Vintage Loading Manuals

[wv109323]

What vintage reloading manual do you find to be the most useful or best reference?

[gpidaho]

Lyman #44 Gp

[poppy42]

I’ve also had the mindset that ya can’t have to many reloading manuals. They all have there place. If I had to pick on that won’t brake the bank and is pretty easy to find Lyman cast bullet #3 has a lot of good info. A lot depends on what your reloading for.

[M-Tecs]

Lyman #45

[Bent Ramrod]

A lot of the Lyman 44th loads seem kind of warm to me. (The 44th was the first load book i ever bought.) Mostly, I start with a Pacific Handbook, but I often to to Water’s Pet Loads If it’s a brand-new cartridge I’m unfamiliar with.

[Shawlerbrook]

Love Ken Waters Pet Loads.

[ndnchf]

Complete Guide to Handloading by Philip B. Sharpe is a classic and full of great information. Its a great resource for older cartridges not found in newer manuals. The first edition dates to 1937. I have a 3rd edition, 2nd revision from 1953.

[gwpercle]

Speer Manual for Reloading Ammunition Number 8 (1970)
Speer Reloading Manual Number Nine (1974)
Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook Third Edition (1980)
RCBS Cast Bullet Manual number 1 (1986)
Sixgun Cartridges & Loads by Elmer Keith (1936) more for general info than reloading data per se .

These are the "vintage" manuals I still use ...along with up to date Hornady , Speer and Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook #4 .
The vintage books came in handy when I discovered two full cans of Alcan #5 squirreled away during the 2013 powder shortage...find data for Alcan #5 in a new manual ...ain't happening !
Those vintage manuals came in real handy .
Gary

[dragon813gt]

Depends on what brand bullets or powder you’re loading for. I use a lot of Hornady bullets and have the full collection of manuals. Have to go back the first few for some older powders. I tend to look at older Lymans quite often. Same thing w/ old manuals from powder manufacturers. Have a lot of Winchester and Hercules manuals. Same thing for VV. I collect as many as possible. Which reminds me I need to go through and check for 2020 updates.

All old manuals are used for comparison. Modern pressure testing techniques are a lot more precise. I trust the loads in newer manuals a lot more. But I always check multiple manuals as a sanity check.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Just picked up a Hodgdon #26 used at my lgs. Had s Speer manual from about 1995 and also a Sierra from a few years later but those went to my eldest. This #26 is pretty good.