Where do I start? - Best manual??

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deepstuff

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Hi,
About a year ago, I inherited reloading gear from my Grand-Father. Included with his gear is the SPEER Reloading Manual Number 10. I want to get started in reloading. Is there a better or more up to date book I should get? I intend to start with loading target loads for a 243 and 280. Which would be easiest to start with or does it matter? Are there any good videos or tutorials out there?

Thank-You.
 
I found that the Lyman 49th Edition Reloading Handbook has a pretty good beginner's guide in the first portion as well as currently used loading data for a wide variety of rifle and handgun cartridges.

In addition there's the Hodgdon Reloading Data Center online which is like a reloading manual at your finger tips.

There isn't going to be any single "best" reloading manual. Each will be complete enough and each will have a hint or three which the others do not.

Somewhere on the first couple of pages around the title page should be a print date. That'll tell you how old your Speer manual is.

It sounds like you're going to dive right into rifle caliber reloading right off the bat. it's a bit of a different practice from most handgun reloading. For example if the finest degree of accuracy is your goal you'll be weighing EVERY charge and limiting your weighing errors to + or - 0.1 grain. This makes for a slow and quite Zen like reloading hobby. On top of that you'll want to use only one brand and even one batch of brass. You'll use it until you find you're getting too many of them splitting then toss it all and start with a new batch. Along the way you'll develop a schedule for annealing the case mouths in some way that ensures consistency. And on and on it goes in the quest for ultimate accuracy.

If I read your post wrong and you just want some ammo to shoot targets which is as good or a little better than factory ammo then this is not all that hard to achieve. I'm thinking you would still weigh out each charge but with a slightly relaxed tolerance of + or - 0.2grains which is an easier target to hit without going all OCD on us.

Still, the road to better accuracy is always marked with consistency in each step as your signposts.
 
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I have 5 manuals here. The one I refer to the most is the Hodgdon version. It includes full sections each with Hodgdon, IMR, WW and Reloader loads with a wide range of bullet weights.

I need to buy a new one with updated powders.
 
I have The ABC's of Reloading plus a few others but I like the ABC book since it is easy to read and has lots of pictures.
 
deepstuff said:
Included with his gear is the SPEER Reloading Manual Number 10.
Click to expand...

A quick Google search shows that manual may date from 1981 -- so it could be up to 35 years old.

I believe that old load data is still valid. I don't think powder formulations change over time, so load data from 1981 should still be usable today as long as you can find powder with exactly the same name.

Make sure that the modern powder you buy is EXACTLY what is called for in the manual. Many powders have similar names, so check and double check.

I bet that if you compare the loads in the old manual to loads in current manuals you'll find that the current loads are lighter. I suspect that's due to legal and liability reasons.

Personally, I'm not sure I would use a manual that old for general reloading. I'd use it to research loads for obscure rounds -- there are probably a few cartridges in the 1981 manual that are no longer included in modern manuals. And I would compare the loads in the old manual to modern loads just out of interest. But I don't think I would take the old manual as gospel.

As for current manuals, I'll echo what everyone else seems to be saying.

There is no one best manual and you will likely get many manuals over time.

The Lyman 49th Reloading Handbook is a good general refernce. I started with that myself.

If you use a particular manufacturer's bullets a lot, get their handbook. I use the Hornady 9th Edition because I mostly load Hornady bullets. I've looked through others -- mostly the Speer manual -- but do not load their bullets often enough to invest in their manual.

The Lee 2nd Edition is a good general reference and I think it is the least expensive of all of them.

The Hodgdon Reloading site at http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/ is very handy.

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is good for cast bullets should you ever get into that.
 
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