I ONLY use book (hard copy) data only. I feel that using data off the net is akin to shooting other peoples handloads no matter the source. Muddy
Fairly sure Nosler, hogdon, etc don't update their hard copies as often as they do the data they publish on their websites. Especially as to typos. I'm more confident with the online data but will usually check several different sites for comparison
Exactly right. I don't expect everyone to follow my lead here, but I've migrated most of my load research to Hodgdon.com. Granted, I'm limiting myself to Hodgdon, IMR, and Winchester powders, but usually I can find something that works.
I also never take someone's recipe off the web and try it. If someone says they have great performance with x powder and y bullet, that's fine, but I find out the MAX load, knock off 5-10% off that for my first load and work up from there.
Typically, given a new chambering and a new rifle, I'll settle on what I think is a good first load, and load 5 of that and then work up in 5 round increments, usually .5 grain or so per increment. Somewhere in the first 25 rounds, I usually find something that seems to work well, and then I usually don't press it beyond that. In 15 years of loading, I don't think I have ever settled on a MAX load and certainly nothing beyond MAX.
As I said, I'm not like a lot of folks around here. Given a 25-06, I'll try and make it shoot like a 257 Roberts. Given a 30-06, I'll try for 308 WIN velocities. Given a 35 Whelen, I'll try to make it work like a 358 WIN-- the point for me is to reduce pressure, recoil, cost, and wear and tear on the brass. I find it is much easier to load down than it is to load up.
