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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
case headspace
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<blockquote data-quote="QuietTexan" data-source="post: 2420574" data-attributes="member: 116181"><p><strong>TL;DR - Don't bother reading</strong> if you don't want an ADHD take on cartridge gauges <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="🤣" title="Rolling on the floor laughing :rofl:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f923.png" data-shortname=":rofl:" /> Smile and nod and leave the nerdy guy talking to himself alone, he won't hurt you. Unless you startle him, then he might bite. He prefers Reese's Pieces to M&Ms if you need to approach him.</p><p></p><p></p><p>On the off chance you're talking about the Hornady cartridge gauge - that's not a comparator, it's a no-go gauge for SAAMI chamber spec. The LE Wilson case gauge (visually identical to the Hornady and Dillon gauges) and RCBS case mic headspace tools are designed to work with fired brass and measure headspace with a micrometer.</p><p></p><p>The Dillion gauge shows go/no-go readings for headspace, and has a loose body to accommodate fired brass (at least I'm pretty sure it's for die setup and not a straight ammo checker). The Hornady cartridge gauge can't provide any headspace comparisons because it's designed to not allow brass larger than the SAAMI chamber spec into it, meaning there's no way to compare before and after headspace sizing. It does offer go/no-go for headspace on sized brass, similar to Sheridan Engineering which adds the cutaway view for case length instead of using the gauge body and shows max COAL.</p><p></p><p>I honestly can't remember if the Hornady cartridge gauge does case length or COAL like the Sheridan off the top of my head, and mine are all at home right now so I can't look. I feel like it does case length because Lyman does case length and I don't have much overlap between those. I might be wrong here. Either way, a cartridge gauge with max trim length spec is really handy since I trim so rarely.</p><p></p><p>I really like the Sheridan gauges as ammo checkers because of the slot, the visualization it gives is one of the best tools I have for teaching reloading to new guys because they can see everything right there. I need to get a couple actual barrels sectioned like their gauges are, one new and one old. Extend that visualization to measuring distance to lands and how comparators and seating stems interface at different locations along the ogive radius.</p><p></p><p>The LE Wilson tool is one of my favorites - it does not measure a single datum line reference on the shoulder because it measures from the base. To me that's a more accurate reading of how rounds will fit into an actual chamber - it's essentially hiding the variances in shoulders and in comparator inserts and only showing an average result. So when I can get it down to reading <0.001-0.0005" variance between cases, I'll accept whatever variance the comparator is giving me as a I turn the cases in it because the LE Wilson is confirming that, on average, all of my cases are moving 0.002" or whatever I'm bumping them. The reduced illusion of precision is getting me better accuracy on the die setup.</p><p></p><p>The same logic extends to the Dillon gauge. In terms of setting up progressive loading machines it's perfect because it uses the full shoulder to verify go/no-go headspace. You'd be at the mercy of using a comparator reading against a chart otherwise, with includes a lot more tolerance errors compared to a chamber style gauge and straight edge IMO.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="QuietTexan, post: 2420574, member: 116181"] [B]TL;DR - Don't bother reading[/B] if you don't want an ADHD take on cartridge gauges 🤣 Smile and nod and leave the nerdy guy talking to himself alone, he won't hurt you. Unless you startle him, then he might bite. He prefers Reese's Pieces to M&Ms if you need to approach him. On the off chance you're talking about the Hornady cartridge gauge - that's not a comparator, it's a no-go gauge for SAAMI chamber spec. The LE Wilson case gauge (visually identical to the Hornady and Dillon gauges) and RCBS case mic headspace tools are designed to work with fired brass and measure headspace with a micrometer. The Dillion gauge shows go/no-go readings for headspace, and has a loose body to accommodate fired brass (at least I'm pretty sure it's for die setup and not a straight ammo checker). The Hornady cartridge gauge can't provide any headspace comparisons because it's designed to not allow brass larger than the SAAMI chamber spec into it, meaning there's no way to compare before and after headspace sizing. It does offer go/no-go for headspace on sized brass, similar to Sheridan Engineering which adds the cutaway view for case length instead of using the gauge body and shows max COAL. I honestly can't remember if the Hornady cartridge gauge does case length or COAL like the Sheridan off the top of my head, and mine are all at home right now so I can't look. I feel like it does case length because Lyman does case length and I don't have much overlap between those. I might be wrong here. Either way, a cartridge gauge with max trim length spec is really handy since I trim so rarely. I really like the Sheridan gauges as ammo checkers because of the slot, the visualization it gives is one of the best tools I have for teaching reloading to new guys because they can see everything right there. I need to get a couple actual barrels sectioned like their gauges are, one new and one old. Extend that visualization to measuring distance to lands and how comparators and seating stems interface at different locations along the ogive radius. The LE Wilson tool is one of my favorites - it does not measure a single datum line reference on the shoulder because it measures from the base. To me that's a more accurate reading of how rounds will fit into an actual chamber - it's essentially hiding the variances in shoulders and in comparator inserts and only showing an average result. So when I can get it down to reading <0.001-0.0005" variance between cases, I'll accept whatever variance the comparator is giving me as a I turn the cases in it because the LE Wilson is confirming that, on average, all of my cases are moving 0.002" or whatever I'm bumping them. The reduced illusion of precision is getting me better accuracy on the die setup. The same logic extends to the Dillon gauge. In terms of setting up progressive loading machines it's perfect because it uses the full shoulder to verify go/no-go headspace. You'd be at the mercy of using a comparator reading against a chart otherwise, with includes a lot more tolerance errors compared to a chamber style gauge and straight edge IMO. [/QUOTE]
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