Zediker's book

[Nukes]

Is Zediker's 2002 ""Handloading for Competition: Making the Target Bigger" worthwhile?

Any better choices?

I am a former reloader. When I figured out that I spent 2 weeks of evenings to save about $30 on the milspec calibers I was shooting in 3-Gun competition, I gave up reloading. Now, however, I have caught the accuracy bug, so I am considering resuming reloading. It is not so much that I need instruction in the basics as I would like a good guide to things I never did before—annealing, concentricity testing, inside/outside neck turning, finding nodes, etc.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Zediker's book

It's a great book, some of the tools are dated but its a gotta have.

 

[ksthomas]

Re: Zediker's book

I'd be inclined to say "absolutely" and I don't think there's a better book out there on the topic of advanced handloading. However, Glen geared the more toward Service Rifle shooters, Match Gas Guns and LR and XC course bolt guns. He doesn't (as I recall) discuss annealing, and there's no dissertation on neck turning or other true Benchrest techniques. Lot of folks don't really get the fact that what BR shooters do to work up their loads, and what the test of us do, isn't really in the same universe. Glen does. And he gets the fact that some of the stuff that they do, is actually dangerous when someone tries to apply the same methods to some other types of guns. Particularly Service Rifles. Yes, it's a good book, with tons of relevant info.

That said, I think another that you may want to look at is the new one put out by Tony Boyer. It's specific to BR techniqes of reloading, as well as a bunch of other BR shooting topics. Don't think Tony covers annealing, either, as very few BR shooters bother with this. It's a bit dated now, but the classic by the late Warren Page "The Accurate Rifle" is still available, and has some very good info.

There's a couple others, but I think these may be the places to start. Good stuff in all, just depends on what you want to delve into first.

 

[Nukes]

Re: Zediker's book

Thank you, gents!

 

[FLIGHT762]

Re: Zediker's book

I've had Zediker's book for a few years. He does a good job of explaining how to and why. It's well worth the $$$.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Zediker's book

Not a bad read, but he goes WAY past OCD on his reloading. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

[aloreman]

Re: Zediker's book

Great book but his writing style is different. Half the book is written like 3 drunk men talking around a card table.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Zediker's book

"Any better choices?"

Yes, I believe so.

What Aloreman means is there are a LOT of words to filter through in professor Zedeker's book to get the scattered kernels of real information. It could be edited down to about a quarter it's size without losing a thing, IMHO. His rambling wordy style puts me to sleep! And then it's really written for ONE discipline - position match competition gas guns.

I suggest you find a copy of the "Precision Shooting Reloading Guide" (edited by Dave Brennen) for a much better rounded and written book that gets to the points most of us care about and does it from respected experts for each of the eight specific chapters it covers. It may be out of print now; if so try Amazon.com for a used copy.

 

[Nukes]

Re: Zediker's book

Then I don't imagine that Zediker's rambling verbosity was corrected in his latest AR assembly guide either.

 

[ksthomas]

Re: Zediker's book

The assembly guide consists of more photos than text, and that's pretty clear. It's easily the best assembly guide on the market, considering the range of stuff he covers. Not just straight AR builds, but Match Rifles, varmint rigs, NM Service Rifles and plinkers. Yes, definately worth adding to the work bench.

Incidentally, the Boyer book I mentioned earlier is titled, "The Book of Rifle Accuracy."

 

[Nukes]

Re: Zediker's book

The Book of Rifle Accuracy is backordered, but Precision Shooting Reloading Guide is on the way.

Thanks again to all.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Zediker's book

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kevin Thomas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He doesn't (as I recall) discuss annealing, and there's no dissertation on neck turning or other true Benchrest techniques.</div></div>

He discusses annealing... he says that what he does when the necks start to get work hardened is that he stands all of the cases up in a pan of water... and then knocks them into the dust bin (I am paraphrasing here). Nobody had the equipment to do that efficiently when he wrote the book.

He also changed his opinion on neck turning during the case of writing the book. He said it wasn't necessary as long as you sort your cases by neck thickness and cull out the ones with a lot of variation... then in a chapter he talks about the fact that he bought a Gracey turner and now he turns everything he can get his hands on trying to get his use out of the machine.

Still, the best book out there for "our" kind of handloading (that I have found). He goes into an argument as to why throwing is better than weighing, but he at least goes on to point out that he doesn't know anyone who shoots 1,000 yards and does not weigh every charge. If you read it with an eye to long range shooting, you get a lot of great info.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Zediker's book

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fuzzball</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It could be edited down to about a quarter it's size without losing a thing, IMHO. His rambling wordy style puts me to sleep! And then it's really written for ONE discipline - position match competition gas guns.
</div></div>

He probably could have organized it a little better, but I love his style of writing and found the vernacular made it more than a simple reloading book that could have been put out by a manufacturer.

One of my favorite lines of his talks about the Forster Coax and how it was designed to float. Then he talks about a Lee he had (or some such) with really loose tolerances and he said that while the manufacturer tried to justify the loose tolerances as floating, he writes "that's not floating. That's sinking."

I read a lot about Dillon claiming that their toolheads are loose in the press on purpose because it allows it to "float." I love to rip off Zediker's line when people claim that Dillons are designed to float.

 

[YAOG]

Re: Zediker's book

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Carter Mayfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><<SNIPPED>>
I read a lot about Dillon claiming that their toolheads are loose in the press on purpose because it allows it to "float." I love to rip off Zediker's line when people claim that Dillons are designed to float. </div></div>

The loose fit of the Dillon toolheads is to allow the dies to "float." True or not (NOT!) that is what Dillon told me when I asked if there was any way to improve the variable head spacing and bullet ogive measurements I was seeing using standard Dillon operating procedures in the Dillon 550 instruction manual. As you know that line is fiction on par with L.R. Hubbard fairy tales.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Zediker's book

That's not floating. That's sinking.