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Is Phillip Sharpe's book Complete Guide to Handloading relevant today?

My Father had an edition from the 1940's, but from hard use and later water damage he dumped it and bought a 1988 edition printed by Wolfe Publications.

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There's information in old references like that one that are extremely valuable.

The actual data in many cases must be approached with caution and diligence.

The internet is lacking. The pirinted volumes of old are in some cases the only source of certain select information. I've found this to be true as it relates to more than just handloading.

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There's also plenty of historical information in the book--along with Sharpe's The Rifle in America. I use both as references pretty regularly.


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I haven't been without those two books for about 50 years now. As a kid I got scolded by a librarian for checking them out of the library so often- so I stole them. (Kidding of course.😁)


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I met Phil Sharpe once when I was little. One of my Dad's buddies was his neighbor. I have some 30's vintage gov't match ammo that came out of his estate.


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Of course it’s outdated, but who cares. There is a wealth of good information as well as history of the sport. I still thumb through mine often.

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A book worth having; just be careful of data. Same for the Ackley book. Every serious handloader should have both, even if today's YouTube and Internet reloaders don't believe in paying for material printed on paper.

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I have one. It was invaluable when I started BPCR shooting. We don't have to rediscover the wheel when we have good historical work. WWGreener's Gun and it's Development is good as is Hatchers Notebook.

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Sharpe, Ackley, and Hatcher. Suppose I could have gotten by without them. But life would have been less interesting.

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I've had a copy of the Wolfe reprint for years, but finally read thru it last winter. Lots of interesting little tidbits. Some other Wolfe reprints; Landis' 'Woodchucks & Woodchuck Rifles" & "22 cal Varmint Rifles" as well as Whelen's "Ultimate in Rifle Precision" are blasts from the past too.

Recently snagged a copy of Whelen's "Why Not Load Your Own" & although much smaller. it's still full of good information in case I should happen to run across a 33 Winchester. Other than improved tooling, tighter tolerances, & the all infernal gadgetry available today not much has really changed in the reloading process... except for no mercury primers, the trend away from neck-sizing target rounds, bullet quality & maybe the burning rates of IMR powder.


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I have a copy and use it regularly. It was lot of help developing loads for older 38-55 and 38-40


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If you search the gutenbergproject.org you can find yourself a pdf e-book for backup/travel purposes...


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Originally Posted by Sam_H
Sharpe, Ackley, and Hatcher. Suppose I could have gotten by without them. But life would have been less interesting.



Same here.


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