headspace question

[david8017]

i purchased the hornady headspace gauge kit and set it up as described. I measured three fired cases that had the same measurement (0.046 i believe). Two chambered a little tight but the third chambered easily. Can somebody explain why this would be? Thanks in advance

 

[kraky]

I have the same tool and love it.
Are your primers knocked out of the shells?
Sometimes they protrude ever so slightly and can throw measurements and "feel" off.
Not sure how good your caliper is but once you get used to everything you'll find even .0005" can give you some "feel" when chambering.

 

[david8017]

yes, i knocked the primers out. my caliper is a dial caliper that reads in thousandths

 

[Broz]

Some ideas,

1:You are right at zero headspace and .0005" to .001" would chamber easy and the method of measure is not perfectly accurate.

2: less swelling above the belt on the easy case

One thing that helps me is to remover the firing pin assembly from the bolt for a true feel on closure. It only takes a minute and gets rid of that tension of cocking the spring upon closing.

Jeff

 

[varmintH8R]

2: less swelling above the belt on the easy case

I've had this happen. Sharpie up a tight case and see if it tells you where the tight ones are binding.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Make sure your case length is still in tolerance.

 

[david8017]

Thanks for the replies. I'll try em out when this weekend and see if I can pinpoint the issue