Manuals

[cwlongshot]

I imagion we all have many. I have been collecting the older Lymans and Ideals for decades. There is still a few I dont have.

I was always pretty good on the jacketed manuals too. I have a hundred 6.5/06'snonnthe bench and know its not a common one and only A-square loads it and no one carried or chambers for it but there is scarce little data printed. Nosler has had data for a few years dropping it in current for the Grendel 26 Nosler and 6.5 PRS data.

Reading some online sources I understand the 6th Hornady has data. I went to my book case... Lo and behold no Hornady 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th manuals!! What was I doing those years!?!?! I have two 2nd's and a third and fourth then 9,10 & 11th.

Noslers, I believe have them all. Barnes I also have them all (maybe not last one) They are VERY EXPENSIVE!!! I think they are only on line now. Speer is another I have kept current with and Sierra is another thats online only now. I have last couple on phone. Hornady also does online but requires a purchase or subscription. Hogdon has been in magazine format for over a decade but I have some hard cover of theres. Lyman and Ideal I of coarse have. But a few "holes" from the very oldest ones.

Looking last night in eBay, I was able to pick up the Hornady 6th and 1st (after thought, bought for its cost) Wow folks are proud of these manuals!!!! Most are 50+$!!! Most Hornady 1st are 40$ +!!! In looking I found a good 40$ price for a 6th edition set & this first edition came up for 20$ so for 67$ I have both coming to me shipped.

On another note, what was your first manual? Mine was Speer

Anyhow. Im just curious if you guys also keep these old manuals. Either for reference or regular use. Personally, I have a couple book cases upstairs loaded with "gun / hunting /Fishing books" and some reference manuals are there but most are in a closet and all current are at my finger tips in my loading room brass cabinet top shelf center.

CW

[Slugster]

My first manual was the Hornady 3rd edition. Have a sagging bookshelf of manuals that I have picked up over the years, and will continue adding to it until my estate sale takes place.

[maxreloader]

I collect old reloading manuals, powder catalogs/brochures, case/cartridge books and manuals etc... I am always coming into extras so if there any that you need, I'd always be willing to swing a trade. I also have all the Phillip Sharpe and Ken Waters literature. Great stuff when you are not near a computer.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

On another note, what was your first manual? Mine was Speer

Anyhow. Im just curious if you guys also keep these old manuals. Either for reference or regular use. Personally, I have a couple book cases upstairs loaded with "gun / hunting /Fishing books" and some reference manuals are there but most are in a closet and all current are at my finger tips in my loading room brass cabinet top shelf center.

CW

My first was a R.F. Wells instructional manual that came with a bunch of R.F. Wells equipment, but there was very limited loading data. I think the next manual ...or my first real manual, was a new Hornady manual. Then probably the Lee 2nd Edition. Then my all time favorite manual, Nick Harvey's Practical Reloading Manual. I bought that when I loaded my first rifle ammo, I highly recommend to any reloader to buy one of those. Then the new Lyman 49th...which is about the time I started casting my own. That is when I just started buying anything and everything I seen at gunshows and garage sales...when they were priced at pennies on the dollar.

[super6]

My first loading manuals are as follows, Ideal # 34, 36 and #40, And a Belding and mull 1956 edition. And I have most of Phil sharps stuff. The wild cat stuff was very interesting.

[John Guedry]

I have Lyman 47, Lee, and Lyman 3 cast.

[Bent Ramrod]

The first loading manual I picked up was the Lyman #44, already obsolete and supplanted by the mid-1970s. I’d already read Sharpe’s book from the University Library. I got my own copy soon after.

Since then, I’ve accumulated a ton of them. If they’re cheep, or an Ideal or Belding and Mull or Speer issue I don’t have, or specialty stuff like Norma or A-Square, I scarf them up on general principle. But I did stop at one Hodgdon, one Accurate and one Lee manual, and mostly restrict the pamphlets from powder companies to a few; I mean, moderation in all things, after all.

Generally, my first stop, when I’m actually looking for a load for a cartridge, is either a Pacific manual I came across, or Ken Waters’ compendium. But I generally go through a handful of the others by the time load development is done.

[Three44s]

I do not collect old manuals as a hobby but for their reference value. I will not pay scalper prices however.

Most of my manuals after I had a sufficient starting supply were bought on sale as they aged out from a chain of stores here in the PNW named BiMart.

That is where much of locally bought reloading equipment was bought from as well.

Three44s

[M-Tecs]

I love old manuals. I tend to collect them from friends that only want to keep current manuals. I find the old data and old cartridge data invaluable for reference.

[Shawlerbrook]

And not only the information, but the pictures in some help me reminisce to my early days of reloading and shooting.

[cwlongshot]

My original reason for searching was ta get some more 6.5/06 data. I was reminded of the special edition RIFLE magazine offering from 2019 featuring most all popular 6.5 calibers and data. John Barrenness did a write up on the 6.5/06 and I have a copy!

CW

[15meter]

About four and a half feet worth of strictly loading manuals. I started with the freebie manuals from all the powder companies dating from the early 70's. Started buying formal loading manuals in the late 80's when I started with rifles, had been strictly shotgun up to that point.

Don't remember which was the first.

At the peak, I was loading for ~70 different calibers and gauges, I needed all the data I could find.

[Mk42gunner]

There were at least two Hornady manuals that had data for the 6.5-06 in them, sorry I don't remember which ones.

I like to have current manuals for stuff I am loading, if at all possible. Components may change, or it may be that pressure measuring methods change. This does not mean that I throw the old ones away. Cartridges get added or dropped quite often.

My first loads were assembled with data from the tables included with the Lee Loaders in 3" .410 and 2 3/4" 20 gauge. Mainly with Herco powder brought home in a paper sack.

The first actual reloading manual I remember using was a Sierra loose leaf version from probably the late 1970's. I don't really like the loose leaf ones, I would rather have a real bound hardcover book.

Robert

[bimus]

Many times I have covered the table with old manuals just for reference I really liked it when it listed what firearm they used and barrel length this was really handy when reloading for old guns. Somehow seeing loads for 30-40 Krag when a universal receiver is used is just not the same as when a real Krag as old as the one I have is used .