Ok, I've got my trusty Lee 2nd edition book and its great for what info it has. Now has come the time to supplement with a second print reloading manual. I would like to hear recommendations for different brands/editions, but not specifically for a particular company. I'd like to hear the argument for the content in a particular manual and why it is better than a different choice to own a hardcopy of. :)
Maybe its for cast bullets, or prevalence of rifle vs. pistol, or something else entirely. Gimme the scoop so I know which one to order.
Sierra, Hornady and Speer all put out good ones.
Especially for cast bullet loads but for jacketed loads too, look at Lyman.
Nosler and Hodgdon are a little further down the list but useful too.
Get all the free info you can from the powder companies, too.
I especially like to collect older Speer Editions. They have something different in each one that you might not find other places, so they can be very handy.
I usually look at Sierra, Hornady and Speer and compare the loads for jacketed bullets (start with Lyman if lead and then Hornady) and then drag in Nosler and Hodgdon if I can't find a consensus. Usually, some combination of two or three will be close together for the powder I am interested in, one will be WAY HIGH and one will be WAY LOW. The WAY LOW and HIGH are discarded (not the books, just for that use) then get a load from the three that match up well.
I often cross-check all of this from the latest info from the powder companies on line.
I don't even own a Lee book, except for the very early paper bound one.
Buckshot
Sorry, but I don't recall who puts them out, but there are books that are caliber
specific that are on sale at times for around $6 per book, per caliber. I have one
for 7.62X39. A wide choice of powders, bullets, and loads.
It seems the Speer book I bought last year is centered around pretty powder
specific loadings. The older ones covered a more varied choices.
I make it a point to have the bullet manufacturer's manual available. I generally use Hornady and Sierra bullets: their current manuals include some useful ballistic tables for their bullets. I'd be a little leary of some of the older Speer manuals. My first Speer manual (late 60's) had some posted loads that were significantly reduced in later editions, with additional warnings about using anything but the lowest charge listed in certain old military rifles. If you don't know who made the bullet, or don't have their manual, a chronograph is very helpful in monitoring what you're actually getting from your rifle, especially if your barrel length is different from the manufacturer's test barrel.
For a manual with a wide variety of data, Lee can't be beat. I'm not a big Lee fan, hate most of their equipment, but the manual is a must-have for any experienced reloader.
That being said, every reloader should have a copy of a bullet manufacturer's reloading manual.
Sierra is my favorite, but Speer and Hornaday are also good.
Those 2 should cover ALL you need, outside of making obsolete caliber ammo.
I am partial to my Hornady manual
I also have an early Lee Reloading manual.
You can get the Loadbooks series from Dillon's The Blue Press, or from Midway USA.
I have one of the Loadbooks for most of the calibers I reload. Need to pick up a couple more.
Hornadys, manual is good,so is speers, but the latest sierra has a special section on laoding for gas guns and seprate data for ARs and other .223s.
I have more than twenty loading manuals each has something good. Since you have Lee's second get the seirra next unless cast bullets intrest you then get the lyman.
Everybody has their favorites.
The most useful info in a reloading manual goes to Lyman.
My favorite bullet maker reloading manual is the one from Sierra as I used those bullets (more accurate in my rifles) than anything else.
Hornady came up third (the bullets were still more accurate than Speer bullets).
Speer came in last among my reloading manuals (yet I ended up with two of them somehow).
Now 30 years after I first started loading there's a lot of new powder out there no covered in the old manuals so I've bought a Lee manual and a Lyman manual.
You can also get reloading info here: http://www.imrpowder.com/ There are links to the Hogdon and Winchester sites about half way down the page on the left. Here's a link to Alliant's web site http://www.alliantpowder.com/