Review by | Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Spanning 168 pages this year, Hodgdon’s Annual Manual is a “must have” for metallic cartridge reloaders, and the 2017 edition includes new data for CFE BLK, the cartridge fouling eraser propellant that was developed for the .300 AC Blackout cartridge.
This year’s edition has updates for 32 rifle and pistol cartridges, and data for hundreds of popular and not-so-popular cartridges that have developed loyal followings.
Published in a magazine format each year for the past several years, the Annual Manual was a stroke of genius by the folks at Hodgdon. There is data for Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester propellants, and as in past editions, there is data for more than 5,000 loads.
A real treat in this year’s edition is a tome to Hodgdon’s 4831 by the legendary Jim Carmichel. It’s part of the first 64 pages of the manual that contain several articles on metallic cartridge reloading, and they are all worth reading.
Also included in that front section are articles on loading for the .308 Winchester, loads for hunting hogs, an article on loading the 6.8 SPC using CFE BLK, the new propellant featured on the cover of this year’s edition. Another piece covers handloading the 6.5 Creedmoor, plus an article about Winchester 572, the new spherical powder that was developed for reloading 20- and 28-gauge shotshells that also works well in handgun cartridges.
I always get two copies of this handy reference guide, one for the office and one for the reloading bench. It has a page devoted to burn rates from the fastest to the slowest, charts that show different uses for each propellant and four pages that describe the individual powders.
Certainly there are other reloading manuals from Nosler, Hornady, Speer, Lyman, Sierra and Barnes – and I hope nobody was forgotten – and they all have reliable data. That’s why a glance at my loading bench will find copies of all of these volumes. An advantage of the Annual Manual is that it comes out with new data every year, with new articles on reloading that are entertaining as well as informative.
The $11.99 Hodgdon price for the manual includes shipping.
