reloading manual question

[axp117crow]

some of you had helped me when my dad let me have his old reloading stuff in his shed. i'm still in the process of cleaning everything up. will probably need to replace some, but i'll get into that in a future post.

anyway, i was looking at manuals to get and my dad said he has 2, which he gave to me. one is a Pacific manual and the other is Speer manual. both are from the 60's. are these out of date? my press is a pacific so i'm reading that manual right now. but should i get a newer manual, or will these do when i want to start reloading?

thanks

John

[JoeWilliams]

Yeah, those are way out of date. Get yourself some new manuals. Lyman Pistol and Revolver Handbook and Lee's Modern Reloading are my two newer ones so far. My others are all 20 years old or so.

[andrewjs18]

I say the more books you got, the better....We also pull out reloading info we find in gun books and put them inside binders.

The newest book we got is the Hornady book...I think it's the 7th edition....

I also set up a database and recorded all the loading data we had for the various loads we made to keep records of what shot good and etc...

[lethal93ta]

I say the more books you got, the better....We also pull out reloading info we find in gun books and put them inside binders.

The newest book we got is the Hornady book...I think it's the 7th edition....

I also set up a database and recorded all the loading data we had for the various loads we made to keep records of what shot good and etc...

I keep records of every load I make up, its just a simple word pad doc. but I put all the info in there and crono every load. I have the hornady 7th, sierra edition V 3rd printing, and the lyman 49th, out of them all I like the sierra book the best myself, but tend to look at all 3 when Im making a new load. what ever bullet you plan on using get there manual.

[Brick]

They're out of date, but that is not the same as saying they are useless. So don't throw them out. You might find they are handy for old cartridges like .38-40 or .25-20. You'll also find for some powders like Bullseye or Unique, data hasn't changed in 40 years. They might also have historical information about cartridges that's left out of current manuals.

So get a couple new manuals, and keep and use the old ones too.

[bric2000]

There is a lot of free manuals available on the internet from the powder manufacturers. Check on Alliant, Hodgdon, IMR.... just a few to mention.

[axp117crow]

thanks guys. i'm reading both of these manuals, but will still get at least 1 or 2 newer ones.

and i definately will not be throwing these books away.

thanks

John

[shooter357]

Don't throw any away! I have some books that are 30 years old and still use them. There are loads in them that you don't find in the new books.

[andrewjs18]

Don't throw any away! I have some books that are 30 years old and still use them. There are loads in them that you don't find in the new books.

Definitely...

Once you find a good load that your gun likes, just keep making the same loads.

Your gun might like a load that another gun might not like...just try some out until you find a good load that's reliable and accurate...

Nothing worse than a bullet that shoots accurate but jams every other round. =(

[andrewjs18]

I keep records of every load I make up, its just a simple word pad doc. but I put all the info in there and crono every load. I have the hornady 7th, sierra edition V 3rd printing, and the lyman 49th, out of them all I like the sierra book the best myself, but tend to look at all 3 when Im making a new load. what ever bullet you plan on using get there manual.

Yeah, I put them into a database so I can update it on the go and keep it as up-to-date as possible. 99% of the loads/data are loads the g/fs Dad has cooked up. I found some loads that were from like 1981...yeah, he's a pack rat, but I guess a good load is a good load...