What books would you guys recommend for beginner that gives the best explanation in every area of handloading?
Flyingbullseye
Flyingbullseye
Beginner books
- Thread starter Flyingbullseye
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Re: Beginner books
Lee - Large section on beginning reloading, does push the Lee brand stuff, but good info overall.
Sierra - Good info and ridiculous amount of load data - 99% for cartridges you will never load or see
Speer - Good information, harder to read/absorb than the Lee when you are starting out, good amount of load data
If i had to pick one to start with, probably would go with the Sierra.
When you get more comfortable with loading, you need to cross reference the Sierra load data with the powder manufacturers website for max load, Sierra is notorious for very low max load listing. that means they are very safety oriented and that is a good thing when you are learning the ropes.
Those are the manuals I have personal experience with, others may have different ideas, and I am sure they will be along shortly
madd0c
Lee - Large section on beginning reloading, does push the Lee brand stuff, but good info overall.
Sierra - Good info and ridiculous amount of load data - 99% for cartridges you will never load or see
Speer - Good information, harder to read/absorb than the Lee when you are starting out, good amount of load data
If i had to pick one to start with, probably would go with the Sierra.
When you get more comfortable with loading, you need to cross reference the Sierra load data with the powder manufacturers website for max load, Sierra is notorious for very low max load listing. that means they are very safety oriented and that is a good thing when you are learning the ropes.
Those are the manuals I have personal experience with, others may have different ideas, and I am sure they will be along shortly
madd0c
Re: Beginner books
I'm a newb handloader and started by reading Zediker's book. That was a mistake. While I slogged my way through it because I hate not finishing anything it explained a lot and confused me a lot. I think it's probably a great book but not for the beginner's first read. I read The ABCs of Reloading next and have TresMon's series of posts in a three ring binder. I think those two sources give enough clarity for beginners. I also have the Sierra manual which has good info as well. Then you can just read these forums and pick up bits and pieces along the way.
I'm a newb handloader and started by reading Zediker's book. That was a mistake. While I slogged my way through it because I hate not finishing anything it explained a lot and confused me a lot. I think it's probably a great book but not for the beginner's first read. I read The ABCs of Reloading next and have TresMon's series of posts in a three ring binder. I think those two sources give enough clarity for beginners. I also have the Sierra manual which has good info as well. Then you can just read these forums and pick up bits and pieces along the way.
Re: Beginner books
You may want to try a video presentation. You may want to check out
http://smartflix.com/store/category/36/Reloading
Smartflix. You can rent them and see how you like it. If it is good you can step up and purchase it.
Forgot to add, skip anything made by or with Lenny Magill
You may want to try a video presentation. You may want to check out
http://smartflix.com/store/category/36/Reloading
Smartflix. You can rent them and see how you like it. If it is good you can step up and purchase it.
Forgot to add, skip anything made by or with Lenny Magill
Re: Beginner books
Lyman manual was recommended to me, but it is very basic in terms of procedures and techniques.
I would see what your local library has for free! After reading those, you may not really need a published manual, as most powder manufactures have tons of free data online.
http://www.accuratepowder.com/reloading.htm
http://www.imrpowder.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html
If I buy every another manual (So much stuff online so why bother?), it will probably be Sierra, especially if the hard copy has the "loadmap" table, where other books just list min and max loads and velocities.
http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223rembolt.pdf
http://www.6mmbr.citymaker.com/f/Sierra308Win.pdf
Lyman manual was recommended to me, but it is very basic in terms of procedures and techniques.
I would see what your local library has for free! After reading those, you may not really need a published manual, as most powder manufactures have tons of free data online.
http://www.accuratepowder.com/reloading.htm
http://www.imrpowder.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html
If I buy every another manual (So much stuff online so why bother?), it will probably be Sierra, especially if the hard copy has the "loadmap" table, where other books just list min and max loads and velocities.
http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223rembolt.pdf
http://www.6mmbr.citymaker.com/f/Sierra308Win.pdf
Re: Beginner books
ABC's of Reloading is a good primer. Read it until you understand every single step of the loading process and understand why you do each part. Once you know that, Zediker's book will make sense. The problem with Zediker is that he jumps around a lot and doesn't really present a step-by-step that a new reloader really needs.
TresMon's posts are really good to read after ABC's of Reloading. Zediker's book goes into advanced topics such as why neck size versus FL size or why throw versus weigh, etc. You really need to understand the purpose of each step before these types of debate make any sense.
ABC's of Reloading is a good primer. Read it until you understand every single step of the loading process and understand why you do each part. Once you know that, Zediker's book will make sense. The problem with Zediker is that he jumps around a lot and doesn't really present a step-by-step that a new reloader really needs.
TresMon's posts are really good to read after ABC's of Reloading. Zediker's book goes into advanced topics such as why neck size versus FL size or why throw versus weigh, etc. You really need to understand the purpose of each step before these types of debate make any sense.
Re: Beginner books
Read the non caliber specific chapters of the Lyman's Centerfire Handloading Handbook. Read the safety and setup chapters at least twice before trying to set up a press operation.
When you're done with the above THEN you can progress to the more explicit handbooks.
Good luck.
Read the non caliber specific chapters of the Lyman's Centerfire Handloading Handbook. Read the safety and setup chapters at least twice before trying to set up a press operation.
When you're done with the above THEN you can progress to the more explicit handbooks.
Good luck.
Re: Beginner books
Cool, thanks guys. I needed a good place to start as reloading can get quite daunting to a beginner.
Flyingbullseye
Cool, thanks guys. I needed a good place to start as reloading can get quite daunting to a beginner.
Flyingbullseye
Re: Beginner books
I bought the 8th edition of the ABC's of Reloding thinking I was getting an updated edition of the one I had. I found out the older book is not the ABC's but a different book but I can't find it to get the title. The ABC's is a good book when I find the other one I'll post it.
I bought the 8th edition of the ABC's of Reloding thinking I was getting an updated edition of the one I had. I found out the older book is not the ABC's but a different book but I can't find it to get the title. The ABC's is a good book when I find the other one I'll post it.
Re: Beginner books
The other book is The Complete Handloader by John Wooters. It's out of publication but available used on Amazon. It's similar to the ABC's of reloading. It doesn't have as much of a magazine colection feel to it.
The other book is The Complete Handloader by John Wooters. It's out of publication but available used on Amazon. It's similar to the ABC's of reloading. It doesn't have as much of a magazine colection feel to it.
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