VII. Reloading Information

C. Bullet Manufacturer Information

12. Speer

a. Speer Reloading Manual, Number 11

Detailed comparative review of:

		Speer Reloading Manual, Number 11 (Aug. 1987)

As with most reloading manuals, the SPEER manual begins with a brief look at
its company's history, in this case CCI-SPEER-RCBS.  This is followed by
one of the more detailed sections on handloading one is likely to find in a
reloading manual, covering safety, the cartridge case, primers, bullets, and
powder.  Most notable is a brief description of over 60 powders, from Norma R1
through Accurate Arms MR-8700.

The section that deals with step-by-step handloading uses bottleneck cases to
illustrate the basic concepts, but there is a separate section in the middle
of the book for reloading handgun cartridges.  A beginner should read both,
since the first section goes into detail about pressure signs, faulty cases,
troubleshooting, and special techniques.

For reloading data, the manual is divided into two sections covering over 60
rifle and over 30 handgun cartridges.  Organization is by caliber rather
than bullet type or shooting discipline.  A detailed list is given below.
Rifle calibers go from the 22 Hornet to the 458 Win. Mag.; pistol calibers
go from the 22 Hornet to the 454 Casull.  The manual is recent enough to cover
the newer cartridges such as the 7x30 Waters and 7mm BR.

Since Blount, Inc. (CCI-SPEER-RCBS) manufactures bullets and primers, only CCI
primers and SPEER bullets appear among the load data.  To help in selecting a
bullet, for each family of bullets (e.g. 30 caliber) a brief description is
given about the characteristics of each bullet weight and type (e.g. round
nose, boat tail, Grand Slam).

In the Rifle Reloading section, each cartridge has a brief one-page description
about its history, intended use, good points, bad points, and any special
considerations.  Case dimensions are given, but overall length or seating
depth is not.  For a given cartridge, reloading data is given for each bullet
weight or type that SPEER makes for that cartridge.  The sectional density and
ballistic coefficient are also given.  To keep space manageable in the rifle
section, SPEER chose to select the nine best powders that worked for a
particular cartridge and provide that as the reloading data; one of these
powders is usually a reduced load.  Rifle information has a starting, medium,
and maximum load, and their corresponding velocities.  No accuracy information
is given regarding different powders or with a particular powder.  No pressure
information or load density information is given for individual loads, although
the manual states that loads are within SAAMI specifications.  Information on
energy is given in the ballistics tables.

The format of the handgun section is similar, but with anywhere from 4 to
14 powders listed for a load with a given bullet (for the .32-20 with a 110gr
or 130gr bullet, you can choose from 28 powders!).  However, only a starting
and maximum load is given in the handgun section, with the corresponding
velocities.  For auto-loading pistol cartridges, the manual does give a
cartridge overall length.

Silhouette and Contender cartridges are not in a special section, but rather
appear according to caliber.

The manual is good about warning the reader when special conditions apply
to a particular load, e.g. temperature considerations or reduced-load
warnings with particular jacket types.

The reference section contains information on velocity and uniformity (Oehler
Research). Other interesting information is: rifling twist, case length and
trim length, an RCBS die table, a bullet energy table, a velocity/temperature
variation table, ballistic tables for short ranges (50 to 250 yards) and long
ranges (100 to 500 yards) based on ballistic coefficient and velocity.

An illustrated glossary is also provided.

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nice features:
	- brief description of over 60 powders
	- good variety of powders in the reloading data
	- interesting descriptions of cartridges
	- very detailed and well illustrated with photographs of cases, tools,
	  dies, components, cartridges, and easy-to-read diagrams and charts

missing features that would be nice to have:
	- maximum cartridge overall length (rifles)
	- accuracy information
	- pressure information
	- load density information

pages:  621

typical cost: $16.00 (and it also comes with the RCBS RS3 "starter kit")

overall impression:

	This is an excellent manual for the more advanced reloader who desires
	detailed loading data, flexibility, and variety in powder and bullet
	selection.  Its strong point being that it provides load data for a
	wide selection of powders and bullets for rifle and pistol calibers in
	a single volume.

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The SPEER #11 manual has reloading data for these calibers:

Rifle cartridges:

	.22 bullets

		22 Hornet
		222 Remington
		223 Remington
		222 Remington Magnum
		22 PPC
		225 Winchester
		22-250
		220 Swift

	.243, 6mm bullets

		6mm PPC
		243 Winchester
		6mm & 244 Remington
		240 Weatherby Magnum

	.257 bullets

		250 Savage
		257 Roberts
		25-06 Remington
		257 Weatherby Magnum

	6.5mm bullets

		6.5 x 55mm
		6.5mm Remington Magnum
		264 Winchester Magnum

	.270 bullets

		270 Winchester
		270 Weatherby Magnum

	7mm bullets

		7x30 Waters
		7mm-08 Remington
		7x57mm Mauser
		280 Remington (7mm Express Remington)
		284 Winchester
		7mm Remington Magnum
		7mm Weatherby Magnum

	.30 bullets

		30 M1 Carbine
		7.62x39mm
		30-30 Winchester
		300 Savage
		307 Winchester
		308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO)
		30-40 Krag
		30-06
		300 H&H Magnum
		308 Norma Magnum (30-338)
		300 Winchester Magnum
		300 Weatherby Magnum

	.311, .321, .323 bullets

		303 British
		32 Winchester Special (32 Remington)
		8x57mm Mauser
		8mm/06
		8mm Remington Magnum

	.338, 358, .366 bullets

		338 Winchester Magnum
		340 Weatherby Magnum
		357 Magnum (rifle)
		35 Remington
		350 Remington Magnum
		356 Winchester
		358 Winchester
		358 Norma Magnum
		9.3x62mm
		9.3x74R

	.375, .44, .45 bullets

		375 Winchester
		375 H&H Magnum
		41 Magnum (rifle)
		44 Magnum (rifle)
		444 Marlin
		45-70
		458 Winchester Magnum

Handgun cartridges:

		22 Hornet (pistol)
		22 K-Hornet (pistol)
		221 Remington Fireball
		6mm TCU
		7mm BR Remington
		7mm TCU
		7mm International Rimmed
		7mm IHMSA
		30 Carbine (pistol)
		30-30 Winchester (pistol)
		32 S&W Long
		32 H&R Magnum
		32-20
		380 Auto (9mm Kurz)
		9mm Parabellum
		38 Super
		38 S&W
		38 Special
		357 Magnum
		357 Maximum
		35 Remington
		41 Magnum
		44 Special
		44 Magnum
		45 Auto Rim
		45 Auto
		45 Colt
		45 Colt (for Ruger or Contender only)
		45 Winchester Magnum
		454 Casull