Best Reloading Book

[flak88mm]

I'm choosing between Lyman, Hornady, or Sierra, or something else that someone may know for a beginner. I have a 30-06 m1 garand and bought boat tail 150 gr projectiles the other day with H4895 and there was really nothing solid about this in the Hornady book.

[rsrocket1]

I may get flamed on this but:
With bullet and powder companies putting information on the internet, I have never used a reloading book as the sole source of load information. They have good tutorials on loading for beginners, but so does the internet, so long as you also look at several sources to ensure you have credible information. Yes, 4-5 manuals is what a lot of older reloaders swear by, but unless you collect these over lots of years, that's a lot of money to dish out all at once. You can get the same information with a little time surfing the web with the thought that you are only looking for a starting load to work up from and never starting at the max.

150g fmjbt 30-06 over H4895 information is right there in the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. Load to a OAL of 3.25" Start with 46.0 grains and don't exceed 51.0 grains.

Depending on whether you are plinking or shooting for accuracy, pick your increments and look for an accuracy acceptable for you between those loads and also look for excessive pressure signs as you get near the max load. I believe this advice is in the Hornady book so you should already know that.

[grant22]

Rocket is right, there's a lot available on the internet. However:

If you like having a hard copy of a book in front of you (like I do), I really like the Lyman as my first manual. I bought it and the Speer and like both, but like the Lyman's format better. It's tutorial on reloading is great, but don't read it word for word as you are probably using different equipment than they are demonstrating with.

[r3dn3ck]

there's not 1 that's the best IMO. You should have at least a couple if you like the hard bound stuff.

I have sierra and speer but I always refer back to the powder manufacturer's site. Alliant/IMR/Hodgdon have quite a bit of load data on their site.

Don't forget that M1 garand aren't like every other .30-06. The gas system isn't intended for full pressure modern ammo. From what I'm reading they're sensitive about port pressure and too hot a load will bend the op rod. The m2 ball was spec at like 2700fps which is a good solid 150-200fps slower than the ought-six is capable of within normally safe pressure limits. So, stay off the higher end of those loads unless you've got an adjustable gas plug and then you'll want to adjust it properly for the load being used.

[CSACANNONEER]

Have a minimum of two different hardcopies and use the internet too. The Lyman is a great one to start with. I probably have over 50 different manuals and they all have good data in them.

[Clownpuncher]

I have the speer and sierra. I prefer the sierra. It seems to have a better variety and I like the loose leaf, 3 ring binder format.
Like was said above, there is lots of info on the net but I think of reloading similar to cooking, you can never have enough recipe books.

[r3dn3ck]

+1 ^. Exactly. When you're building burritos designed to explode in a particular way, you don't want to put the guac on too heavy.... so to speak.

[TimRB]

I have a 30-06 m1 garand and bought boat tail 150 gr projectiles the other day with H4895 and there was really nothing solid about this in the Hornady book.

I don't know why you say that. The Hornady reloading manual has a specific section on the M1 Garand, including loads for 150 grain boat tail bullets.

Tim

[popeye4]

Perhaps you could pick up one of the DVDs that go over handloading. Be careful of what you see on Youtube, any moron can post there. There are good vids there, but there are some bad ones, too.

There is a ton of information available on line, but you've got to go find it. Getting a reloading manual (or a book like "ABC's of Reloading" http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloading...6106893&sr=8-1) puts it all in one place so you don't have to search. If it made it into print, it is probably good information, not always the case on the Internet.

[ejhc11]

I don't know why you say that. The Hornady reloading manual has a specific section on the M1 Garand, including loads for 150 grain boat tail bullets.

Tim

+1
I have the book and it does have good info for my M1 Garand and Enfield rifle plus your Mosin Nagant.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

I have Lyman's 49th and Lee's modern reloading.

I like the Lee manual better for load data but the Lyman manual has more load data for cast loads. Lee's manual has virtually every cartridge and the Lyman's manual is missing some, like 7.5MAS, for example. That being said, the Lee manual clearly states that it's MAS data has been taken from a similar cartridge (probably .308), but at least it's there.

[Divernhunter]

Get the Lyman book and read it first. The hornady book is good to have also. Info from MANUFACTURES WEBSITES is also good but that will not help you on the why's etc about reloading.

[LGB Loader]

Like CSA, I also have alot of reloading manuals in several editions and strongly believe you should have a minimum of 2 to 3 hard copies on hand at the reloading bench.

I like Sierra, Hornady and Lyman but have all the other name books and yearly Hodgdens manuals.

My first Manual was the Lyman 45th edition and I still have all of them all the way up to the current 49th.
I am a bit partial to the Lyman 46th Edition which I bought when it first came out. This manual basically taught me how to "correctly" handload for rifle.

Even though I have a laptop I can take to The Cave, I like books...

LGB

[billetmann]

i am relatively new to reloading and very new to the forums- but like everyone says a hardbound is good to have. but the net is full of data-- search and you will be amazed of the information for any type of loading recipes.

good luck.

[Ak707]

haha...or just skim through a book at the store and find the load you want to try...memorize it, write it down, take a pic of the page with ur phone etc..
I've done that before lol