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best reloading manual?

15K views 35 replies 26 participants last post by  Hurkamer 
#1 ·
Hello all,
I've just started reloading, and havent a clue as to what I'm doing yet. I just bought this Lee anniversary kit that comes with the 'Modern Reloading' manual.
I also bought 'The ABC's of Reloading'.
I will be loading for 40 caliber .380 auto pistols, and 204 Ruger. The rifle will be only used for targets at the range.
some older books may not even have 204 info, or very little?
Will these books i already have be sufficient for my uses?
Thanks for you time,
randy
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum. That should be a good start, and you can get a lot of other data on-line. For example, check Hodgdon:

www.hodgdon.com

That should get you plenty of 204 Ruger data. Winchester and Alliant also have on-line data, I believe.
 
#4 ·
no 204 data in Lyman

oh, that's good to know, that was one of the most recommended books that i found using the searches...
I wanted to reload the 204 for accuracy and soon realized how much money I'd save by no having to buy my wive's .380 cartridges... $100 for a box of 250!
So $230 for a reloading kit, and 3 sets of dies was an easy sell. I buy most of my books on Amazon, and for example can't thumb through for info on a specifid caliber.
thanks for the info.
randy
 
#9 ·
I use loaddata also, but keep bound manuals also, I have Speer, Nosler and Lyman. There is another one too Handloads They have some good info. Nothing beats bound material though, I think the Speer 14 is supposed to have 204 Ruger data in it also. Les
 
#13 ·
Yeah, everyone likes Lyman's manual, luckily I found out before I spent my money that that manual has no info on the .204. Lee's doen't either. AmmoGuide has lots of user info for this caliber but powder info is for subscribers only. I'll only be loading this 204 for now, so a yearly membership may not be the best investment right now. Went to Gander Mountain, and saw that none of their manuals had 204 indo. Hodgdon has data on their site, but only lists it with hornady bullets. I have some Sierra BlitzKings... they are the same shape, and if they are the same weight, are they interchangeable?
Thanks for your time, I'm going to go check out handloads.org and LoadData.com right now.
thanks again,
randy
 
#14 ·
handloads.org has no info for .204 and LoadData.com wants $30 for a year membership. If I ever begin loading for many different loads that may be an option, but for 30 bones, I want to have a book in my grubby little hands! The Hornady 7th ed. has something so i'll order that tonight, ($20 at midway i think). But for now unless someone says it's a terrible idea I'm going to use Hodgdon's data, but substitute 32 grain BlitzKings for 32 grain V-maxes.
 
#16 ·
I would not transfer data from the Hornady data to a Sierra bullet. Jacket hardness, jacket thickness, bearing surface, and length all play a part in relative pressure for a specific bullet. Substituting data could result in pressure problems.
 
#17 ·
stripe157 said:
m141a, tha Hodgdon manual you are referring to is the $7 magazine like manual? I'm using their powder... H322. Do they list different brand bullets, of do they have their favorites that they use?
No, no;
they have a HUGE manual, a three ring binder type. They list different weights and such.
I could go to it and reference, but loaned it to a friend about a month ago, and he's claimed emminent domain on it.:p Gotta get it back this weekend.
 
#18 ·
The Lee manual is good for some things. You get so much information that some people find it too much and not all of it is what people want as many aren't interested in light power loads.

Speer, Sierra, Hornady, Lyman are all good manuals. I like them as well as the Lee manual. I also really like Ken Waters Pet Loads and I use Hodgdon.com regularly. I don't have the Hodgdon 3 ring binder but wish I did. Their website does a very good job in it's place as it has data for Hodgdon powder, IMR powder and Winchester powder all in the same place.
 
#20 ·
Have just about all of them, both old and new editions.

The Lyman has remained my most go-to manual.
 
#21 ·
Well, the 204 Ruger may not have been in the 48th edition of the Lyman manual, but it is most assuredly in the 49th edition. It must have come out sometime in the 5 years since this thread was started. ;)
 
#22 ·
A while back I was checking out new reloading manuals. I was intending on buying the Lyman mostly from the favorable feedback from this site. Looking through a display copy I noticed there wasn't a very complete selection of powders on some of my favorite rounds. Also many of the newer powders weren't even listed. Ended up buying the 8th edition of Hornady's manual.
 
#23 ·
Lyman is picky thatta way. They only publish a selcted few powders for a given bullet/cartrige combination. They've always been that way.

I don't know if they test 'em all and publish just the best ones?

RJ
 
#24 ·
AS I understand it, Lyman is one of the few companies that actually does pressure testing data for all the loads. If they don't list the powder with the listed bullet, the powder probably isn't one of the best options available.

Lyman is hands down the single best manual out there if you don't want to buy 15 different manuals. I have called them more than once and asked for reloading data that wasn't published yet and they have been very helpful. I even had a ballistic engineer get my prefered list of componants and do a load test for me. I got the data back in a week or two. I don't know many places that would run reloading tests if asked.
 
#25 ·
I have called them more than once and asked for reloading data that wasn't published yet and they have been very helpful. I even had a ballistic engineer get my prefered list of componants and do a load test for me. I got the data back in a week or two. I don't know many places that would run reloading tests if asked.

I've gotten help from Sierra's tech line, which I thought was good. Having someone work up a load and then contact you makes a big plus for Lyman.
 
#27 ·
I bought a new one because there were rounds like the .204 and 300 WSM I load for and you won't find that data in the old manuals. Since Vol 2 (1973) of Hornady's manual there has been many new rounds and powders added. Also some of the data has been revised. I still keep the old ones around but consider a new manual a good investment.
 
#28 ·
Monty
I'm a stick in the mud. The calibers I'm loading for have been around for 50 plus years and the powders I use are older yet.
The IMR powders seem to fill the bill for rifles and the Hercules powders seem to take care of the handguns with cast bullets. When I feel adventuresum I'll try some Hodgden rifle powders like H4931 and such.
Every once in a while I'll do something like make a 375 Whelen or buy a 405 Winchester rifle and I'll need to help but I can find it on line.

jim
 
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