How reliable/accurate are published reloading manuals?

[LHSmith]

This is better than TV. It is easy to tell who has been loading for a while verses the newbe. BOZO an you other guys that give out the info I really like to read your posts. An I have been reloading for40 Years you still can learn something new.

Johnnie

You obviously don't get the Animal channel and Discovery which has very entertaining ??? Reality shows featuring "wonder" gunbuilders ......makes one wonder how long it will take for one of their builds to suffer catastrophic failure, i.e. a .500 Nitro Express in a 6-1/2 lb. Ruger #1?
Yup, these shows do wonders to help dispel the myth that sportsman are not really neanderthals :

 

[bozo699]

This is better than TV. It is easy to tell who has been loading for a while verses the newbe. BOZO an you other guys that give out the info I really like to read your posts. An I have been reloading for40 Years you still can learn something new.

Johnnie

You obviously don't get the Animal channel and Discovery which has very entertaining ??? Reality shows featuring "wonder" gunbuilders ......makes one wonder how long it will take for one of their builds to suffer catastrophic failure, i.e. a .500 Nitro Express in a 6-1/2 lb. Ruger #1?
Yup, these shows do wonders to help dispel the myth that sportsman are not really neanderthals :

Hahahaha!!! now that is funny right there!
Wayne.

 

[Johnboy]

You have joined a very good group of men here,I would take what they have to say to heart,not one man here would tell you something that would hurt you.Now there might be a few here but havn't found not one who will tell you something that will be hurt you.I am in no way trying to pick a fight here,just telling the facts,so take it with a grain of salt,as I try to when someone trys to piss in my grits.

Now to your question.A loading hand book is what it is,it's not something that's been put to stone.Many have said already to what they do with info from a book.I too own a few myself,mostly the ones to which I load their bullets for shooting.As already said from many already,I too look for a starting load,nothing else.The handbook is a starting point and a nice place for quick answer's.

You couldn't have joined a better site with all the years of reloading and shooting one could ask for.We sometimes find ourselves tired of the same questions,or to what we think are dumb questions,but most here will answer them again anyway.Have fun and enjoy the world of shooting/reloading it gets better every day...........

 

[bozo699]

You have joined a very good group of men here,I would take what they have to say to heart,not one man here would tell you something that would hurt you.Now there might be a few here but havn't found not one who will tell you something that will be hurt you.I am in no way trying to pick a fight here,just telling the facts,so take it with a grain of salt,as I try to when someone trys to piss in my grits.

Now to your question.A loading hand book is what it is,it's not something that's been put to stone.Many have said already to what they do with info from a book.I too own a few myself,mostly the ones to which I load their bullets for shooting.As already said from many already,I too look for a starting load,nothing else.The handbook is a starting point and a nice place for quick answer's.

You couldn't have joined a better site with all the years of reloading and shooting one could ask for.We sometimes find ourselves tired of the same questions,or to what we think are dumb questions,but most here will answer them again anyway.Have fun and enjoy the world of shooting/reloading it gets better every day...........

Very well put Johnboy! Your right I have never seen someone attentionally give info that would hurt someone, I have seen bad info but people pointed it out and it was well known not to try that!! I just have a problem with someone especially a new someone to ask a question then get grumpy or smart,....This is a awesome forum full of great people that are wayyyy smarter then I will ever be, I don't believe there are dumb questions as long as the person asking really doesn't know and when you tell him he listens and learns,...then it is NEVER stupid no matter how basic it may seem to some of us, just a few years ago I could never of told someone how to measure shoulder bump or turned necks or many other things that seem so basic and simple to me now and I learned almost all of it from members of this and other sites and some of course by reading and or trial and error!...Cassidy if your willing to listen I am willing to teach and so will most anybody out here and most any of us will not hold a grudge, BigEdP51 and I used to not see eye to eye on anything and were just fine now so I guess the ball is in your court, were willing to help but you need to ask the right questions and if your not getting the answer you wanted re ask the question nicely and we will continue on.
Sincerely Wayne.

P.S I know for a fact if someone gave info on purpose to hurt someone the forum boss would remove it and probably the person responsable!

 

[Ackman]

Can both manuals be correct? In your experience, how much can we rely on the accuracy of powder load data in published manuals? All comments are welcome.

Cassidy

Yes, both manuals can be correct for their own setup. But no manual uses your gun or your combination of components. The reloading manual is just a rough guide. Find your own truths.

 

[Johnboy]

thanks Wayne,I too have to say that I was the same at fist when I first became a member to the sites I joined.I had just lost one of the best shooters and teachers one could have known.( to me that is) He was able to talk to me and could understand my questions.When I joined a few sites my questions then became harder to ask,I even got a few tail holes at first. Now I have to ask myself if I make any since to what I am asking or offering before I type it out.Even to this day I find some things to hard to put to words,so I just roll with it,some get it some don't. ;D

Yes,I agree that no one person will offer a bad idea or info to hurt someone.I too agree that that persons post would be done away with and maybe them too.

OK Op ask away and we will offer again the best we can.Just hope that you are still a part of our wounderful site.

 

[Immike]

Even to this day I find some things to hard to put to words,so I just roll with it,some get it some don't .

I would rather get advice from a master that understands but can't describe than a writer that can describe better than they understand. A good student will find a way to pull the knowledge and fill in the blanks.

 

[bheadboy]

Cassidy, you have had some very very good advice here, i will try to summerise my experience:
i have lyman manuals 50 yr old and Sierra's newest, Hodgden on line as well as all others-

powder sellers buy their powder from different mfgers, change suppliers, plants have been moved, sold -- burn rates change almost yearly as these changes take place

manual providers use the powder of that time and it takes a year to produce the data for a manual,
their actions, bbl length, bullets lots, primer lots, brass lots bbl wear, chambers are not the same, or the same as yours

they use one caliber bbl for multipul chambers starting with the smallest chamber and working up. bbls wear.
some are universal recievers and some are factory (normal variations)

They take very very great care not to be "true" max at they know these variations and do not know your rifle, legal liability is the rule

if there is a typing error upon publishing they are quick to respond, they are not interested in your being hurt or suing them

yes there may by an error but they are few and far between -- yes there are different loads recommended for a caliber/bullet combo, but you must understand these are not your rifle and the changes in powders, primers, bbl, chamber, brass over time. the dates of the manuals is a signal to watch out and that is the screaming "look out" for other differences are there for your to remember and be careful

use some common sense and start mid level on the lowest and work up looking for signs of pressure on your combination. reloading is not a perfect all things equal , this is a undertaking requiring care, caution, intelligence, and a willingness to learn from those who have been learning, as the process never ends.


Bob

 

[savagedasher]

Almost any books are OK I have several To me I believe the best ones give case capacity are the best some cases hold over 3 grains difference. My self I use Quickload REMBER ALWAYS START LOW. Good shooting Larry