manuals.....

[mauser06]

ok i want to get into reloading...and will soon...maybe september.....im saving money for my car inspection just incase theres any problems and if theres nothing major i should have enough left to get my reloading stuff....i want to shoot sierras hornady vmax and possibly nosler bullets if dad lets me reload for him..he perfers the ballistic tip.....but i want to reload hornady 110gr 30cal vmax bullets for groundhogs and ive always liked sierras...and they have a 110gr varmit hp i can shoot too...plus my deer rounds and such......and hornadys sst looks nice for deer...but i dont know what manuals i need....dont know what powders to shot.....and want to get the manual(s) now to start my reading and everything.....so what do you recomend? thanx alot...... ive reloaded once before...using fancy equiptment that did it all for us....electric trimmers and cleaners...and electric scale and thrower that did it all itself....and my friend set up the dies.....im not buying the fancy stuff yet....so i got some reading to do...what manual should i get?

[Carpmaster]

they all make a good manual, there is a wealth of reloading info in them from cover to cover, not only grapical or charted data, theres hints and instructions. I really like nosler books, but own all of the ones you mentioned. If i had to recommend any of them as a starter either the hornady or nosler, but also consider which brands bullet you will use most, you can load other bullets to other companies data too.

[mauser06]

thanx alot...i think ill order the hornady to start with....the MAIN reason im reloading is to get the 110gr varmit bullets in 30cal....im trying to pay off my truck and im 17....so moneys tight or id buy a new varmit gun..but if i reload it saves alot of money and i can used my deer rifle with good glass on it alreayd and everything to shoot chucks and everything else with instead of spending like 800 on a varmint rifle....and ive always wanted to reload....so why not....thanx alot....

[neweboarhunter]

I use the Lyman and Nosler manuals the most. You might try a CD ROM versionfor your computer.

[whiskeysnoot]

Instead of having to fork out $25 per manual, go to your local gun shop (not Wal-Mart) and pick up the brochures from the various powder manufacturers. These are chocked full of recipes (for their powder of course). Also, since you obviously can operate a computer, go to the powder makers websites. These can also be a wealth of information. I have found that powder makers give up info and recipes for free more readily than bullet makers. Also don't overlook reputable magazines for reloading data.

[handloader1]

For beginners I think the best manual is SPEER. Good luck.

[Highpower]

I will agree with Handloader. Of all my manuals, I think the Speer manual does the best at explaining the entire loading process. All of them give recipes, but the Speer will teach you the basics and get you going. My 2 cents worth.

[driftrider]

I agree that the Speer manual is probably the best I've seen for explaining the handloading process. The Hornady manual is good in that respect too.

BUT,

First of all, I don't use Speer bullets, so very little of the data in the Speer manual is relevant to the bullets I prefer to use (Nosler BT's in my rifle and Hornady XTP's in my pistols). The Speer recipies also seem to be on the light side compared to other manuals I have or have seen. This is a perticular problem with the .454 Casull data in the Speer manual. The Speer loads are just downright LAME, coming nowhere near the potential of the .454 Casull cartridge. Since I didn't buy a .454 Casull to shoot granny loads (if I want less power, I shoot .45 Colt), the Speer data was worthless.

I MUCH prefer the Hornady manual over the Speer manual, for both the load data AND the ballistics data (Hornady's manual Vol. II contains somewhere near 1,000 pages of ballistics and other reference information). I also like the Nosler manual a great deal.

Other places to look for data include manufacturer websites (Hodgdon has a bunch of data on their site, but not nearly a complete reference with all bullets combos). Nosler and Alliant also publish limited data on their websites, and Hornady used to have varmint rifle data on theirs before they revamped their site a couple months ago.

Another place to get data is at www.reloadersnest.com . There are hundreds of published loads on that site, but I'd be careful which ones you use and some of the data may not be safe for your gun. Always start 10-15% below max and work up, no exceptions.

Good luck,

Mike

[bhemry]

I'm kind of partial to the Hornady manual, but I like the trajectory chart in the Barnes manual because it includes a 250 yard sight-in chart. I've got the "old" Speer #11 and its O.K., but since I've looked at the "new" Speer #12, it looks real good. I just haven't bought it yet.

[bea175]

Buy the Manual for the brand of bullets you will use the most. All manuals are good, one of the best is the new Swift manual. I have a manual from every major bullet company. I use the Load from a Disk Software which will let you work up a load for any cal. you can come up with factory or wildcats. You will love handloading