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Old June 29, 2002, 10:34 AM   #13
sricciardelli
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 13, 2001
Location: Montana
Posts: 489
I have on my shelf at least the last 3 issues of Hodgdon, Hornady, Lyman, Nosler, Sierra, and Speer manuals, plus Cartridges Of The World.

In addition I have the latest copies of the AA, ADI, Alliant, Ramshot and Winchester.

I can't honestly say I have a favorite!

To rely on one manual is almost as bad as not using one at all, and to try and make any sense out of 11 will drive you to drink! (The extreme variations in data are rediculous.)

When I am getting ready to work-up a new load, I select the components I want to use (such as I am doing right now with a new .22-250 and a new 6mm Remington I just purhcased), and then I open every manual...select the lowest of the "min" loads and the highest of the "max" loads...throw these two numbers in a spreadsheet I did, and it tells me what my increments are...

For example...on the .22-250 that I am working on right now I decided I wanted to switch to Varget powder (have always used H-380), and I wanted to change to Winchester WLR primers (have always used Remington 9-1/2).

The loading data for the bullet and powder I selected is as follows:

34.0 to 36.0 Hodgdon
30.7 to 35.7 Hornady
32.0 to 36.0 Speer

So I plug in 30.7 and 36.0, and I come up with 20 loads at 0.3 grain increments.

With the 6mm I wanted to change from IMR-4350 powder to H-4831-SC. Once again none of the manuals agreed.

44.0 to 49.5 Hodgdon
44.0 to 47.5 Lyman
43.2 to 48.7 Sierra
47.0 to 51.0 Speer

I plug in the two extreme numbers and now I am loading from 43.2 to 51.0 in 0.4 grain steps.

Although I can't say that any one manual is the "best", I do believe that it is a toss-up for the "worst"! That honor goes to both Nosler and Barnes...the Barnes manual is so far from real life that I don't even refer to it at all.

As for who has the most "accurate" data regarding velocity...it's a toss-up!

Here is what the manuals say about the .22-250 load I have been using for years:

Low . Hi . Low . High . My . Velocity
34.6 39.3 3400 3800 38.4 3723 Sierra
35.0 38.0 3458 3709 38.4 3742 Hodgdon
37.0 41.0 3421 3788 38.4 3549 Speer
32.0 36.0 3260 3580 38.4 3772 Nosler
38.4 38.4 3702 3702 38.4 3702 Actual Chrony


For my old 6mm loading:
Low . Hi . Low . High . My . Velocity
39.9 46.5 2800 3300 43.2 3050 Sierra
41.0 43.0 3017 3174 43.2 3190 Hodgdon
41.0 45.0 2960 3290 43.2 3142 Nosler
43.0 47.0 3116 3395 43.2 3130 Speer
40.0 46.5 2808 3300 43.2 3050 Lyman
43.2 43.2 3128 3128 43.2 3128 Actual Chrony

(I have many other examples of the cartridges I load at http://stevespages.com/table1.html if you are interested in the comparisons.)
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Last edited by sricciardelli; June 29, 2002 at 11:00 AM.
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