Reeder Custom Guns - Loading Manuals

I have a few loading manuals ... here are a couple:

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Ideal (before they became Lyman) from 1940

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1955

I have others from the later '50s ... 1960's and 70's.

If you read the later manuals they say many of the loads in the early manuals are over pressure .. and I am not saying they aren't. BUT .. they were shot in the old guns for years. Some of them .. especially Elmer Keith and Ray Thompson's ... are still my favorite loads.

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As I have 300+ books in my reloading collection.

The thing I'm working on these days is modern powders in the old ones.

CFE Pistol, Longshot, Powder Pistol, etc are working great in them. They just aren't popular enough for companies to update their data.

Many older guys (I am one of) go with paper only. When I travel for work, a portable hard drive is much easier to carry. Sometimes 50+ books can fit on one DVD and much easier to carry.

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but I am not sure if I want to admit it or not.

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I've wondered how many of these fine old rounds have been pushed aside as weak, inaccurate, etc just to promote new ones.

Reading an article recently about the 401 Power Mag. The author quoted 357 Magnum Ballistics that were more like 38 Special +P. Quite different than The Gun Digest 1951.

I've gotten a few messages telling me to stop posting about 38-40 and 44-40 +P loads because they may find their way into an older gun. Couple things funny here. All those loads are under those Phil Sharpe used. Second thing is one of those guys constantly posts praise of his 45 Colt +P Loads.

It's all fun though. I like the old stuff, but enjoy new cartridges, powders, etc too.

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that we experiment .. chronograph ... test .. and do what the Apostle Paul told us to do in his writings: "PROVE ALL THINGS. HOLD FAST TO WHAT IS GOOD!"

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Changes heros, idols, etc." I'm not sure if he remembers it or not. But, I do... It stemmed from shutting down the Elmer Keith Museum if I remember correctly.

That one post changed the way I looked at things. Since then I've spent a lot of time, as you say, proving to myself that combining modern with old would work.

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POWDER CHARGES HAVE GONE DOWN AND MVs UP

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Loading Manuals

Of course I was jokingly serious on that yesterday...

I may have some more modern manuals ...

I wasn't going to open this can or worms, but...

That is one reason ... if we really want to know ..

JT posted one time years ago that "every generation...

YES WITH MUCH OF THE NEWER INFORMATION