ORIGINAL: statjunk
What are the best reloading manuals?
I just figured out that the Lyman reloading manual that came with my kit isn't very good. It doesn't provide data for maximum case length and trim to lengths, it doesn't give data on accuracy loads and things like that.
I'm reloading for .308, 300 WM, and 7.5x55 Swiss and maybe later for 223 Rem.
If I were looking to buy a new manual which should I choose?
Thanks
Tom
I just looked at my two Lyman reloading manuals, and they BOTH CONTAIN the max. and min. case dimensions - they're shown in the cartridge diagrams! For example, the .375 Win.case. It shows a case o/a length of 2.020 - .020. This means you can havea case as long as 2.020", and when you trim it, you cut it back to2.000".
I have been reloading ammo now since 1953, and consider the Lyman manuals to be among the best. This is mainly because they are not partial to any brand of bullets, powder, primers, or cartridge cases since they don't make any of these products.
About the only issue I have with their loading data has been their insistence, with a few exceptions,on the use of small charges of fast-burning powders for cast bullet shooting. My experience has been that you can get generally more satisgfactory results with cast bullets when you accelerate them as slowly as possible (less deformation)and use high loading-density charges which ignite and burn more uniformly. This dictates using larger charges of slow-burning powders.Small charges move around a lot in the case, and often burn differently from round to round....
A 350-grain cast bullet in the .416 Rigby @ 100 yards, 112 grains of AA 8700, MV 2100 FPS, ME 3428 ft/lb. My "deer load".