RELOADING & UNDERSTANDING - A Sunday Reminder

[JimT]

I have been reloading for almost 70 years, my Dad starting me when I was 10 years old. During those years I made mistakes, thought I knew what I was doing when I didn't, and studied, learned and am still learning. There's always more to learn!

In time people began asking me to teach them how to reload. At times I have held classes as well as taught one-on-one with friends and acquaintances . When I have been asked to help someone learn to reload, my first suggestion is for them to buy 3 or 4 reloading manuals and read them each from cover to cover several times. It's important not to use just one manual, for the amount of data and the variables are too many, too much and too important to get just one viewpoint.

It's the same with the Bible. My experience showed me that we should use various translations and read and study them. Will you find differences? Of course! It's the same as with reloading manuals. What do you do about the differences? We should study and discover why there are differences and what they mean. You will figure things out in time and learn a lot along the way!

When learning to reload as well as long as we are reloading, we need to refer back to the manuals. We are human beings and are prone to not remember everything correctly. Life brings enough stresses and changes that it is a good idea to be checking ourselves and confirming what we've learned. The manuals provides a backup that we need. And I have found that there is always something more to be learned. Different ways of doing the same things, improved tools, new components … all sorts of stuff!

This applies to learning the Bible as well. I personally find the scriptures to always have more things to discover and learn. It has led me to believe there will be no end to the discovery and learning. And to me that is exciting!

[AJMD429]

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Good analogy. One of my patients gave me a book he wrote that he should have titled "The Bible for Dummies", but I suppose that title would be copyrighted or may already be used. But it addresses the Bible (and Christianity in general) from a point of view that isn't preaching or converting, but just informing - 'welcoming the curious without pressure' is the way I would describe it.

As a physician, my 'medical tool chest' has five drawers from which I can choose to help patients, and I number them 'top down' -

1 - Prayer and Meditation (something I mostly refer out to the 'specialist' of their choice, but recommend as useful for nearly every ailment)
2 - Surgery (minor I do in office and major I refer out)
3 - Medications (prescription and nonprescription)
4 - Diet (nutrition and supplements)
5 - Therapies (physical and mental)

I put Prayer and Meditation in the top drawer because it's closer to heaven, but also because it is so universally applicable.
I put Surgery in the next drawer to appease my ego, since I'm not that good with the top-drawer tools, so I want to move to something really 'doctory' that only doctors can do. Then medications next, since not that many maladies I see are amenable to surgical fixes (skin cancers, tags, cysts); medications are great, although getting them to the body part needed without messing something else up can be a challenge, plus often they are only 'treating' symptoms rather than 'fixing' the underlying problem. Diet goes next since 'supplements' are a halfway between medications and diet, being essentially concentrated foods, and finally 'therapies', which includes not just exercise, but both physical and mental therapies basically consist of strengthening something that needs strengthened - a muscle group or coping skill - or loosening something that is too tight - a ligament or obsession.

But the Bible is indeed like reloading - it is wise to review the subject material, and even from different perspectives and opinions, and wise to practice it thoughtfully and attentively, rather than just superficially while distracted.

[JimT]

Thank you Doctor!

Years ago the family doctor we had was an older gentleman who, when you went to see him always placed a soft hand on your shoulder when he first examined you. In time he told me that what he was doing was asking God for help to know what the problems were and how to treat them. He did this for every patient he had. He was a kind and gentle man who was really respected in our little mountain community.

[Scott Tschirhart]

My Bibles and my reloading manuals are annotated regularly. I may not be able to read some of what I wrote years ago but it is a reminder that I’ve passed this way before.

[marlinman93]

I have to go beg my son in law to give me back my old Hornady manual I gave him when he wanted to learn to reload! I have at least 8-10 old manuals, and many of them are very old Ideal and some Speer that are not as old. I forgot when I grabbed the well worn Hornady to give him that the borders of many pages were full of my hand written notes on reloading and I often referred to those old notes. I need to find one of my newer manuals and trade him for my Hornady.

[Griff]

Goodness, gracious, land sakes alive, as my grandmother was wont to say... "Great minds do think like." (I don't include myself there, being only moderately intelligent). I will admit my study of the Bible is a little lacking and my Latin is quite rusty, but I have 3 different versions... an old King James, (inherited from Grandparents), a New King James version and a Latin one. Comparing them is an education. One that I should do more of...

My reloading manuals are far more numerous, and varied. I started reloading in 1973 after being given my B-I-L's RCBS Jr press and dies for 7mmRM, 44RM, 45 Colt & .30-30. He also gave me his powder drop and Lyman Reloading Manual. My first shopping trip for reloading stuff, was very early 1974 and I picked up dies for 45 Auto, bullets, primers, powder, a primer flip tray, funnel and a balance scale... Every time I bought a new brand of bullets, I also bought that company's current reloading manual, so now I have Speer, Sierra, Hornady manuals from the mid-late '70s and several of their interim versions I also have a couple as produced by different powder companies. I read those first three reloading manuals, (Lyman, Speer & SIerra), from cover to cover, (at least covering the data on cartridges I reloaded for) and all the "how-to" and "why" articles. As new Lyman manuals came out, they were added as well. Adding their Shotshell & Cast Bullet Handbooks as I found them. When I bought my 1st muzzleloader, I got Lyman's Blackpowder Handbook. I learned to reload from my B-I-L, for a couple of sessions, then mostly from those reloading manuals to round out my education. I have a couple of shooting buddies from back in the day that I'll still ask questions of from time-to-time, but, mainly rely on those manuals. When I started casting my own projectiles, (for the muzzleloader), I bought my first Cast Bullet Handbook by Lyman and studied it from cover to cover.

Whenever I've been asked about learning to reload, I don't trust myself to do more than demonstrate and then offer the advice to buy a few reloading manuals and study the how-to portions, then come back and I'll watch you begin. Same with bullet casting. Book learning is good and all, but hands on experience is irreplaceable, and necessary to become competent.

[Bill in Oregon]

Very sneaky but extremely useful Sunday lesson you got in there, Jim!
I have benefited from your habit of quoting verses from several versions, having but the RSV I was raised with and Tyndale at hand here.
I think I got burned out on the KJV by trying to read Dad's Army-issue Bible -- you know, the one the size of two packs of cigarettes. I doubt I could even make out that tiny type now despite a recent new lens prescription.
I used to have the Hornady, Nosler, Barnes, Speer and the two-volume looseleaf Sierra manual around but got tired of moving them. So all I have now is Ken Waters' two-volume Pet Loads, the Lyman 51st and the annual Hodgdon paperback. I find I can look up the Nosler, Barnes and Hodgdon data for free on line -- and often find Wolfe letting mere civilians like me access Brian Pearce's excellent stuff without a subscription.

[JimT]

I find I can look up the Nosler, Barnes and Hodgdon data for free on line -- and often find Wolfe letting mere civilians like me access Brian Pearce's excellent stuff without a subscription.

I do that also but I like the data in front of me so I have all these pieces of paper with load data on them on my loading bench.

I like LOADBOOKS ... one book with data from each company in it. I have quite a few of those as well as Loading Manuals going back into the 1930's.

[Grizz]

This applies to learning the Bible as well. I personally find the scriptures to always have more things to discover and learn. It has led me to believe there will be no end to the discovery and learning. And to me that is exciting!

Good stuff Jim

I liken my bible to an 8-V71 Detroit Diesel Shop Manual. I took it to a youth group one night, and explained that the Detroit Manual was written by the creator of the Detroit Engine. They got it.

I don't know how well i connected it for them to growing on spiritual food - - - †

[AJMD429]

My Bibles and my reloading manuals are annotated regularly. I may not be able to read some of what I wrote years ago but it is a reminder that I’ve passed this way before.

…try being a doctor… I can’t read what I wrote yesterday…

(…actually not true…in pharmacy school they taught us how r to read the Secret Handwriting… )