{"id":20356,"date":"2022-12-26T00:01:12","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T08:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=20356"},"modified":"2022-12-26T04:54:47","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T12:54:47","slug":"lees-modern-reloading-manual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/26\/lees-modern-reloading-manual\/","title":{"rendered":"Lee&#8217;s Modern Reloading Manual"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>By Joe Berk<\/h6>\n<p>Lee&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/classic-turret-press-kit.html\">Classic Turret Press Kit<\/a> includes their <em><a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/modern-reloading-2nd-ed.html\">Modern Reloading<\/a><\/em> manual.\u00a0 \u00a0It&#8217;s written by the late Richard Lee (the founder of Lee Precision), it&#8217;s the second edition, and Lee&#8217;s retail price is $40.98.\u00a0 \u00a0By way of comparison, on Hornady&#8217;s site their reloading manual is $59.99, on Sierra&#8217;s site their reloading manual is $39.99, on the Lyman site their reloading manual is $34.98, and on the Speer site you get the load data for free (it&#8217;s published on their site).\u00a0 \u00a0You can also purchase the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/search?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=exhaustnotes-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;linkId=74393e3afd94b66f063f6af747cf2a4c&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;index=aps&amp;keywords=Lee Modern Reloading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee manual<\/a> on Amazon; oddly, the price on Amazon is higher than it is on the Lee website.<\/p>\n<p>The Lee <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/modern-reloading-2nd-ed.html\">reloading manual<\/a> is comparable in heft and contents to other big reloading manuals.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a hardcover book with 692 pages and several chapters on various reloading topics, including basic instructions and more in-depth discussions of advanced reloading topics.\u00a0 Richard Lee wrote the first parts covering various topics including the company&#8217;s history, Lee&#8217;s reloading equipment, primers and primer sensitivity (this was extremely interesting), how to reload, reloading for best accuracy, rifle reloading, handgun relaoding, measuring powder, powder safety, pressure issues, matching bullet metal to chamber pressure, hardness testing, bullet casting and sizing, shotgun reloading, and muzzle loading.\u00a0 I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lee&#8217;s articles.\u00a0 They are written in a folksy, technical, and easy to follow manner. It&#8217;s like having a conversation with one of my shooting buddies.\u00a0 That, all by itself, is a good reason to buy the Lee reloading manual.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20403\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20403\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20403 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0497-600-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0497-600-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0497-600-1-287x300.jpg 287w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A load table inside the Lee reloading manual showing some of the date it contains that other reloading manuals do not. This includes the starting charge volume, the Lee dipper number, the Lee Auto-Disk number, and the 1 Grain Factors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The load data tables start on Page 161 and continue to Page 686 (the load tables comprise most of the book).\u00a0 These are interesting and they include several bits of data not found in other reloading manuals.\u00a0 There&#8217;s the usual dimensioned cartridge drawings, starting load and max loads, the pressure, and the velocities, and then there&#8217;s more.\u00a0 These additional pieces of information not usually found in other reloading manuals are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Useful Case Capacity<\/strong>.\u00a0 On each of the load table cartridge drawings, Lee includes the useful case volume in cubic centimeters.\u00a0 Why this is useful will be apparent when you read the next bulleted statement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Volume cc<\/strong>.\u00a0 This table entry, immediately to the right of the starting load, shows the volume occupied by the starting charge.\u00a0 You can compare this to the useful case capacity info (see above) included in the cartridge drawing to get an idea of how full the cartridge case will be at the starting charge.\u00a0 Usually, a cartridge will perform better if the case is full or nearly full.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve not seen this information in other reloading manuals.\u00a0 I think it&#8217;s a good thing to know when selecting which powder to use.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lee Dipper<\/strong>.\u00a0 Lee manufactures different size <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/powder-measure-kit.html\">powder dippers<\/a>.\u00a0 The powder dipper is basically a yellow plastic spoon used to scoop a known volume of powder.\u00a0 Some reloaders use this approach rather than using a powder dispenser or a scale, but others do.\u00a0 Dippers are included with Lee dies, and you can also buy a set of different sized dippers separately. It&#8217;s not the powder measurement and dispensing approach I used, but I found the data interesting.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve never seen this data in other load manuals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Auto-Disk<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0Lee makes an <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/pro-auto-disk.html\">Auto-Disk Powder Measure<\/a>.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a device that uses a sliding disk with different volume chambers (or cavities) in it to control the volume of powder dispensed by their Auto-Disk Powder Measure.\u00a0 These cavities are denoted by decimal numbers.\u00a0 The Lee reloading manual tables identify the appropriate Auto-Disk to use with charges included in the table.\u00a0 I&#8217;ve never seen this data in other manuals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1 Grain Factor<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is another bit of data not included in any other reloading manual I&#8217;ve ever seen.\u00a0 \u00a0The 1 Grain Factor can be used to show velocity reduction if the maximum powder charge is decreased by one grain.\u00a0 You take the maximum velocity, multiply it by the 1 Grain Factor, and it will show the decrease in velocity that will be realized by reducing the powder charge 1 grain.\u00a0 There&#8217;s a similar 1 Grain Factor included that can be used to calculate pressure reduction for a 1 grain powder reduction\u00a0 \u00a0The 1 Grain Factors are not included for every cartridge (they are included for the hotter magnum cartridges such as .44 Magnum and 7mm Remington Magnum).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20399\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20399\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20399 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0499-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0499-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0499-600-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20399\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Lee dipper included with a set of Lee reloading dies. The dipper is a powder scoop. You can also buy the dippers separately.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20400\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20400\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20400 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0501-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0501-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0501-600-239x300.jpg 239w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20400\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An earlier Lee Auto-Disk Powder dispenser. This powder dispensing approach used disks (see lower arrow) installed in the dispenser (see upper arrow). The disks contained different cavities that dispensed different powder volumes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20401\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20401\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20401 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0502-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0502-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0502-600-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0502-600-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20401\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Lee Auto-Disk powder disk, as seen from below. The cylindrical openings collect different volumes of powder from the Auto-Disk hopper. Selecting different openings will dispense different charges.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20402\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20402\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20402 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0503-600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0503-600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0503-600-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221221_0503-600-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lee Auto-Disk powder disk as seen from above. The volume designator for each cavity is identified on the disk top. The Lee reloading manual shows which opening to use for a selected powder charge. No other reloading manual contains this information.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Lee manual breaks with typical reloading manuals on the order in which loads are shown.\u00a0 In other manuals, the cartridge sequence is organized by bullet diameter, and then within each bullet diameter category, by cartridge maximum velocity. There is a table of contents in the Lee manual (it&#8217;s on Pages 159-160) showing all the cartridges included in the Lee manual and where their load data appears.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a reloader who enjoys getting into the more technical aspects of load development (and what reloader isn&#8217;t?) I believe you will thoroughly enjoy Lee&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/modern-reloading-2nd-ed.html\"><em>Modern Reloading<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 I think it&#8217;s a first-class work as good as or better than the manuals from Lyman, Sierra, Hornady, and other reloading manual publishers.\u00a0 It&#8217;s money well spent, and when you purchase Lee&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/leeprecision.com\/classic-turret-press-kit.html\">Classic Turret Press Kit<\/a>, you basically get it for free.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Keep us going&#8230;please click on the popup ads!<\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Never miss an ExNotes blog:<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>Read our blogs on other Lee reloading gear:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/19\/lee-classic-turret-press-kit-part-2-the-lee-safety-powder-scale\/\">Lee Safety Powder Scale<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/01\/lee-classic-turret-press-kit-1-opening-the-box\/\">Lee Classic Turret Kit Unpacking<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/10\/31\/part-1-lees-fab-four-for-the-44\/\">Lee .44 Magnum Dies 1<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/04\/part-2-lees-fab-four-for-the-44\/\">Lee .44 Magnum Dies 2<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/10\/part-3-lees-fab-four-for-the-44\/\">Lee .44 Magnum Dies 3<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/09\/18\/lee-357-magnum-dies-cast-vs-jacketed-bullets-and-crimping\/\">Lee .357 Magnum Dies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Joe Berk Lee&#8217;s Classic Turret Press Kit includes their Modern Reloading manual.\u00a0 \u00a0It&#8217;s written by the late Richard Lee (the founder of Lee Precision), it&#8217;s the second edition, and Lee&#8217;s retail price is $40.98.\u00a0 \u00a0By way of comparison, on Hornady&#8217;s site their reloading manual is $59.99, on Sierra&#8217;s site their reloading manual is $39.99, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/26\/lees-modern-reloading-manual\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Lee&#8217;s Modern Reloading Manual&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,84],"tags":[3192,3264,3266,3265,3267],"class_list":["post-20356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear","category-guns","tag-lee-classic-turret-press-kit","tag-lee-modern-reloading-manual","tag-lee-reloading-manual-contents","tag-richard-lee","tag-why-the-lee-reloading-manual-is-better"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/20221219_0493-900.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20356"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20523,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20356\/revisions\/20523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}