Welcome to the world of reloading.Well great Remmy700 now I need another tool. Seriously thank you for the help that little tool will be handy.
I use a .40 S&W case with the primer knocked out for a gauge. You place the mouth of the .40 case over the neck of the rifle case and it will rest on the shoulder.
This is only important when comparing measurements from other folks. As long as you're internally consistent, and are somewhere near the middle of the shoulder, you can compare fired and sized brass with a variety of methods. The only important measurement is the difference in length from the cartridge base to the midpoint of the shoulder of a fired brass, before and after sizing. This is why the "pistol brass trick" mentioned above is viable. I have the Hornady bullet comparator set, and just use whichever insert is appropriate for the caliber I'm measuringAll info is spot on, BUT, the measurement is taken at a certain radius point on the shoulder, referred to as the Datum.
For example, the 30-06 Is measured at the point on the shoulder measuring .375", the 300WM is measured at the .420" point.
This 'datum' is important so that ALL measurements have a baseline...
Before I got one I used to use sockets from my socket set. Easy to find one that fits. The hornady gauge is much easier to use. The good news: It doesn't cost much, and works really well.This is only important when comparing measurements from other folks. As long as you're internally consistent, and are somewhere near the middle of the shoulder, you can compare fired and sized brass with a variety of methods. The only important measurement is the difference in length from the cartridge base to the midpoint of the shoulder of a fired brass, before and after sizing. This is why the "pistol brass trick" mentioned above is viable. I have the Hornady bullet comparator set, and just use whichever insert is appropriate for the caliber I'm measuring
Before I got one I used to use sockets from my socket set. Easy to find one that fits. The hornady gauge is much easier to use. The good news: It doesn't cost much, and works really well.