Author Topic: Mistakes Galore In Hornady's 7th Edition reloading Manual! (Read 2474 times)

Bill T · « **on:** December 14, 2007, 07:08:57 AM »

While at Cabela's yesterday I picked up the 7th edition of the new Hornady Reloading Manual. I was disappointed when I got home and removed the cellophane to look at it. It contained a "Do Not Discard" folder on the inside. Much to my surprise it contained no less than 11 corrections on 10 pages to errors in the manual. Velocity errors, O.A.L. errors, wrong primer descriptions, barrel length, as well as case trim to lengths. ALL WRONG! I can't believe they went to print with this. If that little place card gets lost, and the manual changes hands, or even if it doesn't, serious, and dangerous mistakes could very easily be made. It looks like they hired Mr. Magoo as a proof reader. This never would have happened 20 years ago. You shouldn't have to pay close to $30.00 for a manual, then have to get out a Magic Marker and a pen to start "fixing" it. I expected more from Hornady. Bill T.

Bill T · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:15:44 AM »

Here is both pages of the corrected data. THERE WERE MANUALS SHIPPED OUT WITHOUT THIS! The administrator might want to make this a "sticky" with the appropriate heading. Bill T.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #2 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:25:10 AM »

BillT that's right !
whats that lady shooting in the picture ?

Bill T · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:32:40 AM »

It's her Bushmaster Carbon 15 21S Pistol in .223/5.56 MM with an E-O Tech holographic sight. Bill T.

SuperstitionCoues · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:35:27 AM »

I think I'll stick with my 6th ed. manual...

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:38:19 AM »

NICE !
the books should be recalled !
did they get them printed in CHINA ?

Bill T · « **Reply #6 on:** December 14, 2007, 07:57:52 AM »

No. As far as I can tell they were printed in America. Bill T.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #7 on:** December 14, 2007, 08:06:46 AM »

its good they found the mistake !
but bad they won't recall them !

AtlLaw · « **Reply #8 on:** December 14, 2007, 08:35:29 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on December 14, 2007, 07:25:10 AM

whats that lady shooting in the picture ?

and I thought I was old!

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #9 on:** December 14, 2007, 09:04:41 AM »

what can i say ? a nice lady ! nice gun ! the poster shared it with us ! a thank you to him !

Graybeard · « **Reply #10 on:** December 14, 2007, 09:40:48 AM »

I don't see a single safety related issue in the bunch unless it is in the loading data for the .480 Ruger. Since the printed page data isn't there I can't comment regarding it but none of the other errors are safety related and no one would get hurt over them.

Most loading manuals come with such an errata sheet really. Over the years about as many that I've bought have as have not. It's not a good situation but percentage wise I'd say there are fewer errors than in most books and certainly fewer than any magazine or newspaper. Sure it would be great for it to be PERFECT but what in this world do you know of that is?

Dand · « **Reply #11 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:09:08 AM »

Seems these days with computers and spell checkers the general quality of printing has suffered. I see strange mistakes in newspapers and magazines all the time - much of America is in way too big a hurry. I'm glad to see GB figures most of the Hornady manual errors are not serious - I've been thinking about picking up a copy. I'll wait. Last night I was just comparing the first Lee maual with the second and saw where I'd found a problem in version 1. I use a pen or marker to make corrections. And its another reason to compare several manuals before throwing any powder.

In most of my manuals I go thru with a pencil and put a big X across pages for all the 300 magnums except the original 300 Winchester, just in case I accidentally get a page flipped. Wouldn't want to try to pack a Wby or UM load into my cases.

Same idea, I put black stripes on all my IMR 3031 cans to avoid mistaking them for IMR 4831 by color. I've always been surprised they made the colors so similar.

Thanks for the warning.

Bill T · « **Reply #12 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:27:04 AM »

Loading .500 S&W rounds at the redline with pistol primers could very easily cause a pressure related issue. If not a safety related one, certainly a mechanical one that could easily result in the gun being tied up or damaged. I know of no pistol primer designed to run at 60,000 PSI. It's the reason most manuals highlight the fact the data was achieved with large RIFLE PRIMERS. As I said, there were manuals that left Hornady without this corrected data sheet. One of the reasons I bought this manual was for updated data on the .500 S&W. Bill T.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #13 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:29:18 AM »

I will admit that my library is limited to fewer than 18 manuals for reloading , but the correction pages seem to be from Hornady .
I guess you could be correct about nothing being perfect , but after reading all the safety warnings in the book one would think they would take their own advice and get it right since the release of faulty recipes does not build confidence in their product . I for one will wonder if just one safety related load was missed !
I don't mean to bash them but as a user of their book i feel i have every right to voice criticism when the product is less than correct !
I will continue to use their product , but will surely inspect product and literature with a more careful eye .
As i stated before they do deserve credit for attempting to correct but as also stated a more permanent correction would be better . Say self adhesive pages to over lay incorrect data pages so as to not allow separation for either safety or convenience . Hey buy a tool lately that's how they come , English instructions with Spanish overlays !

Bill T · « **Reply #14 on:** December 14, 2007, 10:54:14 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on December 14, 2007, 10:29:18 AM

I will admit that my library is limited to fewer than 18 manuals for reloading , but the correction pages seem to be from Hornady .
I guess you could be correct about nothing being perfect , but after reading all the safety warnings in the book one would think they would take their own advice and get it right since the release of faulty recipes does not build confidence in their product . I for one will wonder if just one safety related load was missed !
I don't mean to bash them but as a user of their book i feel i have every right to voice criticism when the product is less than correct !
I will continue to use their product , but will surely inspect product and literature with a more careful eye .
As i stated before they do deserve credit for attempting to correct but as also stated a more permanent correction would be better . Say self adhesive pages to over lay incorrect data pages so as to not allow separation for either safety or convenience . Hey buy a tool lately that's how they come , English instructions with Spanish overlays !

Well said, and I agree. You can't compare a missed diagnosis from a Cardiovascular Surgon on your heart, to the local garage unnecessarly replacing your water pump on the family sedan. Same here. An occasional typo can happen, and in fact does. But when you have to list corrections, and in fact get a whole caliber wrong, it's time to stop the presses and regroup. Bill T.

Howdy Schutem · « **Reply #15 on:** December 14, 2007, 03:14:29 PM »

That is kind of scary! I bought the book a short time back, and looked up info from it - in combination with data from 2 or 3 other reloading manuals - for some standard .45 acp semi-auto and .45 Colt revolver loads. My copy did not have any correction info.
What if I was a brand-new handloader; and just bought the new manual for reloading for my new .480; and to top it off, did not know about this site?
Why wouldn't Hornady get the word out via other methods, such as gun magazines, etc.?

Old Syko · « **Reply #16 on:** December 15, 2007, 01:47:56 AM »

Some seem to forget what the manuals are intended to be. They're merely a guideline and not the gospel. Typos and variations in components used for testing are all the more reason to use multiple sources of info for comparison. I own a copy of every manual I've been able to find since the mid 60s and I'll guarantee you there are worse mistakes in some than what we see here. Now I'm not taking up for Hornady but merely pointing out that their infractions are minor compared to some others. It seems we all expect the other guy to be perfect yet when we screw up ourselves we can't understand what the big deal is.

~Ace~ · « **Reply #17 on:** December 15, 2007, 02:00:09 AM »

Lets see, they can find the mistakes, and send a paper with as they did, Or they can Recall the book, and have to charge $60 - $80 per book every time they find a mistake, and they WILL. I fail to see a problem, but, I live in reality where life is not perfect and mistakes are made.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #18 on:** December 15, 2007, 02:06:12 AM »

Lets hope this "lack of quality control" doesn't render itself across the entire product line.........

Or.........the lack of quality control in this item gives me a reason to be concerned about potential quality issues with other Hornady products.

Hornady has to good of a name to allow this to happen.......I hope they get it straightened out.......

That said, I'll never buy another Kitchen Aid appliance.

coyotejoe · « **Reply #19 on:** December 15, 2007, 04:16:25 AM »

Reminds me of the story of the congresswoman when told the FDA had a standard for the number of rat droppings allowed in a bushel of grain. She said "well if they can count them, why can't they just get them out?"

Catfish · « **Reply #20 on:** December 15, 2007, 06:44:48 AM »

I don`t buy loading manuals any more. I pick up the freebies that the powder manufactures put out and go to web pages of the powder manufactures on the web for reliable data. When getting data from the Internet you have to be careful where you get it, especially if your not real familiar with the burn rate chart.

Bill T · « **Reply #21 on:** December 15, 2007, 07:58:49 AM »

Quote from: ~Ace~ on December 15, 2007, 02:00:09 AM

I fail to see a problem, but, I live in reality where life is not perfect and mistakes are made.

So if you went under the knife for a Coronary Bypass operation, and the chief surgeon made a gross error during the surgery that killed you, you would then want your wife and kids to simply shrug their shoulders and make funeral arrangements?? Bill T.

~Ace~ · « **Reply #22 on:** December 15, 2007, 08:08:25 AM »

Quote from: Bill T on December 15, 2007, 07:58:49 AM

Quote from: ~Ace~ on December 15, 2007, 02:00:09 AM
I fail to see a problem, but, I live in reality where life is not perfect and mistakes are made.

So if you went under the knife for a Coronary Bypass operation, and the chief surgeon made a gross error during the surgery that killed you, you would then want your wife and kids to simply shrug their shoulders and make funeral arrangements?? Bill T.

Well you see....

The First Surgeries did Not go very well, but they wrote papers pointing out mistakes so Future surgeons could be educated and learn from them. So, In essense, YES, if one of my Kids may have a more effective surgery in the future after the mistakes are pointed out.

Next ?

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #23 on:** December 15, 2007, 02:00:15 PM »

Ok , lets keep it on topic , i have dumped the last 2 posts .

Stimpy

beemanbeme · « **Reply #24 on:** December 16, 2007, 06:58:53 AM »

Reloading books cost enough as it is, if they had to be letter perfect, few of us could afford to buy them. That's one of the reasons why you cross check the data. It's also why you start low and work up. Lotsa safety rules we should already know being reinforced by this post.
Remember: The fingers and eyes you save may be your own.

Bill T · « **Reply #25 on:** December 16, 2007, 09:04:47 AM »

I'm not going to get into a pissing match here, but I just took an inventory. As of present I have a total of 33 different reloading manuals that I have collected over the years since 1971. This was the ONLY manual I have ever purchased that has come with corrections. The only other type of "extra issue" I've ever come across was the old Sierra Manual Supplement that came out to enhance their first edition reloading manual printed back in 1971. And it's purpose was to add additional information, not correct it. Bill T.

OR-E-Gun Bill · « **Reply #26 on:** December 16, 2007, 10:10:21 AM »

Bill, it's obvious you are unhappy with your Hornady Manual that you bought at Cabela's, so why not just return it to the store and get your money back? Cabela's boasts of their "Satisfaction or 100% money back".
Seems that would be easier than posting here and other sites about your unhappiness with Hornady.

Bill

Bill T · « **Reply #27 on:** December 16, 2007, 10:55:16 AM »

I'm posting this here not because of "unhappiness". I'm doing it simply because there were Hornady 7th Edition Reloading Manuals published and sold without any corrective addendum's attached. If people feel as many do here that it's "no big deal because everyone makes mistakes", more power to them. But for the record, this is my 5th Hornady manual and it most likely will be my last. My main reason for purchasing it is because it has data for the .500 S&W round, as well as the .45-70 in the handgun section. I also plan on getting a .50 Browning in the not too distant future and it has data for that as well, all of which was lucky enough to not need "corrections".. Bill T.

warrior1 · « **Reply #28 on:** December 16, 2007, 01:18:52 PM »

i will bet hornady has already been reprimanded by a good number of their vendors. further action by hornady should be giving the customer the option to keep his /her current copy with the supplements,or when a corrected copy is printed send his/her original copy back to hornady for the corrected version. lastly ,as pointed out before, just retrurn your book to the merchant you purchased it from and get a refund.. dan

pacer97 · « **Reply #29 on:** December 16, 2007, 02:07:28 PM »

I have a new Hornady #7 in the mail now I hear about mistakes my luck. They could have made the correction sheets a peel and stick then corrections could be made neat and tidy I'd be happy. And the corrections would be permanent to.

Alan.