New Lyman Cast Bullet Manual

[bruce drake]

Folks,

My MidSouth Shooters Supply catalog is reflecting a 4th Edition of the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual being out.

Edited by one of our own as well...Mr. Mike Venturino!

I've got a plan to purchase after the next payday but if anyone else has seen it, how about a book report!

Bruce

[Rocky Raab]

At SHOT, they said it would be Spring or Summer, so they might well be very close to releasing it. I'll review it when I get mine.

[troy_mclure]

hope it it is better than the first one.

[oldhickory]

They don't have them yet, it says they're over-due from the vendor.

[HORNET]

troy, what was wrong with the first Lyman cast Bullet manual??? I like it more than the second or third, even if the covers are falling off and some of the powders are long gone. Most of the recommended loads in it were developed by shooting rather than ballistic uniformity over a chronograph and they work fairly well as starting points.
I still plan to grab #4 as soon as I see it.

[1Shirt]

Have one on back order. Regardless of opinions on Lyman Cast Manuals, they are informative, and offer a lot of comparison.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[troy_mclure]

troy, what was wrong with the first Lyman cast Bullet manual??? I like it more than the second or third, even if the covers are falling off and some of the powders are long gone. Most of the recommended loads in it were developed by shooting rather than ballistic uniformity over a chronograph and they work fairly well as starting points.
I still plan to grab #4 as soon as I see it.

i ment the 3rd edition.

most of the moulds/powders listed are no longer made. over 1/2 the book was outdated adds, etc...

i started a topic on it a while back.

[HORNET]

I'll agree that #3 was NOT one of their best efforts...

[MT Gianni]

Troy, Many of us have old molds.

[troy_mclure]

i see the manual as a guide for beginners, what beginner is going to have 20+ year old moulds?

[.357]

I do, ebay and the swapping section allowed me to pick up some old ones.

[RayinNH]

Troy a lot of those molds and powders were available or not long out of circulation at the time of first printing which I believe was 1983. Those molds can still be found on E-bay, gunshows and junk bins in some gun shops. The new manual is long overdue though...Ray

[nvbirdman]

I think mine is the first edition, how can I tell?
It is spiral bound and I bought it about 1972.

[Bret4207]

Troy, I believe when you got going on your other rant about the manual I pointed out it's reference material. No manual is a cookbook giving exact directions for every single gun or powder. Get all 3 of the Lyman manuals, the RCBS manual, the Cast Bullet Annuals, Naramore and Matterns books, Phil Sharpes books, Ned Roberts and Ken Waters books...it's all reference material and from them you take little bits and pieces and build your knowledge base. You will never find a manual that tells you exactly what your guns want with your powders, primers, cases, elevation, humidity, temp, wind, etc., etc, etc. That's why this is an art, not a science.

NVbirdman- The first Cast Bullet manual had a western theme cover, sort of orangeish. The second had a photo of a scoped rifle, the 3rd the John Barlow cut in sepia tone.

[BarryinIN]

I started casting last year. I have around 45 moulds now, and I would guess around 20 of them are no longer made.
So in my personal beginners' experience, I think having data for old moulds is a definite plus. We don't have three or four old editions around to reference (not to start with anyway).

And as far as old powder goes, I don't know about other beginning casters, but I started after reloading for over 25 years so I had some powder that has been in my posession for a while.
That's not to say there shouldn't be a couple dozen newer powders added to the new manual.

[armyrat1970]

I have the Lyman Third Edition. Whoa! Not a good manual? I feel it is. But will look forward to getting the new one.
And I won't retire the old one.

[462]

Adding to Bret's points, Lyman officially calls it a "handbook" -- another word for guide.

As far as beginners and 20+ year old moulds are concerned, Lyman dropped the Ideal name back in the '60s, and Ideal moulds can be found every day, on ebay. I consider myself a beginner and have an Ideal mould that is so old it's labeled 308291 rather than 311291.

I'll be getting the new handbook, too.

[RayinNH]

I started casting last year. I have around 45 moulds now,


Barry, you need to take this more seriously :kidding:...Ray

[BarryinIN]

Yeah, I've only got three this month!

I really did try to start with the bare minimum, but that got way out of hand fast.

Actually, I developed a sort-of plan of attack that caused me to get a lot quickly, even though I expected to get rid of some.
I was buying single cavity moulds, which let me get more moulds for less money. My thought was that I could try more designs that way. Then once I found which ones worked the best, I could get the same design with more cavities, then sell off the SCs and ones that didn't work out to recoup some money.
It didn't happen that way.
"Mould A" would work best in one gun, and "Mould B" in a different gun. Then I'd find a good use for "Mould C" too. "Mould D" might not be quite as good, but was easier/faster to use, so it stayed too.

And so it went. All remain.

[Wayne Smith]

Yeah, I've only got three this month!

I really did try to start with the bare minimum, but that got way out of hand fast.

Actually, I developed a sort-of plan of attack that caused me to get a lot quickly, even though I expected to get rid of some.
I was buying single cavity moulds, which let me get more moulds for less money. My thought was that I could try more designs that way. Then once I found which ones worked the best, I could get the same design with more cavities, then sell off the SCs and ones that didn't work out to recoup some money.
It didn't happen that way.
"Mould A" would work best in one gun, and "Mould B" in a different gun. Then I'd find a good use for "Mould C" too. "Mould D" might not be quite as good, but was easier/faster to use, so it stayed too.

And so it went. All remain.

Now your only problem is figuring out which one to use next!

[nvbirdman]

Thank you Bret, I have the second edition.

[alamogunr]

Get all 3 of the Lyman manuals, the RCBS manual, the Cast Bullet Annuals, Naramore and Matterns books, Phil Sharpes books, Ned Roberts and Ken Waters books...

That just about covers the field. I have all those books and refer to them often. Some more than others.

I WILL be getting the new 4th Edition of the Lyman manual. No doubt, someone, me included, will find something we don't agree with, but that will not negate its value.

I am expecting it to have a BPCR slant since Mike Venturino is/has been heavily into that activity in the past, although recently his articles have ranged far and wide. Even if it does have a lot of BPCR content, it won't lessen its value for me even though I don't engage in that sport.

John
W.TN

[Bret4207]

If you get Ken Waters "Pet Loads", for instance, and you start reading you'll eventually get into a caliber you never even wanted to own a gun for, an 8mm Rem Mag maybe. Next thing you know you'll notice some little tidbit of info Ken details that solves you issue with your 30-30 or 270 or 38 Special or 45-70. I found out part of my problem with the 308 in a paragraph Ned Roberts or Earl Naramore wrote 30 years before either I or the 308 was born!

Anyone wanting step by step guides to absolute perfection is in the wrong hobby.

[mpmarty]

[QUOTE=

Anyone wanting step by step guides to absolute perfection is in the wrong hobby.[/QUOTE]

+1:bigsmyl2:

[pjh421]

Holy cow Barry! I wish I could have done that. I had to make due with a 2 cavity 35895 for years before I could afford more. Its OK now, though. I found the source of the problem and divorced her.

Paul

[armyrat1970]

Anyone wanting step by step guides to absolute perfection is in the wrong hobby.[/QUOTE]

Now that is one of the truer statements I have ever read about handloading.
But that's what makes it all so much fun. And a learning experience.

[BarryinIN]

Holy cow Barry! I wish I could have done that. I had to make due with a 2 cavity 35895 for years before I could afford more. Its OK now, though. I found the source of the problem and divorced her.

Paul

Oh I never said I could afford to do it, just that I did it.

[doubs43]

I have the 3rd edition of the Lyman casting book and also, IIRC, one titled "Handloaders Bullet Casting" or some such. I'm not home at the moment so can't say for certain but it has extensive articles on just about every phase of bullet casting and loading... an excellent reference book.

Bullet casting and loading can be as detailed and complicated, or as simple, as one wants to make it. I tend toward the second method but either way it should be fun and be satisfying. What can give a shooter greater satisfaction than a one-hole group shot with their own cast bullet loads?

I'm going to put the new Lyman book on my list.