cleardatum
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2013
- Messages
- 297
when getting new manuals, do y'all (all y'all) keep your old ones?
cleardatum said:when getting new manuals, do y'all (all y'all) keep your old ones?
any ruger said:Why do you keep them. Most forums say you can't use old data.
Rick Courtright said:any ruger said:Why do you keep them. Most forums say you can't use old data.
Hi,
Folks have been reloading since long before there were forums. Or newsgroups. Or even the Interwebs! So it used to take a lot longer for misinformation to travel about. And we used to have to use our heads more. See my note above about using data that's "current" to the components. What's this mean?
Well, if I have a jug of powder from 1975 (I do! As do a number of handloaders, I'm sure), with cases, bullets and primers all made around the same time, and I have a 1975 manual, sitting next to a 2017 manual, I'll take a look at both books. Each has a recipe for supposedly "the same" components. But they're different! Now what do I do?
Well, the 1975 book says 20.0 gr of XYZ powder produces a safe load with my components. But the 2017 book says only 18.5 gr is safe, again with supposedly "the same" components. If ALL my components are leftovers from 1975, I'll have little or no problem following that old data. BUT... if I just got back from the shop with brand new, 2017 year components, even if all the labels are the same, I'll stick to the 2017 book.
Why? The powder and primers most certainly have undergone some changes over 40 years or so. That bullet, while still retaining the same name, may now be a tiny bit heavier or lighter, its profile may have changed, the hardness of the lead, thickness of the jacket, or something else may have been changed along the way. Even the brass case may have changed, with a different alloy, a slight change in internal volume from using new tooling or some other change. Add 'em up, and it doesn't look wise to use my "old data" any more since I've got new components, right? Remember, a change in even a single component produces a "new" load, and triggers the "start low, work up" mentality.
A little critical thinking with a dollop of common sense mixed in can be helpful in making some of these decisions. Included in that idea is the thought that if one must err, it's seldom wrong to err on the side of caution!
Rick C
Look for the Ideal Lyman books from 1930,1940's. And before. Very interesting readingBucolicBuffalo said:The style of writing in some older reloading manuals is a bit entertaining. I recently picked up a Accurate Smokeless Powder Reloading Guide Number One (1994). Just a few pages in reminded me of why I like books.