Target Sports

HANDLOADING: NEW RELOADING MANUALS

Created on 18th May 2009

LAURIE HOLLAND discovers that, rather like buses, nothing comes for ages and then a glut of great manuals appears all at once

BULLET AND powder companies take five or more years to update their reloading manuals. This is unsurprising considering the work and costs involved but it does mean some are out of date well before the end of their shelf-lives. This wasn't a big issue when I started handloading, as back then only a trickle of new bullets, powders and cartridges would arrive in a typical year. That's now grown to a torrent. Also, a manual may become unavailable long before its replacement turns up depending on how many were originally printed and the accuracy of the UK distributor's estimate of demand. So you might have to wait some time for the next edition if you didn't make an early purchase but later changed your mind.

With 12 or 13 companies producing manuals you'd imagine a couple would be republished in an average year - but that's not how it works. After a long drought the last 12 months have given us upgraded editions from Hornady (7th edition); Nosler (6th); Vihtavuori (4th). Most recently, Speer's new 14th edition has just arrived, while Barnes Bullets' 4th is expected shortly. With Sierra's 1,100 page loose-leaf bound ‘Edition V' published five years ago, I wondered if it was due for replacement. However, the company has advised that it's considering the matter - so an update has to be a couple of years off. Fortunately Sierra has recently reprinted the current edition so it's widely available. Meanwhile, the ever-innovative Hodgdon Powder Company has got around these problems by replacing a loose-leaf bound tome with its magazine format ‘annual manual' - the fifth such now in print.

Quartet

The examples (Hodgdon, Hornady, Nosler, and Vihtavuori) I've managed to get hold of are split between bullet and powder manufacturers. The former only use their own bullets (naturally enough) but with several makes of powder behind them; the powder companies' efforts reverse this format. However, the latter isn't entirely straightforward as Vihtavuori's parent company Nammo owns bulletmaker Lapua and the new edition encompasses both companies' products, merging previously separate publications (in theory at least). Despite this Nammo has continued the previous Vihtavuori practice of including data for loads using competitors' bullets in most cartridges. Hodgdon, too, provides more data in its ‘manual' than you might imagine as the company now owns IMR and recently took on the marketing and distribution job for Winchester brand ball powders, so you usually get data for three propellant ranges.

Tomes

Let's start with the bullet manufacturers' books. These are beautifully printed and bound hardbacks that offer a vast amount for the money: Hornady's has 975 pages and Nosler's 827. Both are true manuals in that they provide detailed how-to-reload information including step-by-step instructions; descriptions of tools and their functions; safety information; frequently asked questions; and problem-solving. The Hornady manual also has a useful chapter called ‘Reloading and Accuracy'. Both provide details of their bullets, naturally - but there is little advice for the tyro sporting shooter on choosing appropriate bullets for cartridge and quarry. Nosler's manual incorporates 600yd external ballistics tables. While Hornady has an excellent overview of the subject it has nonetheless dropped the tables themselves for its 7th edition. Users can now access the company's website if they want this data.

Moving onto their loads data table sections - the sole reason for purchase for many handloaders - I wondered initially if Hornady had simply reprinted those from the previous edition. However, closer examination revealed half a dozen newcomers: .204 Ruger and 6.8 Remington SPC are of most interest to British shooters. For some reason an old and hot wildcat, the .22-6mm (6mm Remington case necked down), has been resurrected. An even odder inclusion is the original assault rifle cartridge, the German WW2 7.92X33mm Kurz. Nosler also covers the .204 for the first time, its other new entrants being the .338 Federal (.308 Winchester case necked-up) and a pair of real big boys: the .375 Ruger and .358 STA (Shooting Times Alaskan). In total Nosler covers 88 rifle and 29 pistol cartridges. All the usual American suspects new and old are included as you'd expect, but also a European trio of 9.3s: 9.3x62mm, x74R, and x64mm Brenneke. Nosler has gone for the .338s in a big way: no fewer than eight cartridges are covered and the manual also includes three AI (Ackley Improved) cartridges - .22-250 AI, .280 Rem AI and .30-06 AI - in its line-up alongside the standard versions.

Both are orientated towards the sporting shooter - unsurprising given the importance of hunting in the US scene. While it manufactures match bullets Nosler's range is limited to some 0.224"and 0.308" diameter numbers, mostly for US National Match and Palma disciplines. Hornady has a comprehensive and still-growing range of HPBT ‘Match' and polycarbonate tipped A-Max bullets, so there is plenty here for the British target shooter. Where a cartridge has separate longer-range match and short-range target/varmint applications requiring different barrel throating and twist rates, both publications choose the latter. I'm thinking primarily of the 6BR - so there is no 100-105gn data, 80gn varmint bullets being the heaviest covered. This seems an omission on Hornady's part given the success its 105gn A-Max has enjoyed in long-range target work in this cartridge.

Nosler provides standard (light bullet) data for .223 Remington with a separate section using heavy match bullets in AR15s, calling it ‘5.56x45mm NATO'. Hornady goes further, also splitting .308 and .30-06 with separate M14 and M1 Garand data-sets for its match bullets. Producing ammunition for finicky self-loaders is academic to us, but it does provide a set of below-maximum-pressure match loads for target shooting in bolt-actions. (On the subject of old military cartridges and rifles, you won't find any data in the Nosler manual for 0.303" and 7.62X54R as this company doesn't make 0.312" diameter bullets.)

Back to coverage. Hornady's is massive, with 140 rifle and 74 pistol cartridges - although one should note that (as in all manuals) many of the latter are rifle or specialised designs for use in single-shot handguns. The tables cover most old military numbers: 6.5X50 (Arisaka); 6.5X52 (Carcano); 6.5X54 (Mannlicher); 7.5X54 (MAS); 7.5X55 (Swiss); 7.65X54 (Belgian); 7.7X58 (Arisaka) as well as the more commonly found 7 and 8mm Mausers, 0.303", 7.62X54R, .30-06 and .45-70. Hornady also provides comprehensive coverage of the surviving WCF (Winchester Central Fire) levergun cartridges: .25-20; .25-35; .30-30; .32-20; .33; .348; .38-55; .44-40; and .405 (only .38-40 is missing). The book includes several cartridges that have either been dropped by others due to lack of popularity or are uncommon, such as the .256 and .264 Winchester Magnums. What you won't find, given the lead time in developing loads-data and producing a hard-bound manual, is .223/5.56mm loads for Hornady's 80gn A-Max or the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Marlin Express cartridges the company has developed. You won't see any powders introduced in the last two years in the Hornady and Nosler publications either, thinking of IMR-4007ssc. To find some of them, we have to look at...

The Hodgdon Annual Manual

This was an attempt to reduce lead times to give more up to date loads data. As 2008 sees the publication's fifth annual issue, all available for the start of the year, Hodgdon has evidently succeeded. Another objective was to reduce production costs compared to a bound book. This is achieved through the use of a magazine format. The result uses the standard US shooting magazine size and paper thickness which are both rather smaller than that in Target Sports. The number of pages varies from year to year. The 2008 version has 180, although a few of these are occupied by adverts from components and tool manufacturers (the revenue these ads generate being another plus for the producers). However, it is not a true manual as it lacks the comprehensive coverage of the Nosler and Hornady publications. There are no how-to or ballistics sections, nor cartridge descriptions and technical tips. Putting product information for the Hodgdon/IMR/Winchester ranges aside, you get two things: 10 or 11 articles from top American gun writers and loads data - lots of it crammed into 101 pages to cover 144 rifle and 84 pistol cartridges which outdoes even Hornady's massive publication.

With Hodgdon/IMR regularly introducing new products and usually winning the race to publish pressure barrel-tested loads data for American newcomers (on its website initially), each year's issue includes a number of new and updated loads. New entrants for 2008 are .17 Remington Fireball (one of no fewer than five cartridges in this calibre), .308 Marlin Express and .375 Ruger, while around 20 data-sets for existing cartridges are updated. Feature articles are mostly orientated towards the American sporting shooter as you'd imagine, but most British handloaders will still find something of interest here. The publications's cover boasts that it includes ‘5000+ loads'. The number that any single cartridge gets obviously depending on its popularity, how many of the sponsor's powders are suitable and the range of bullet weights that can be used. Taking the evergreen .308 Winchester as an example, 12 bullets from six makers are provided for the Hodgdon/IMR data tables and another 11 listed for Winchester ball powders, but only as weight/type in this instance. Some 145 bullet-powder load combinations are listed in total, all in ‘starting + maximum load' form with MVs and pressures. We target shooters aren't forgotten, with data for 155, 168 and 175gn Sierra MKs also included.

So there's lots of nice juicy data, kept fresh for popular numbers. What you don't get is any technical information and advice other than the make of cartridge case and primer. It's left up to you to know or find out about the rifling twist, barrel-throating and COL issues for heavy-bullet .223R, say. However, most cartridges don't present any complications and for shooters who simply want a good, reasonably-priced source of data, this is exactly what the ‘annual manual' provides.

Vihtavuori

If Hodgdon's approach is the handloading equivalent of a Tesco (more accurately, Wal-Mart) superstore stacked full of goodies in a bright, glossy package, our Finnish friends at Vihtavuori provide a more sober approach starting with the comparatively muted blue and white colour scheme on the covers of its latest (4th edition) reloading manual. While it's a high-quality hardback like its two US rivals examined above, it is the slimmest by far at 287 pages and encompasses a ‘mere' 53 rifle and 26 pistol cartridges.

As noted this manual merges the Vihtavuori and Lapua publications - but one has to say the latter lost out as to how much content was carried forward. There are no bullet descriptions or external ballistics tables for each bullet - in fact there are no ballistics tables at all. We do get excellent descriptions as to how Lapua cases and bullets are manufactured but there's not even a list of the company's bullets, never mind descriptions, ballistic coefficients etc. So despite what it says in the foreword, it is still very much the Vihtavuori reloading manual (in a very updated and uprated form). It is also worth noting that it is a true manual with comprehensive instructions, safety rules and the rest.

Previous editions had excellent descriptions of smokeless propellants characteristics and internal ballistics (what happens inside the cartridge case and barrel) and this continues in an updated form, providing useful information such as the pressure-velocity relationship and how the powder manufacturer influences the way the powder burns to maximise the latter while holding the former to acceptable levels. Measuring chamber pressures and bullet velocities is now covered too, as are the causes and effects of inconsistencies in cases, bullets and powders - not forgetting the handloading process itself. Three excellent feature articles written by experienced practitioners cover Finnish moose stalking (providing a really good overview of how sporting bullet construction has changed over the years which is of interest to deerstalkers too); US NRA High-Power Service Rifle shooting; and Cowboy Action shooting.

Moving onto the loads-data: although there may only be coverage for a little over one-third of the number of cartridges in the Hornady and Hodgdon manuals most people will still find what they want, as most popular numbers are covered. The only omission I could find from those in very wide use is the .204 Ruger - and this is more an issue for Nammo's sales in the USA than here or in continental Europe. The 7.62x54R and 6.5x55mm get more coverage than in most other publications because of their historical importance to Finland and the whole Nordic region respectively. These and many other popular cartridges have had their data comprehensively expanded and updated, with many loads in previous editions for now obsolete bullets withdrawn. The single biggest beneficiary is the .308 Winchester, which has loads for 29 bullets (counting ‘naked' and moly-coated ‘Silver' Scenar match projectiles separately) ranging from 57gn (yes, 57gn is right - not a typo) to 200gn from eight manufacturers. Some 16 such loads-sections are for Lapua products, of which nine cover Scenar and FMJ match bullets, and there is also data for loading five Sierra Match Kings plus the 175gn Berger VLD. Throw in the PPCs; 6BR (in 6mm BR Norma form); 6.5 Grendel; the new 6.5x47mm Lapua which is rapidly becoming a major player in precision disciplines worldwide; and match loads in .223R, .260R, 6.5x55mm, 6.5-284, .30-06 and others, and target shooters are very well catered for. There are significant changes in presentation. Formerly separate tables for metric and imperial values are now merged; F (full-case) and C (compressed load) suffixes have been added; and shading has been employed to denote the most accurate combinations (Lapua bullet loads only). In summary, while the previous manuals were good, this one is even better.

Stop press

I managed to acquire a copy of the new Speer ‘Reloading Manual' No.14 just as this piece had to be sent off to the publishers so I can give my first impressions but unfortunately lacked the time to read through the descriptive sections.

This is another comprehensive job covering the whole process. Like the other hardback examples examined is beautifully printed and bound. As with Vihtavuori, it has been comprehensively rewritten with far more non loads-data material than in previous editions. It is also big and heavy with 1,149 pages. The descriptive/‘how-to' sections, excluding the glossary of terms and ballistics tables, add up to 220 pages of smallish type! Attention has been given to choosing (sporting) bullets to match the cartridge and quarry, and there are what look to be useful sections on advanced handloading techniques, cowboy action loads, using progressive presses, black-powder loads, and external ballistics.

Moving onto the loads-data sections, around 95 rifle and 45 pistol cartridges are covered, using Speer and Trophy Bonded products only. As neither makes .20 calibre bullets, .204 Ruger doesn't feature here either. The .33 Federal and 6.8 Remington SPC are new entrants, as with the other American manuals. The data tables have been completely redesigned to allow more powders to be shown as well as allowing direct transfer from the company's ballistics lab databases to avoid the risk of transcription errors. There are more tables, too, thanks to several new bullets in the line-up. Some (the Trophy Bonded Bearclaw and Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer Solid) bullets are treated on their own as they generate different pressures from cup and core bullets. Data for the more popular cartridges looks to have been comprehensively updated too. Taking .308 Winchester as our example again, 12 tables give data for 27 bullets in a 100-200gn weight range! The numbers of powders covered in any table ranges from eight to 15. Loads are listed in descending MV order. All have two charge weights: ‘starting' and ‘maximum'.

Although Speer makes very few match bullets (only a 52gn 0.224", 145gn 0.284", and 168gn 0.308" now, plus a number of military type FMJBTs) I've always liked this company's manuals and considered them to be excellent general-purpose guides - but this totally revised edition is the best yet by far. Which would I recommend? I have to say all of them! Apart from that it's largely down to the components you're most likely to use. Vihtavuori and Speer have to be awarded particular distinction as the amount of upgrading and revision has almost transformed them into completely new books, so owning the now superseded 3rd and 13th editions is not a valid reason for non-purchase.