manuals worth having

[lastborn]

I want to know if the older reloading manuals are good tools to have around? Are the older manuals better / worse / or about the same as the newer manuals?
If you could have only one reloading manual on yous bench for cast boolit reloading, which one would it be?
Thanks

[45nut]

Due to typo's I never rely on one singular manual for a load,, I cross reference and back up the data before committing my hands, face and guns to the possibility of that typo's that got missed. There are several such examples out there that can lead to failure and danger by taking anything at face value.

Older manuals will be faster and hotter at the top loads because todays testing equipment is better, but then again,, they may list powders someone has that were dropped from current manuals.

thats my nickles worth!

[wiljen]

I'll take any manual I can get. Always old powders showing up at garage sales, estate sales, your friends grandfather's stash etc. I think it wise to check today's data (Company websites are now quite good) against any older data in case the new lots or formulations are hotter than the old data, but still well worth having.

[1Shirt]

Could not agree more with Wilgen! I buy every old manual that I don't have and that isn't three arms and two legs on ebay. Have quite a few back into the 50's, and a couple earlier. Not only is the reloading data most interesting for comparison, but there is usually in most good articles from cast and jacketed shooters now long since gone.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Doc Highwall]

Where they really come in handy is in the future you will become interested in a certain caliber and because it is not popular the new reloading manual will drop it, case in point 6mm BR for me with the Lyman manual.

[mooman76]

I wouldn't pay allot unless you really need it but yes, like the others said. Sometimes you run across a discontinued powder and sometimes in the future they drop some of the data for new data and don't show the powder you may like or be using.

[.357]

I buy them but then again i like old books. My limit is right around 20$ on most of them usually i like it find them cheaper. I love my old books they are just fun to read, actually for 5$ i just came home with speers #1. I really want the Speer Wildcut data....
That and i find them super useful when someone logs on and says Hey my insert relative died and i have this gun in insert super old caliber any one got data? I photo copy and send it out. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

[cuzinbruce]

The old Lyman manuals are an excellent reference for their bullet designs. Illustrations and specs.

[frankenfab]

Old manuals are really cool, just as a collector item, too.
This picture is a perfectly contrasting example of how messed up the perception of firearms and ammuntion is today.


http://i.ebayimg.com/04/!Bwzz5NgBmk~$(KGrHqR,!iwEv1+0DtKOBMKqw!u)d!~~_3.JP G

[Bret4207]

If I could only have 1 manual for cast it would be either the 1st edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook or the 3rd, I lean towards the 3rd. If only one book on cast it would be Wolfes "The Art of Bullet Casting". As for the rest, I want them all because there's always some tidbit that will help.

[94Doug]

What's really nice about the older Lyman/Ideal manuals is there is not jacketed loads in there. They are full of good information about casting and cast loads.

Doug

[missionary5155]

Good morning
IF you are ging to use some of the older molds ( Ideal) I would get one of the reprints from around 1900. Inside are pictures of the molds and tables for usages. PLus there good info about loading old calibers.
It was one of these old reprints that got my attention to loading Round Ball in 12 guage and opened a whole new area of STOMPER loads.
Mike in Peru

[Rocky Raab]

Nothing I can add to the well-reasoned thoughts above, except to add that old manuals make for enjoyable reading on their own.

Thanks to this thread for reminding me that the Layman Cast #4 ought to be out about now. Keep your eyes open!

[Newtire]

I find the Lyman cast book is great for info but when it gets to anything slower than shotgun ans pistol powders, there is more info elsewhere.

This site is probably about the best reference there is all in all.

I subscribed to the Wolfe "Load Data" info on the net and haven't been sorry since it lists alot of calibers with info from all over the place.

If you see an RCBS cast bullet guide, there are some loads in there not found elsewhere also.

One guide? I am with the others in that there's not all the info contained in one place.

[Newtire]

Nothing I can add to the well-reasoned thoughts above, except to add that old manuals make for enjoyable reading on their own.

Thanks to this thread for reminding me that the Layman Cast #4 ought to be out about now. Keep your eyes open!

I tried the link to the reloading info but it reads like the stuff I see programmers write.

[Barstooler]

Older manuals will be faster and hotter at the top loads because todays testing equipment is better, but then again,, they may list powders someone has that were dropped from current manuals.

thats my nickles worth!

Could not agree more. A few years back I browsed e-Bay and managed to scarf up 1st Edition loading manuals from Speer, Hornady, Sierra, Nosler, Lyman etc.

Loads were indeed much hotter back then, but of course current powders have also changed over time.

Get any Lyman manual you can get your hands on, but they tend to limit most of their loads to a Lyman #2 mix.

Ken Water's Pet Loads is also informative and often has CB loads for many cartridges.

Barstooler

[MtGun44]

Measurement of pressure has changes FAR more than the powders have changed.

This is the reason that older manuals sometimes list hotter than current manuals.

Most really old manuals were just an estimate of pressure, not actually measured with
good equipment. Later manuals had some decent actual copper crusher data, now
all are using accurate piezoelectric sensor systems. This has led to backing off of
some popular loads due to excessive pressure, even though many folks have used
them for years.

Bill

[watkibe]

I don't see any responses to your second question, "If you only had one...".
I don't have the best answer, but I can tell you what I do have. The only new hardbound manufacturer's data book I have is Lee's. It's got everybody's powders and bullets. It meets my needs, but I like to find data from at least 2 sources. That being said,haha, I also scrounge secondary sources like the free load data booklets that many of the powder makers give away. Finally, Alliant, Hodgdon, AA, and Western all have extensive data online.
I have only recently discovered buying used books online. I have bought some for my other hobby, natural history, but I hadn't thought yet about load data books. Great idea, guys, I will have to look into it !

[Newtire]

I don't see any responses to your second question, "If you only had one...".
I don't have the best answer, but I can tell you what I do have. The only new hardbound manufacturer's data book I have is Lee's. It's got everybody's powders and bullets. It meets my needs, but I like to find data from at least 2 sources.

I almost forgot to mention one of my favorites=the Lee 2nd edition. I find the loads listed in there are pretty right-on and consistent with the cartridges that I load for. I still wouldn't count on just one. Always good to have backup data.

Hodgdon manual is another great one but results always are slanted in direction of Hodgdon powders always coming out in 1st place (kind of like the old Herter's catalogs). Now that Hodgdon owns Winchester and Dupont names, that may change.

[358wcf]

Kudos to all the comments above- I couldn't agree more- I'm a bit of a collector of old books anyway (US and British military history, Australia and New Zealand history), and have developed an extensive library of vintage loading manuals from all the powder manufacturers, and especially Lyman- Don't forget to include those fabulous old textbooks on ammunition loading and reloading by Phil Sharpe and Earl Naramore! There is a wealth of quality, well-researched info in there, and it makes just good reading when you want to sit a moment and open your mind.
Love those old manuals!

358wcf [smilie=1:[smilie=1:[smilie=1: