It’s great to be able to access online load data for your cartridges. You can quickly get load data for a particular powder and bullet weight. However, there are times when we prefer to consult old-fashioned printed/bound load manuals. The primary reason is that manuals produced by bullet- and tool-makers will, for a particular cartridge, include data for powders from multiple manufacturers. Having a single source can save you time and trouble. For example, if you want to find 6.5 Creedmoor loads using H4350 (Hodgdon), Reloder 16 (Alliant), and N150 (Vihtavuori) you would have to visit three different powder-maker websites, one after another. OR you can pick up a modern load manual and find everything in one place.

There are many excellent printed load manuals on the market. We have used the Berger Manual, Sierra Manual, Nosler Manual, Lyman Manual, and Hornady Manual. We like the Berger and Sierra manuals for match rifle cartridges, and the Nosler, Lyman, and Hornady manuals for hunting loads and pistol cartridges.

The Lyman Reloading Manuals have earn praise over the years:
“Every other reloading book I’ve used favors their own bullets over every other manufacturers. With Lyman you get an honest representation of a wide variety of different… manufacturers. [Lyman has] a ton of reloading data on just about any bullet style you can imagine. I’ve tried a wide range of their recipes and everyone I’ve tried has been spot on. The overall breadth of information this book covers is impressive.” Review by RangetoReal.com.

Nosler #9 Manual Features New Cartridges
If you are looking for fairly recent cartridge/bullet/powder information, in late 2020 Nosler released the Nosler Reloading Guide #9, the latest in a respected series of Nosler load manuals.

This 800-page guide covers 101 cartridge types. New in this edition you’ll find the popular 6mm Creedmoor, 6mm XC, 6.5 PRC, and 7.62×39, along with 20 Nosler, 22 Nosler, 24 Nosler, 27 Nosler and 33 Nosler. This manual is a good resource for PRS shooters and hunters. The Nosler #9 book draws from thousands of hours in the Nosler Ballistic Lab, along with the experience of many respected experts.

The book is available for $31.99 at Midsouth or $29.95 on Amazon. Keep in mind that much of the book’s latest load data is available for free on the Nosler.com online LOAD DATA Center. But to get ALL the data, PLUS all the technical articles, you’ll need to buy the book.

Along with the Nosler #9 Manual (above), here are four other recommended Reloading Manuals:

Here Are Four General Instructional Books That Cover Reloading Procedures:

POWDER BURN RATE TABLE

Here is the most recent powder burn rate chart from Hodgdon/IMR that we could find. Click links below to access printable PDF. Note, some readers have suggested a couple powder ranking issues in the table. However, this is the latest official version from the Hodgdon website, released in October 2022.

With millions of American gun-owners deciding to start hand-loading because of ammo shortages, all types of reloading resources have been in short supply, including printed load manuals. Thankfully, reloading handbooks are becoming more widely available again. Midsouth Shooters now has most of the current manuals in stock. In addition you can find many of the best load manuals at Amazon.com. Some are offered in digital as well as print format.

RELOADING MANUALS at Midsouth Shooters Supply:

RELOADING MANUALS Available at Amazon.com:

It’s the holiday season — there’s no better time to get a good gun book. Amazon has hundreds of great gun titles, while Midsouth Shooters carries a good selection line of shooting and reloading books, many of which are ON SALE this week. Looking for reliable reference works on reloading, or a gift for a shooting buddy? Check out the recommended titles below. Match directors take note — books make great match prizes. Paperback books cost no more than wood plaques but they will provide valuable information for years instead of just gathering dust in a closet. If your club offers training programs, Amazon and Midsouth offer many titles that will help new shooters improve their skills.

Midsouth carries Glen Zediker’s excellent books, including Handloading For Competition, the recent Top-Grade Ammo and other titles.

Here Are Some Good Reloading Manuals and Practical Titles: