What manuals are y'all using?

[smallguy7]

All, what are your go to manuals? I personally been relying on an old Hornady 8th edition. Its been a decent manual for me starting out, but I do understand Hornady tends to be on the conservative side with their data. If I were to get another manual, what would be a good one? Since majority of my reloads are military cartridges like 7.62x54r and 50 BMG to name a few, is there a manual that tends to lean more in that direction? Or all of them about the same?

[nf1e]

Sierra , Berger, Hornady and Lyman.

[martindc1]

Hornady, Lyman, and the Western Powders loading guide (available for free download from Accurate/Ramshot). The next one I get will be the Sierra manual; although my Lyman manual has a lot of data with Sierra bullets. My basic approach is to have the manuals for the brand of bullets I use, plus reference the powder manufacturer’s data.

[Unclenick]

I usually go to the powder company manuals first and the bullet company and other manuals second. My reasoning is as follows:

There are always lot-to-lot variations in powder burn rates and energy densities, and only the powder companies know what spec they order the powder to and have the opportunity to maintain data powder representing their spec range and can use it to do load testing. Sierra told me they frequently are asked why they didn't test this or that powder or dropped one for a particular cartridge and bullet combination in their most recent manual, and they said they leave some out because there just wasn't any available on store shelves at the time their test schedule came up for that cartridge and bullet combination. In other words, the bullet companies just buy powder off the shelf like the rest of us do without knowing if it is average or at the fast or slow ends of the powder company's burn rate control range. This is one of the reasons you have differences in load data from different sources. It is also a reason bullet company load data may change for a powder over time.

The second reason is that powder companies will often (not always) publish pressures for their maximum loads. The reason you see different maximum load pressures for different powders in those data sets is they try to compensate for the fact some powders exhibit greater pressure variation from shot to shot than others, and they are trying to prevent a statistically significant number of rounds exceeding the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) limit. That's not how SAAMI means the MAP is to be used by commercial loaders, but SAAMI also assumes commercial loaders will use a pressure gun to determine loads and not rely on recipes developed using a powder lot that doesn't exactly match the one they have. A plus for the handloader is that varying published maximum pressure tells you which powders produced the most consistent pressure: the powders for which the listed maximum load pressures are highest did.

The one downside to powder company data is it often doesn't use the exact same bullet you want to use. This is where the bullet company manuals become valuable, as they can give you the best accuracy loads from their testing, as well as data specific to their bullets to compare to the powder company data. By looking at those loads and velocities and comparing them to what the powder company got, you get some idea of range and performance and can better decide how well it may or may not be suited to your gun and purposes.

[Cololab]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

I usually go to the powder company manuals first and the bullet company and other manuals second. My reasoning is as follows:

There are always lot-to-lot variations in powder burn rates and energy densities, and only the powder companies know what spec they order the powder to and have the opportunity to maintain data powder representing their spec range and can use it to do load testing. Sierra told me they frequently are asked why they didn't test this or that powder or dropped one for a particular cartridge and bullet combination in their most recent manual, and they said they leave some out because there just wasn't any available on store shelves at the time their test schedule came up for that cartridge and bullet combination. In other words, the bullet companies just buy powder off the shelf like the rest of us do without knowing if it is average or at the fast or slow ends of the powder company's burn rate control range. This is one of the reasons you have differences in load data from different sources. It is also a reason bullet company load data may change for a powder over time.

The second reason is that powder companies will often (not always) publish pressures for their maximum loads. The reason you see different maximum load pressures for different powders in those data sets is they try to compensate for the fact some powders exhibit greater pressure variation from shot to shot than others, and they are trying to prevent a statistically significant number of rounds exceeding the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) limit. That's not how SAAMI means the MAP is to be used by commercial loaders, but SAAMI also assumes commercial loaders will use a pressure gun to determine loads and not rely on recipes developed using a powder lot that doesn't exactly match the one they have. A plus for the handloader is that varying published maximum pressure tells you which powders produced the most consistent pressure: the powders for which the listed maximum load pressures are highest did.

The one downside to powder company data is it often doesn't use the exact same bullet you want to use. This is where the bullet company manuals become valuable, as they can give you the best accuracy loads from their testing, as well as data specific to their bullets to compare to the powder company data. By looking at those loads and velocities and comparing them to what the powder company got, you get some idea of range and performance and can better decide how well it may or may not be suited to your gun and purposes.

Ditto this

[smallguy7]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

I usually go to the powder company manuals first and the bullet company and other manuals second. My reasoning is as follows:

There are always lot-to-lot variations in powder burn rates and energy densities, and only the powder companies know what spec they order the powder to and have the opportunity to maintain data powder representing their spec range and can use it to do load testing. Sierra told me they frequently are asked why they didn't test this or that powder or dropped one for a particular cartridge and bullet combination in their most recent manual, and they said they leave some out because there just wasn't any available on store shelves at the time their test schedule came up for that cartridge and bullet combination. In other words, the bullet companies just buy powder off the shelf like the rest of us do without knowing if it is average or at the fast or slow ends of the powder company's burn rate control range. This is one of the reasons you have differences in load data from different sources. It is also a reason bullet company load data may change for a powder over time.

The second reason is that powder companies will often (not always) publish pressures for their maximum loads. The reason you see different maximum load pressures for different powders in those data sets is they try to compensate for the fact some powders exhibit greater pressure variation from shot to shot than others, and they are trying to prevent a statistically significant number of rounds exceeding the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) limit. That's not how SAAMI means the MAP is to be used by commercial loaders, but SAAMI also assumes commercial loaders will use a pressure gun to determine loads and not rely on recipes developed using a powder lot that doesn't exactly match the one they have. A plus for the handloader is that varying published maximum pressure tells you which powders produced the most consistent pressure: the powders for which the listed maximum load pressures are highest did.

The one downside to powder company data is it often doesn't use the exact same bullet you want to use. This is where the bullet company manuals become valuable, as they can give you the best accuracy loads from their testing, as well as data specific to their bullets to compare to the powder company data. By looking at those loads and velocities and comparing them to what the powder company got, you get some idea of range and performance and can better decide how well it may or may not be suited to your gun and purposes.

Appreciate the insight. By chance, is this why Hornady is conservative in their reloading data?

[ceresco]

A recent Lyman manual would be my first choice. Most of the other manuals are good, but the Lyman manuals cover everything and the data is tested and spot on. Good Shooting......

[navyrifleman]

I have several Lyman manuals:
- Reloading Manual
- Black Powder Manual
- Lead Bullet Casting Handbook
- Shotshell Reloading Manual

The current Lee Reloading manual is very good

Powder companies publish small handbooks on their powders, which are usually available free of charge.
- Hogdon manual covers Hogdon, IMR, and Winchester brand powders
- Alliant manual covers their products

Bullet Companies also have recipe handbooks out: Speer, Hornady, Sierra, Norma, etc.

For Shotshell reloading, check out Ballistic Products. They publish many manuals and very good books.

[Tothemax]

Online. Mostly Hodgons site.

[smallguy7]

Originally Posted by Tothemax

Online. Mostly Hodgons site.

I've used Hodgdons as a starting point on some cartridges my Hornady manual doesn't list or is vague in terms of powders I can use. I've also used Nosler's website too.