Measuring primer hole? Or...?

FrankenMauser said:
That seems to be the method of operation for most sane people.
But if Chainsaw can't keep himself from mixing brass, I don't think he'd be motivated enough to mark and track cases with loose pockets, either...
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At the volume I reload 223/556 I have zero interest in separating brass, it would serve no purpose aside from the method that you mentioned. Plus, separating by stamp still doesn't tell me how many loadings are on a case, they could be factory pickups, my reloads are in someone else's pick-ups with who-knows-how-many reloads. So, short of spinning off into organizing at a manic level, there's no gain. Gauging the pockets can be done in a large batch, the bad ones get tossed in the recycle bucket never to be accidentally put back into the rotation. So, while it isn't your method, that doesn’t make it wrong.
 
I didn't say your method was "wrong", or my method (which hasn't been mentioned) was "right".
But I do, obviously, believe my method to be better. I can handle my brass problems 20, 50, 100, or more cases at a time - in one shot - rather than having to sort through a thousand or two to find the bad seeds.
 
At the volume I reload 223/556 I have zero interest in separating brass, it would serve no purpose aside from the method that you mentioned. Plus, separating by stamp still doesn't tell me how many loadings are on a case, they could be factory pickups, my reloads are in someone else's pick-ups with who-knows-how-many reloads. So, short of spinning off into organizing at a manic level, there's no gain. Gauging the pockets can be done in a large batch, the bad ones get tossed in the recycle bucket never to be accidentally put back into the rotation. So, while it isn't your method, that doesn’t make it wrong.
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It doesn't make it wrong, but it has its obvious safety issues. If you split a case during firing because it has been reloaded too many times, you might change your mind a bit. The small stuff is a bit more forgiving, but have a case failure on the magnums and you will definitely think a bit about brass condition. I have had a 340 WBY use the vent holes, it's not pleasant.
 
I don't like to disagree with Mr. O'Heir, but trying to measure a small ID with calipers is, at best slightly better than a WAG. Just the shape of the jaws, with the flat surface, won't allow the jaws to reach the true inside diameter. If the jaws have knife edge, measurements would be more precise. Same with case mouth IDs and cylinder throats, there are better ways to measure ID...
 
Agree. I've never made a small hole measurement with the inside caliper jaws that wasn't off by at least a couple of thousandths, and that's way too loose a measurement to be deciding the fate of a piece of brass on. The inside jaws are fine for finding the distance between two flat, parallel surfaces or between a couple of vertical pins. On small holes they are pretty useless.

The pin gauge sets are not expensive these days and the gauge I am awaiting the arrival of is even less costly. Either will be far more precise.

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I'm actually amazed on how many diagrams Unclenick has . I can see why the 3 set of gages are helpful too have . I'm going to order Monday .
 
Given the back & forth on questionable cases - my method is pretty simple - any questionable case is immediately crushed and put into the scrap bucket. zero chance of going back into anyone's rotation.

There's only one exception - cases exhibiting a great training opportunity for education that are profound - like cracked cases, blown cases, the odd profound example of a mechanical failure and so on - and after some 14000 rounds - that is about 20 odd cases in a small tupper.
 
I've still got a Winchester 223 case with no flash hole that I pulled from a bulk purchase twenty years ago. Definitely not getting into the rotation.
 
Today the mail person delivered my two gauge set. Nice little gauges for the price and easier than dragging out all my pin gauges. No complaint with the $23 including shipping or whatever the shipping cost was. I see the two gauges as money well spent. I tried them on a few cases and they have a nice feel. Tomorrow maybe I'll dig out my micrometer and see what numbers they yield but as it stands right now I see a few bucks well spent.

Ron
 
I tried the large primer gauge last night. It does, indeed, have a good feel.
Seems well machined, and worked exactly as advertised with a variety of 'good', 'tight', 'loose', and crimped primer pockets.

They'll be nice to have when setting up my CH-4D primer swage tool. (I've always had issues getting that thing set correctly without excessive fiddling.)
 
Unclenick
I received the gages today from Ballistic Tools , on the case mouth and neck tension gage my gage has three lines the gage range is marked 308 - 310 , I would assume first line is 308 . The diagram that came with the gage has 5 first being .299 , 302 , 305 , 308 , 310 was yours the same?

Chris
 
Mine came, too. Yes. Mine has all the steps shown in the drawing, and my Mitutoyo digital micrometer says they are all dead nuts on, too. My gauge is marked .308-.310 on the fat side to show it is intended for either bullet size. Some foreign origin 7.62 cartridges use a .310 bullet.
 
Unclenick
I missed the last step , time for new glasses , they are all there . Did a quick check on my 308 cases ,, they are between the 302 and 305 line . Would like it to have been above the 305 .I would have liked to have checked when I first sized the cases , l prepped these cases for next season . Would I be able to order a plug for the Lyman M die for 306 for less tension ?
 
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