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case gage
- Thread starter hnusz
- Start date
Tony Z, All case gages are datum based. I am the only reloader that has driven a case into a Wilson case gage while the gage was supported on a block of lead. I used a drift that was close in diameter to the case head. I drove the case in until it bottomed out. I doubt we have that many doers so the talkers will have to take my word for it.
Do not forget to lube the case, when the case is driven out the imprint to the datum/shoulder will be on the shoulder of the case. Seeing is believing. I use datums, I make datums and I collect datums. I do not need the case gage.
F. Guffey
Do not forget to lube the case, when the case is driven out the imprint to the datum/shoulder will be on the shoulder of the case. Seeing is believing. I use datums, I make datums and I collect datums. I do not need the case gage.
F. Guffey
I would agree the gage is datum based-several obvious(go vs. no-go for cartridge length)but on a different level other info related to chamber dimensions. Several months ago I started a thread roughly based on difficulty in chambering and use of gages. How do the interior dimensions of the Wilson gages handle variances, with reagards to OAL?
603Country
New member
Like I said earlier, you don't need a case gauge. I have a couple of them (223 and 220 Swift), but the 223 one didn't help me when I needed help. I had my 223 rebarreled, so I went to work up loads to see what worked best in the new high dollar barrel. I had some new Lapua brass, so I might as well use that. Loaded up a few rounds, and they wouldn't chamber. Hmmm. Well, I have the 223 case gauge, and they dropped into it just fine. I was stumped. Took me a while to figure out what the heck the problem was, and I didn't figure it out till I called a neighbor and borrowed two factory rounds (I haven't shot a factory round in 30 years). The factory rounds chambered easily. More Hmmmm. Well, I thought, something about the reloads is the wrong size, so I measured everything I could measure. Turned out that the Lapua cases had relatively thick neck walls, and when a bullet was seated, the neck was too thick to fit into the super tight match chamber that I didn't request and didn't know I had in the new barrel. So I turned a zillion case necks. Later I had the chamber opened up a bit, and all is well now.
The case gauge was only good for a paperweight in that instance. If your chamber differs drastically from the case gauge, what's a case gauge gonna do for you? I don't plan to buy case gauges for any other rounds I reload for. They are relatively cheap though, so if it makes you feel better to own one, go for it, but its value is limited - in my opinion.
The case gauge was only good for a paperweight in that instance. If your chamber differs drastically from the case gauge, what's a case gauge gonna do for you? I don't plan to buy case gauges for any other rounds I reload for. They are relatively cheap though, so if it makes you feel better to own one, go for it, but its value is limited - in my opinion.