reloading manuals and reloading data

[Kerplow]

so i bought a speer reloading manual and much to my chagrin, it has no data for the type of ammunition i want to load.

i think i'm going to go with some hornady and sierra projectiles. do i need to purchase their reloading manuals, or is there somewhere else i can acquire data for their projectiles?

[Blwnbwtie]

You could try looking on the power manufactures website, the IMR website has a lot of data. I prefer to have the manual specific to the bullet i am using.

[Kerplow]

You could try looking on the power manufactures website, the IMR website has a lot of data. I prefer to have the manual specific to the bullet i am using.

what worries me is the disclaimer in the speer manual that says to only use their data with their bullets. do bullets all vary so greatly from one manufacturer to the next? i would have thought most .451 230 gn FMJ's were pretty darn similar.

i dont mind buying a hornady and sierra manual, but i dont want to buy another manual just to find it has no data for the type of ammunition i want to load.

[Blwnbwtie]

For pistol ammo i have found it isnt really that critical, but for rifles the bullets to tend to vary in length, which would change pressures. You still would probably be okay if you start low and work your way up. I just feel better having more loading manuals to reference.

[J-cat]

what worries me is the disclaimer in the speer manual that says to only use their data with their bullets. do bullets all vary so greatly from one manufacturer to the next? i would have thought most .451 230 gn FMJ's were pretty darn similar.

i dont mind buying a hornady and sierra manual, but i dont want to buy another manual just to find it has no data for the type of ammunition i want to load.

Bullets vary in length and profile. Bullet profile affects overall length (OAL) which in turn affects pressure. To get accurate pressure data you need to use the bullet manufacturer's data and their OAL.

You can email or call Sierra or Hornady and they will give you the data for your particular bullet.

[Kerplow]

Bullets vary in length and profile. Bullet profile affects overall length (OAL) which in turn affects pressure. To get accurate pressure data you need to use the bullet manufacturer's data and their OAL.

You can email or call Sierra or Hornady and they will give you the data for your particular bullet.

that sounds like a good idea. I should have researched projectiles before i bought the speer manual. it was an impulse buy and wrapped in plastic so i had no way of knowing before hand. Now that i know what kind of projectiles i want to use i would feel a little more confident in buying their reloading manuals, but, if i can get the info for free from the manufacturer, all the better.

[Divernhunter]

Send me a PM and I will look up what you need. Send me the bullet/powder cartridge(I guess 45ACP) and I will lookit up. I have serria/speer/hornady/lyman/lee/barnes manuals as well as powder manufactures booklets.

It is really not hard to get the info but if you are fairly new to reloading it is a good idea to be more careful.

[opos]

I've just gone through a similar situation...I bought some Hornady 200 grain XTP .45 bullets and found nothing to match but lots of 200 grain hollow point data...I called Hornady and they gave me load information and COL and all was well...then I compard the Hornady data with other load data for 200 grain hollow points and there was a huge difference....double checked with Hornady and the data they gave me was right..In addition I shoot a CZ and they have a relatively tight chamber so I had to make sure the bullet shape was ok for my pistol at the COL listed..it was...I'm just loading up the first batch of test loads and I'm taking the medium loads from the Hodgden book (I'm using HP38 and the load data overlaps from Hornady and Hodgden) and that pretty well matches up with the lower load data from Hornady so I feel comfortable starting there. The HP38 may not be the powder I stick with as it's ok for medium loads but not so good (so I'm told) for warmer loads...I just want to find the good accuracy spot and not scorch the paint on the range walls.

You can get a little book on Ebay or other places called "one book one caliber" for each caliber and it has some comparitive data copied from many powder and bullet manufacturers for each cartridge. I also found that while a bit expensive you really might benefit by having several manuals...I use the Lyman, the Hodgen, the Speer and the little "one book one caliber" books for the calibers I load. None of them will totally agree but I find that if you do enough cross referencing you can find safe starting points for almost any bullet and powder combination that is reasonable to use.

[ireload]

Lyman reloading manual has Honardy and Sierra bullets listed in them. You can substitute a different bullet manufacturer of the same weight and close to or at bullet profile as long as you start with minimum powder charge then work up the load.

[Waldog]

Ditto what ireload said. Get the Lyman reloading manual. It's a great place to start.

[J-cat]

Save yourself some money and use your email. Also, there is a manual from LoadBooks USA that has all the reloading manuals condensed for each particular caliber. They cost $11 and are well worth the money.

http://www.loadbooks.com/

[TakeFive]

My personal preference is to use the bullet manufacturer's data, but there's also a good argument for using the powder maker's data. I don't have enough money to do both and keep them up to date. You can also get data from ammoguide.com.

[CSACANNONEER]

My personal preference is to use the bullet manufacturer's data, but there's also a good argument for using the powder maker's data. I don't have enough money to do both and keep them up to date. You can also get data from ammoguide.com.

Most powder manufactures list their load data online and access is free. I always try to cross reference two or three different sources before I start developing a new load.

[eaglemike]

Most powder manufactures list their load data online and access is free. I always try to cross reference two or three different sources before I start developing a new load.

This ^^^^^^

You can't have too many reloading manuals until you run out of space. Sometimes old manuals have info for obsolete cartridges that is otherwise had to find.

[CSACANNONEER]

This ^^^^^^

You can't have too many reloading manuals until you run out of space. Sometimes old manuals have info for obsolete cartridges that is otherwise had to find.

Also, sometimes one runs into old powder and it's always nice to have old manuals to reference. Another reason to cross check is that all manuals have a typo or mistake in them. So cross referencing is a great way to keep my face on my head!