What's on your bookshelf?

Charlie R

You can't take ammo home!
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This should be a space to list "must have" reloading or shooting reference books, how to's, or manuals, and explanations of why you find yourself referring to them most often. Hopefully this will be of help/use to new reloaders and old alike as we build our libraries.
 
I have several reloading books, but the two that I reference the most are the Hornady and Speer manuals. I just picked up the latest Speer manual and am quite impressed with it. I use a lot of Hornady bullets, so naturally I start with the Hornady manual when I am working up loads with their bullets. I don't shoot as many Speer bullets, but I do shoot a lot of plated bullets, and the Speer TMJ bullets are thick plated, and I have found the load data for the TMJ bullets to work well for Xtreme and RMR plated bullets, other than the fact I have to determine the OAL using the plunk test. Speer does have their load data online now.

And I also have the pertinent load data from the powder manufacturers either in their (usually) free handouts, or I have the data printed out.

I also have the Ken Waters "Pet Loads" book. It is pricey, but invaluable IMHO. The data is dated (some of the powders listed are no longer available) but it is great information nonetheless.

The Lee manual has lots of data, but none of it is their original data, it is simply a collection of data that is available online from the powder manufacturers. While it is handy to have the data in one place, it leaves out certain pertinent information, like barrel length, that is available if you go to the powder manufacturer's websites. The loading tutorial in the front is not bad, but it is certainly a sales pitch for Lee products.

I think one of the best independent sources of load data is from Lyman. Their loading tutorial is also excellent. This was the first load manual I bought and I am glad I started with that one.
 
Lee, Speer, Lyman plus the Lyman cast bullet handbook.
 
YouTube and Google. Current data, diverse opinions, easily accessed. Print is so old fashioned.


But....I have the hard copy Nosler and Hornady books on the shelf 'cause I like paper.
 
I found scanned, digital copies of various reloading manuals a few years back. Sierra, Nosler, Lee, Hornady all in multiple prior editions. But I also have a hard copy of Hornady on the shelf.

I know, data, powder and testing methods change. I usually go online and get the latest data for whatever I'm loading. But have you seen the historical data for 38 special!? (Wink).
 
+1 on Ken Waters Pet Loads. Have Speer, Barnes, Sierra, Nosler, Hornady, Hogdon, Lyman, Berger, Swift, and a dozen more loading books. Plus P.O Ackley's Handbooks and Hatcher's Notebook (el goodo reading and info).
 
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I collect reloading books, I have many from the 1940's and 50's, Ken Water's Pet Loads is a great book. It's interesting to see when the attorneys, started to help with the data.
 
Let's see, my current reloading library.
  • Two or three copies of the Lee handbook (One of the latest edition, and at least one maybe two of the 30+ year old edition that was my first manual)
  • older copies (90's era) of the Speer, and Lyman manuals
  • a 70's or 80's edition of the Lyman cast bullet handbook
  • ABCs of reloading
  • Loadbooks for 45acp, .308, .223 and 45 colt (I need to pass this one on since I haven't had a gun chambered for it in 13 years)
  • for a while I had, and now need to rebuild.. a binder containing the various data i'd downloaded from Hodgdon etc
  • collection of old copies of Handloader, Rifle, the Hodgdon yearly "load data magazine" and the like.
  • and with the advent of smart phone there's the instant access to pretty much any major powder makers published data.
I just need to take a day and get my workshop re-organized, my shelving re assembled, and everything put up. I've been in this house for two damn years and half my gun ephemera is still in bins on the workshop floor...:oops:
 
I recently acquired a copy of "Propellent Profiles, 6th Edition". Useful for powder history, relative loading data and physical and rate of burn descriptions. Have already made use of it several times.
 
It's sad but THANK GOD we don't have to lug around a truck load of books when we move any longer.
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