Well let me toss in a something a smidgen different.
Every year Hogdon publishes a new loading manual, it's actually a really nice thick good quality magazine-type publishing.
It comes out the 1st of every year, I just bought one. This year it's $12.99.
I used to get it off the rack at 7-11 but last year they got rid of the magazine rack.
Sometimes I see them at the grocery store and of course you can get it at Barnes & Noble.
To be fair, they only publish data and loading info for their powders, not the Brand-X powders.
However they always publish a story about each new powder they bring out, with data and lots of good info. That's a good deal right there, by itself.
If you see one, buy one. They are not hard to find, and they will last many years. I've been buying at least every other year, sometimes every year in a row, for quite a few years.
Here is the 2022 annual one
https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/2022-annual-manual
Just a darn good resource to have handy. Check it out.
Every year Hogdon publishes a new loading manual, it's actually a really nice thick good quality magazine-type publishing.
It comes out the 1st of every year, I just bought one. This year it's $12.99.
I used to get it off the rack at 7-11 but last year they got rid of the magazine rack.
Sometimes I see them at the grocery store and of course you can get it at Barnes & Noble.
To be fair, they only publish data and loading info for their powders, not the Brand-X powders.
However they always publish a story about each new powder they bring out, with data and lots of good info. That's a good deal right there, by itself.
If you see one, buy one. They are not hard to find, and they will last many years. I've been buying at least every other year, sometimes every year in a row, for quite a few years.
Here is the 2022 annual one
https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/2022-annual-manual
Just a darn good resource to have handy. Check it out.
Hang onto those manuals.
I've found that when looking for a load I will reference every source of load data I have. For some powder/bullet combos there have been some interesting differences among the data. When that happens I will gather as much data as possible and make a decision that falls somewhere in the middle of it all, with some deference to the bullet manufacturer.
We also must reconcile that powder companies don't make bullets and bullet companies don't make powder. Yet both of them produce load data. Who is right? If Hornady says something about their bullet and a particular powder, I give that a lot of weight. Lyman has a lot of info on cast bullets and even includes info on many Hornady bullets. They've been doing this for a long time and I trust their data.
I don't subscribe to the idea that companies are publishing "weak" or "conservative" data in order to avoid possible lawsuits. There are too many instances where a too light load is actually just as dangerous as a too hot load. Think H110 powder. It is important for them to get it right.
I've found that when looking for a load I will reference every source of load data I have. For some powder/bullet combos there have been some interesting differences among the data. When that happens I will gather as much data as possible and make a decision that falls somewhere in the middle of it all, with some deference to the bullet manufacturer.
We also must reconcile that powder companies don't make bullets and bullet companies don't make powder. Yet both of them produce load data. Who is right? If Hornady says something about their bullet and a particular powder, I give that a lot of weight. Lyman has a lot of info on cast bullets and even includes info on many Hornady bullets. They've been doing this for a long time and I trust their data.
I don't subscribe to the idea that companies are publishing "weak" or "conservative" data in order to avoid possible lawsuits. There are too many instances where a too light load is actually just as dangerous as a too hot load. Think H110 powder. It is important for them to get it right.
