VII. Reloading Information
C. Pistol/Rifle Reloading Equipment Manufacturer Information
6. Lyman
a. Lyman Reloading Handbook, 46th Edition
by Dave Munroe (dmunroe@hpvclmun.vcd.hp.com)
Detailed comparative review of:
Lyman Reloading Handbook, 46th Edition
(sixth printing, July 1988)
Lyman is a manufacturer of reloading and bullet casting tools. Consequently,
this edition of their handbook contains a wealth of both historical and
current information on reloading tools, bullet design, and casting technique.
The presentation order of the chapters is a bit disorganized: a reader will
go from a lengthy discussion of muzzleloaders, Minies, and cast bullets,
then on to jacketed bullets and modern techniques, back to bullet casting,
and then to reloading. The material is well written and thorough, but the
organization of the chapters is distracting. For this review, I've grouped
the chapters under several headings of my own choosing and placed the chapters
in an order which I feel is more natural:
category chapter contents
------- ------ ----------------------------
Historical I a history of Lyman products
Reloading XIV introduction
XV components
XVI rifle cartridges
XVII pistol cartridges
V steps to accuracy in the reloading process
IX accuracy techniques, considerations, testing
Specialized
Information IV jacketed bullet design
VII ballistics
X statistics
VIII pressure testing with the crusher and
piezo systems
Hunting VI handloading considerations
Muzzleloading II introduction
Cast Bullets III historical overview of the cast bullet
XI Lyman cast bullet designs
XII getting started in bullet casting
XIII bullet casting, step-by-step
The first chapter traces the history of Lyman from its earliest products to
its latest equipment. It contains numerous photographs of the Lyman Gun Sight
plant throughout the century and dozens of diagrams, photographs, and detailed
descriptions of their earlier products.
The Introduction to Reloading section begins with a discussion on the economics
of reloading, gets interrupted slightly by six pages of sales-brochure style
information, and then does a very good job describing the steps of sizing,
expanding, priming, charging, and bullet seating using their #310 hand
reloading tool. Since the chapter is supposedly for the beginner, the sales
information about their presses, tumbler, powder measure, trimmer, and dies
is presented too soon: a beginner is not likely to know the significance of
the various features and tools. The chapter on components does a respectable
job discussing cases, primers, powders, and bullets. There is a description
of over 40 powders including black powder and Pyrodex. Reloaders who are not
interested in cast bullets might get a little irked at Lyman's continual
focus on that subject. For example, all they have to say about Winchester's
748 is that it is well-suited for cast bullets. However, the chapters on
reloading rifle and pistol cartridges are written and illustrated extremely
well. A good step-by-step description is provided, using their Orange Crusher
(single stage) press for the rifle reloading section, and their T-Mag (turret)
press for the pistol section. The chapters on accuracy are very thorough; the
major topics covered are: record keeping, sizing, primer seating, powder
measuring, bullet seating, bore condition, cleaning, orienting components,
neck turning, barrel vibrations, muzzle jump, and bench testing.
Among the specialized information, the chapter on jacketed bullet design
discusses ballistic coefficients, sectional density, and the effectiveness
of various bullets on game. The chapter on exterior ballistics gives a
historical overview of bullet design, discusses air drag effects, ballistic
coefficients, altitude, atmospheric conditions, and provides considerable
detail in terms of diagrams and tables. The Statistics for Handloaders
chapter is a refresher course in statistics, dealing with standard deviation,
confidence limits, and getting good data. Reloading manuals mention pressure
a lot; here in chapter VIII you get to learn about the crusher and piezo
techniques for measuring pressure. This chapter is full of excellent
information and graphs.
The chapter on hunting is by Bob Milek, who discusses the advantages
handloading offers the hunter, reloading techniques, bullet selection,
and accuracy.
The Muzzleloading chapter discusses the long guns, pistols, the flintlock
mechanism, the roundball and Minie, loading and shooting tips, and selecting
a muzzleloader for purchase.
Lyman devotes a considerable amount of space to cast bullets. After reading
the chapters that deal with cast bullets, it's amazing to realize that Lyman
has a complete other handbook on cast bullets (Lyman's "Cast Bullet Handbook",
of course). This section begins with descriptions and text that deal with
the characteristics of various cast bullet designs. The chapters on bullet
casting itself are really well done: it describes the equipment needed,
provides a step-by-step description on how bullets are cast from alloy, and
also gives numerous tips and techniques.
Now for the reloading data. Lyman has three sections: rifle, pistol, and the
Thompson/Center Contender. Which section you're in is indicated by a drawing
of the weapon type at the top of the page. The format of all three sections is
identical: for each caliber there is a diagram of the case dimensions, a brief
commentary, test specifications and components, and load data for numerous
bullet weights and types for that caliber.
The commentary is entirely technical, usually discussing powder or bullet
choice and pressure considerations. Sometimes the commentary is oriented
entirely to cast bullets; the commentary on the .357 Magnum devotes three
paragraphs to cast bullet issues. Beginners or non-cast bullet reloaders
might be disappointed when the only commentary they can find about this
popular cartridge tells them to slug the bore and to cast bullets according
to the groove diameter. The number of bullet weights that load data is
provided for is reasonably wide. Additionally, Lyman provides at least one
additional table for a cast bullet load (for the more popular calibers such
as .44mag, there are five cast bullet loads in addition to the six jacketed
bullet loads). The powders used are those by DuPont, Winchester, Hercules,
Hodgdon, and Gearhart-Owen. The load data consists of a starting and maximum
load along with corresponding velocities and pressures. Loads which are
believed to be potentially the most accurate are indicated. Overall lengths
are given for each bullet type, which is nice. Ballistics information can be
found in chapter VII.
The Reference section has a nicely illustrated discussion regarding pressure
signs (but it should have been part of the reloading section). This is
followed by a table on factory ammo specifications (including velocity), a
discussion on recoil, a shell holder chart, rates of twist tables, and mould
reference tables. Lastly, there is a glossary of terms.
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nice features:
- excellent step-by-step descriptions and illustrations of the
reloading process
- excellent discussion of pressure testing techniques
- highly detailed information on bullet casting and cast bullets
- load data for an extensive list of calibers
missing features that would be nice to have:
- better organization of chapters
- descriptions of calibers, good points, bad points
- load density information
- more useful description of powders
pages: 463 (8.5" x 11" format)
typical cost: $18.00
overall impression:
For the reloader who casts or uses cast bullets, this is definitely
the manual to have. Aside from that, several chapters contain useful
information that is hard to find elsewhere. The organization of this
manual could be better, but it does provide a good second source of
reloading information.
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The Lyman Reloading Handbook has reloading data for an extensive list of
calibers.
- almost 80 rifle cartridges: from the .17 Remington
to the .50-140-3 1/4 Sharps; an impressive list which
is similar to, but with slightly fewer calibers than
those listed by Hodgdon.
- over 20 pistol cartridges: from the .22 Remington Jet
to the .45 Colt; this also includes .221 Fireball and
7mm BR for the XP-100.
- 16 loads for use in the T/C Contender: from the .22 Remington Jet
to the .45 Winchester Magnum; silhouette shooters will find loads
for the 7mm TCU, .30 Herrett, .30-30, .357 Magnum, .357 Herrett,
and .44 Magnum.
Calibers such as 10mm Auto, .357 Maximum, and .41 AE are too recently popular
to have made the 46th edition; the 7x30 Waters was also missing. They'll most
likely be in the next edition.