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View Full Version : A litle help deciding on which book!


phylo
02-06-2013, 9:30 PM
I know everyone has an opinion which is why Im asking..

Think back to when you first started reloading.. Now think of all the books you have read on the subject since then. Now decide which would be the first and second book on reloading you would buy if you had to start as a noob again...

I have 2 Dillon presses on the way, a 550b and a 650xl and most of the stuff to load 223, 40, 9mm and 308. They will be delivered on Tuesday next week so Im starting to hunt for powder, primers and bullets, but I also need to get my hands on a few good books to help me out. I have a friend who has been reloading for about 12 years who will also be helping me out but would still like some good reading material..

Thanks for your input.

fol4321
02-06-2013, 9:35 PM
lyman

Javi
02-06-2013, 9:40 PM
I own the Lyman #49 & The latest Speer manual since it came with my press. I'm very happy to have more than one manual to get different data. Speer has some very interesting articles on ballistics n' such. I do highly recommend Lyman as it was my first manual and it really answered a lot of questions for me.

EL_NinO619
02-06-2013, 9:42 PM
I would say (1)Lyman, Speer & Hornady are equal. Those little caliber specific books come in handy also.

ar15barrels
02-06-2013, 9:52 PM
Lyman's chapters on the basics are a little easier to learn from than all the others I read and I have read all the major brand manuals.

GeoffLinder
02-06-2013, 10:51 PM
Lyman and Speer (RCBS) are what I started with and still have.

When you are ready to advance to rifle reloading college, try this:

http://www.zediker.com/books/handloading/hlmain.html

Divernhunter
02-06-2013, 11:20 PM
I have all of them and hands down the Lyman is the first to buy. The current one is the #49 edition. I have several older ones also. Speer/Hornady are good. If you plan to load Barnes bullets you need the Barnes manual as the data is different for the all copper bullets.

slopoke
02-07-2013, 2:57 AM
My first picks would be the Hornady and Sierra books for load data. If it's to just learn about reloading, the ABC's of reloading is a good book for a beginner to learn about what reloading is and how to do it. It was the first book that I purchased prior to getting in to reloading.

If you are like me and I suppose a lot of reloaders, you will aquire multiple books for data. In all, I have the Speer, Lyman, Lee, Hornady and Sierra books.

damndave
02-07-2013, 4:19 AM
I have the Lyman 49th and like it. Helped me understand the process when 1st starting.

CEDaytonaRydr
02-07-2013, 7:10 AM
I'm one of the few people I know who really doesn't like Lyman's 49th. It seemed like I was always referring to the Hodgdon website, or other resources. For example: They don't even list 7.5 MAS in Lyman's 49th. They also don't have any load data for Autocomp powder, for any caliber. Plus, when comparing charge weights between Lyman's 49th and Lee's Modern Reloading, the Lyman manual is very conservative. I've seen the "Never Exceed" on some charges have a difference of about a grain on some calibers.

I'd get a copy of Lee's modern reloading. It's been a lot more useful to me...

Bill Steele
02-07-2013, 7:19 AM
I think most will cover what you want. I have a number of books, but probably use my Lee Modern Reloading 2nd Edition the most frequently. It has the most load data I have found. In addition, the how-to section is very complete, including many subjects like downloading for lead in rifle, etc. that won't be found in most other books.

The downside to the Lee book is you get a constant sales picth for his products, but I think that is fair considering the numbers of truly innovative products the guy has invented.

phylo
02-07-2013, 8:11 AM
I was leaning towards the Lyman 49th edition so that will be the first one I buy...

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!

CS Sports
02-07-2013, 8:13 AM
Lyman and Speer (RCBS) are what I started with and still have.

When you are ready to advance to rifle reloading college, try this:

http://www.zediker.com/books/handloading/hlmain.html

Glen Zediker's book is fantastic. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get serious about reloading for rifles.

I like the Speer, Hornady and Nosler books. I own pretty much all of the available books, with several editions of each, but those three are the ones I use most.

J-cat
02-07-2013, 8:22 AM
Pet Loads by Ken Waters, though outdated, is excellent reading if you plan on using tried and proven classic powders.

edrex
02-07-2013, 8:23 AM
I was leaning towards the Lyman 49th edition so that will be the first one I buy...
I recently got into reloading and this is the only book I own so far, but it has given me a good base of knowledge. When I am starting a new load I check the book, plus use Hodgdon's online data center and any info I can find for load data from the bullet manufacturer. Finding as much data as I can from reputable sources gives me an idea of where I want to start and max out. Any questions I've had about the actual process of reloading that weren't covered in the book I've found answers to here. One calgunner even spent an hour on the phone with me helping me get set up. The wealth of knowledge is amazing.

KeithET
02-07-2013, 9:41 AM
I started with a Speer book 30+ years ago. It covered everything pretty well. Got my first Lyman book a couple years later. Over the years I have used many books but always go back to Lyman or Speer. I have the latest Lyman #49. Sad to say I have not updated my Speer book in a few years. With that I would say Lyman and Speer first and second would work to start with. Eventually you will be getting books from all the bullet manufacturers that you use. It just makes things easier. I have Speer, Sierra, Hornady, and Nosler. Those are the most common bullets I use outside of cast which I use the Lyman Cast bullet book for. In reality its a never ending process. I have a pretty extensive library, some old some new. All heavily used.

KeithET

alfred1222
02-07-2013, 10:43 AM
Lyman and hornady are what I use

gigante
02-07-2013, 2:22 PM
Besides the Hodgdon site, I use Hornady, Lyman, and Lee the most. I have Sierra's and others as well.

stilly
02-07-2013, 2:30 PM
I know everyone has an opinion which is why Im asking..

Think back to when you first started reloading.. Now think of all the books you have read on the subject since then. Now decide which would be the first and second book on reloading you would buy if you had to start as a noob again...

I have 2 Dillon presses on the way, a 550b and a 650xl and most of the stuff to load 223, 40, 9mm and 308. They will be delivered on Tuesday next week so Im starting to hunt for powder, primers and bullets, but I also need to get my hands on a few good books to help me out. I have a friend who has been reloading for about 12 years who will also be helping me out but would still like some good reading material..

Thanks for your input.

I have read 1 book and that was enough. The rest of the information I got from folks here or my friend who reloads.

If I had to recco a book, I would suggest the Book of Lee because of the HUGELY ENORMOUS, EPIC section of LOADS and PHENOMINAL RECIPES...

But as for actually reading for instruction, I would have to say either Lyman or Hornady.

The BoLee is kinda fun to read though because it talks **** on other products made by other maufacturers...

Cheap Shot
02-07-2013, 2:50 PM
I haven't see the lyman book yet, looks like it or the lee abc book (which I have).
Regardless of which of those you pick, I recommend also getting the book put out by the bullet manufacturer you are going to use (I use Sierra the most).

popeye4
02-07-2013, 3:04 PM
Glen Zediker's book is fantastic. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get serious about reloading for rifles.

I like the Speer, Hornady and Nosler books. I own pretty much all of the available books, with several editions of each, but those three are the ones I use most.

^^^This^^^

I started with the Speer book many moons ago, but have also looked over the books from Hodgdon, Hornady, Sierra, Nosler..... Each has a "beginners" section that will get you oriented. I second and third the nomination for Glen Zediker's book, you will get a much greater understanding of the whole process, including how the round will interact with the firearm. It isn't just for highpower competitors (but it probably is useless if you are just loading for pistol).

popeye4
02-07-2013, 3:07 PM
"Handloader" magazine from Wolfe Publishing is also an interesting rag, at least subscribe for a while. I find that my handloading is now pretty well focused and refined, and I don't get much from the articles, but it is still a good read once a month.

Javi
02-07-2013, 9:48 PM
Glen Zediker's book is fantastic. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get serious about reloading for rifles.


Would it help me better understand figuring out bullet seating depth, "bumping" the shoulder, etc? Some of that goes right over my head.

GeoffLinder
02-07-2013, 10:29 PM
Would it help me better understand figuring out bullet seating depth, "bumping" the shoulder, etc? Some of that goes right over my head.
If you are loading for rifle, it will greatly expand your understanding of the whole system even if a lot of it is above your head at first.

As far as bumping the shoulder goes, here is a quick run down.

The round is a tad shorter than the chamber (in most cases). Headspace is determined by distance from point midway in case shoulder (known as datum line) to breech face, cases should be one and a half to two and a half thousandths shorter than this. This slop is what headspace is. It is required to ensure proper chambering and allowing bolt to fully close and lock reliably.

When a rifle round is fired, here is what happens. The primer strike from firing pin "typically" drives round fully forward so case shoulder contacts chamber shoulder and the headspace slop is now all between the case head and breech face. When pressure wave drives bullet out of case and into rifling, case is expanded so it sticks to chamber walls from pressure tension, the space between case head and breech face then gets filled up as case is stretched out to push case head right up to breech face.

When bullet leaves bore and pressure drops, brass relaxes and springs back just slightly to release from chamber walls. This tiny amount of springback allows for extraction of fired case.

After firing, the case is now almost exactly the same size as chamber because it has been blown out to fill chamber dimensions and stretched to length of datum line to breech face.

When you resize to reload, you squeeze case mouth and case OD in forward area down just slightly to allow for easy chambering next time and bullet holding tension in case mouth. You also need to bump the case shoulder back at this point to restore the headspace noted above to the .015" to .025" range.

Rifle cases grow in length because of this stretching. Cases are stretched at base and metal moves forward during resizing and case neck is what grows in length. This is why rifle cases require trimming back in length every couple firings or they grow too long in neck area and will jam in chamber and cause pressure issues.

After a number of firings the case base wall area starts to get thinner due to the forward metal migration and case head separations can start happening if you do too many reloading cycles on cases.

Bolt actions require less shoulder bump than semi-autos do for feed and chambering reliability in dirty chambers. Rifle cases used in semi-auto should be resized in small base dies which size the case walls down further back than standard rifle dies do. For certain applications like target and high accuracy loading, neck size only dies can be used for bolt action sizing. These only squeeze case mouth ID/OD down in size and do not bump the shoulder back. This mode of neck sizing only extends case life for bolt action use.

Setting proper headspace is best done using a comparator case gauge to properly set this to .015" to .025" range rather than just screwing the size die in all the way till it contacts shell plate like most people seem to do.

I highly recommend the LE Wilson one shown in link below. A PDF set of instructions for using it can be found there.

http://www.lewilson.com/casegage.html

As for bullet seating depth, depth of seating effects pressure and you should always load as long as possible to minimize the pressure effect. Too long though and you risk having the bullet jammed into the rifling when chambered, this can cause an unsafe pressure rise. Best seating depth is when there is a small amount of bullet jump allowed for into rifling. Usually in the .001 to .0025 range. Always follow recommended OAL in manuals for a specific bullet type rather than just for a general bullet weight as bullet taper profiles vary and different bullets of same weight can have different jump distances even at same OAL because of their shape profile.

As an example, 55gr to 62gr .223 rounds are best kept in the 2.130" to 2.145" OAL range for semi-autos. 2.145" to 2.155" are best OAL range for 69-77gr in .223 for semi-autos.

Hope this helps.

ar15barrels
02-08-2013, 5:18 AM
The primer strike from firing pin drives round fully forward so case shoulder contacts chamber shoulder and the headspace slop is now all between the case head and breech face.

In guns with a bolt-mounted spring-loaded ejector, the cartridge will already be at rest against the shoulder before the firing pin strike.

GeoffLinder
02-08-2013, 8:01 AM
In guns with a bolt-mounted spring-loaded ejector, the cartridge will already be at rest against the shoulder before the firing pin strike.

Correct, but cannot cover every exigency in a single forum reply. Otherwise they won't buy my book LOL

Thx Randall :-)

AlexKintner
02-08-2013, 8:39 AM
Lee is mostly blah blah about how great they are. Data is decent. My next will be Hornady due to garand section.

Javi
02-08-2013, 11:49 AM
Wow! Great post, Geoff! I'll have to get the book soon. The whole reason I wanted to reload was because I bought a Swedish Mauser & I can't afford to shoot it often. I'm basically looking to make affordable plinking/target rounds so I can be able to take it out of the safe. The Lyman manual kept things pretty simple as far as the rifle section. It wasn't until I read posts on here about the shoulder where it seems more complicated than the manual makes it out to be.

GeoffLinder
02-08-2013, 1:50 PM
Wow! Great post, Geoff! I'll have to get the book soon. The whole reason I wanted to reload was because I bought a Swedish Mauser & I can't afford to shoot it often. I'm basically looking to make affordable plinking/target rounds so I can be able to take it out of the safe. The Lyman manual kept things pretty simple as far as the rifle section. It wasn't until I read posts on here about the shoulder where it seems more complicated than the manual makes it out to be.

It's not that complicated, it just requires understanding the process and making accurate measurements so you are not just arbitrarily setting the shoulder back.

For the Mauser I would suggest a very light shoulder setback of no more than .001 (if any at all) and not using a small base die. This will minimize case working and constant case blowout back to full chamber dimensions to allow for more reload cycles before the cases are unsafe to load any more (case base wall stretching and overall brass working).

I kind of doubt SB dies are easily available for the Mauser anyway ;)

Old Scribe
02-08-2013, 4:34 PM
I probably use Lee's Modern Reloading the most. Good information, good coverageof calibers and I like using Lee equipment.

bongfoo
02-08-2013, 4:40 PM
anyone know if there is a PDF copy of the Speer and Lymann books?

Lead Waster
02-08-2013, 7:22 PM
I have a book called

ABCs of Reloading

that is pretty good. I also have the Speer one that came with my Rock chucker kit and the Lee one because it came with a cheapo press.

I also have one called "Metallic Cartridge Reloading".

I read a bit of each. Believe it or not reloading is not rocket science.

thomashoward
02-08-2013, 9:45 PM
My first load book was Sierra.You will fine tune after a few years of using different brands.
Pet Loads by Ken Waters
Propellant Profiles Wolfe publishing co
both good for reloading libraries

CEDaytonaRydr
02-08-2013, 9:51 PM
I probably use Lee's Modern Reloading the most. Good information, good coverageof calibers and I like using Lee equipment.


+1

A lot more usable load data than Lyman's 49th.

koehn,jim
02-09-2013, 6:25 AM
I have always had good luck with the Lyman book but I also have speer, sierra and hornady. Most powder companies have web sites that list loads for their powders, and they are free. I would figure out the bullet I was going to use and use that load manual. Be careful and have a lot of fun.

shooterbill
02-09-2013, 9:52 AM
The Lyman book is good. Hodgdon prints a magazine with all the data that is on their site. It's cheap and you don't have to go to the computer all the time. Barnes and Noble carries it. Get the books for the bullets you will be using.