always want the latest manuals for the powder manufacturers I use, as well as the bullets I use. Its not just for the loading data either. There's a lot of valuable information besides the load data too in each one, and each one has different information. I still have the Lyman 45th Edition manual that I bought new sometime in the 1970's, and I look at it every once in awhile, even though it stays in a filing cabinet most of the time. The ones on my loading bench now are:

A-Square: Any Shot You Want
Barnes' Reloading Manual No. 4
Berger Reloading Manual, 1st Edition
Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading, 9th Edition
Lapua Shooting & Reloading Manual, 2nd Edition
Nosler Reloading Guide No. 7
Sierra Rifle & Handgun Reloading, Data Edition V
Speer Reloading Manual, No. 14
Accurate Loading Guide, No. 1
Western Powder Reloading & Load Data Guide, Edition 5.0 (Accurate & Ramshot powders)
Alliant Powder Reloader's Guide 2013
Hodgdon Data Manual No. 27
Hodgdon 2014 Annual Manual
Vihta Vuori Reloading Manual, 4th Edition
Lyman 48th Reloading Handbook
Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Edition
Propellant Profiles, Fifth Edition

I wouldn't want to do without any of these. I also have many older editions of these manuals filed away, as well as various Loadbook's "Complete Reloading Manual for______", etc., on other shelves. Some of the powder companies like Alliant and Western Powders will send you their current loading guides for free, if you request them. You can't beat that!

Dave

[MOcaster]

Not to hack the thread, but how is the A-Square manual? I have seen it and have kind of wondered how it was. It looks like it should be pretty neat.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Not to hack the thread, but how is the A-Square manual? I have seen it and have kind of wondered how it was. It looks like it should be pretty neat.


It`s good if you ever are in need of load data for a 105mm howitzer round. I have such a manual sitting on the shelf with all my other manuals, yet have never had a need to consult it after I had scanned thru the rounds I load listed in it.Robert

[DR Owl Creek]

Not to hack the thread, but how is the A-Square manual? I have seen it and have kind of wondered how it was. It looks like it should be pretty neat.

I actually like the A-Square manual, maybe not so much for the loading data itself, but rather for all the technical data it has. The A-Square manual was printed in 1996. Its not in print anymore, and the company is no-longer in business either, but the technical info is priceless. IMO. It was written by Art Alphin, along with Finn Aagaard, Craig Bodington, Gary Minton, and Terry Wieland.

As far as the loading data, it has data for the smaller varmint cartridges (.22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .223 Rem, .22-250, .220 Swift); it has data for the mid-sized cartridges (.243 Win, .257 Roberts, .25-06, 6.5mm Swede, .270 Win, 7mm-08, 7x57mm, .280 Rem, 7.62x39mm, .308 Win, .30-06, 8x57mm, .338 A-Square); and it has data for the BIG BOOMERS, for the big, snarly critters that bite back (9.3x62mm, .450/450 NE, .416 Taylor, .416 Rigby, .404 Jeffrey, .458 Lott, .505 Gibbs, .500 Jeffrey, .600 NE, etc.

The A-Square manual also has data for the 105x608mm round used in the gun on the M-60 tank. You don't find that just everywhere. I have to admit that I haven't tried that one yet. Art Alphin actually worked on designing the 105x608mm round. The article was included to illustrate that it doesn't matter if a gun is a .17 caliber or a 16 inch bore, they all function with exactly the same principles, the same mechanics, the same thermodynamics, and at the same pressures. Unlike some of the others, however, the 105x608mm was electrically primed, more like what Remington tried several years ago with their Entronix primers. Otherwise, it wsn't much different than a .22 Hornet or a .223 Remington, only larger.

The real value of the A-Square manual to me, much like many of the others on my shelf, is because of the technical data that's in them. That isn't available with the load data you get on-line. The A-Square manual has a lot of really good technical info on everything from basic reloading procedures, to brass prep, brass annealing, chambers/throats, internal/external/terminal ballistics, the mechanics of bullet penetration and performance (this is probably worth the cost by itself), bullet selection, and more.

I think you should pick one up if you find it somewhere.

Dave

[bangerjim]

the lyman manual is pretty good as far as both boolits/bullets go.
I also like the hogdons magazine type book it generally has all the new powders in it.

+1 on the new 2014 Hogdon Loading Manual magazine for about $9. Has tons of loads (they say over 5,000) and new powder info. Only Hogdon, IMR, and Win loads, but still very handy!

bangerjim

[dragon813gt]

Check the copyright dates. Which is easily done on Amazon. Hornady released their 9th edition in 2012. There have already been some revisions. Nosler #6 is 2007. Sierra #5 is 2003. Lyman #49 is 2008. Lyman Cast Bullet #4 is 2010. And the Lee Second Edition was revised in 2011. For the most up to date info it's Hodgdon's online data or their yearly manual.

[UBER7MM]

+1 on the new 2014 Hogdon Loading Manual magazine for about $9. Has tons of loads (they say over 5,000) and new powder info. Only Hogdon, IMR, and Win loads, but still very handy!

bangerjim

Hodgdon use to post their manual on their website, now it's some fancy menu driven monster. But it's free:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com

[dragon813gt]

Hodgdon use to post their manual on their website, now it's some fancy menu driven monster. But it's free:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

All they did was change the interface. It's still the same data. While I hate the new layout on my iPhone. It's an improvement over the old layout when using a laptop.

[UBER7MM]

All they did was change the interface. It's still the same data. While I hate the new layout on my iPhone. It's an improvement over the old layout when using a laptop.

Don't get me started about Windows 8.1.......

lol:killingpc