Best Measuring tools for Headspace, Ogive, COAL etc ???

[Mudduck]

I have been looking at a number of options to measure head space, ogive, COAL etc and I wondered what is the easiest tool and most cost effective way to measure on a regular basis, both for hunting rifles along with target rifle shooting.

Further down is feedback from RCBS site and a some information from the Redding website ( a very simple trial and error approach) which got me thinking about what tools/methods work best. Im especially interested in comments from someone who uses a few different measurement methods/tools and uses them - and WHY they like them (instead of - Xbrand is just garbage .... which tells us nothing)

Here are some options I have looked at and am interested in the Forster kit - it looks promising but Im sure its missing something where I will need a different tool

Hornady bullet comparator & headspace gauges
Forster Datum Dial measurement kit
Redding Instant Indicator Comparator Tool and their Competition Shellholder kit
Wilson case Gauge
RCBS Precision Micometer

Review from RCBS website - I own 3 sizes of these mics (.223, 30-06, and 7mm-08). They perform accurately. They however do more than the manufacture states in their catalog. 1. Measures shoulder to base of shell as stated in the book, 2. Measures the freebore of your rifle, 3. Measures ogive of seated bullets. Using these 3 measurements, one can manufacture a more precise round for any given rifle.

Part of the article from the REdding WEbsite along with the link
http://www.redding-reloading.com/tech-line-a-tips-faqs/145-dealing-with-headspace
One way we can achieve an ideal headspace with these cases with shoulders that are too far forward is by adjusting our resizing die so that the case's shoulder is moved back to the ideal headspace location. To do so, raise the ram of your reloading press to the top position with the shellholder installed. Take your full length sizing die and screw it down to the point where it's touching the shellholder. Now back off the die by about a half turn. Run a lightly lubricated fired case into the die, and then try chambering it in your gun. If the case does not chamber, or chambers only with difficulty, screw the die down just a bit more (1/8th turn) and size the case again and rechamber. Keep repeating this procedure until the bolt on your gun just closes freely or as I prefer, with a very slight bit of resistance. Now lock the die in place. This is the classic method for adjusting headspace.

A good alternative is to use Redding's Competition Shellholder Kit. The kit is composed of five thicker than normal shellholders which are packaged together in a neat little plastic case. A normal shellholder is .125" thick. The five competition shellholders are thicker in increments of two thousandths of an inch i.e. +.002", +004", +.006", +.008", and +.010". Each shellholder is stamped with its increase in thickness size, and they are Black Oxide coated so they can't be confused with a regular .125" shellholder.

Using them is very easy. Start with the +.010" shellholder. Install on the press's ram and raise to the top position. Screw down the sizing die to the point that it's making firm contact with the shellholder. When that happens, the die is now being "squared" or aligned with the shellholder.
Lock the die in place. OK, take a fired, lubed case and run it into the die and then try chambering it into your gun. If it doesn't chamber, go to the +.008" shellholder and repeat the "squaring", resizing, and chambering procedure. Keep repeating until the case chambers easily. Cases sized with that shellholder now have the optimum headspace for the best case alignment.

 

[amosfella]

The hornaty guages have been catching my interest, but I don't think the dummy bullet/rod are necessary... As I hear, after that, you can measure any bullet properly to the ogive and lands...

 

[Silvertip13]

The hornady stuff works well and is simple enough my 5 year old can ues it

 

[bigedp51]

I do not use any special equipment to measure how far to seat off the lands, I simply bump a case into the sizing die squeezing the neck enough to hold a bullet in place. I then seat the bullet long and slowly chamber the test round allowing the rifling to seat the bullet. I do this several times to come to a average length and adjust bullet seating depth accordingly.

I "MUCH" prefer the Hornady Cartridge case Headspace Gauge, it very easy to use and this one gauge works with "ALL" calibers. Meaning you will only need to buy one case gauge.

Using the Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge is simple, measure the length of a fire case and bump the shoulder back .001 to .002 on a bolt action and .002 to .004 on a semi-automatic rifle.

I also use the Redding competition shellholders to control shoulder bump, it is said better accuracy with less bullet runout is achieved when the die makes hard contact with the shellholder. The die is setup using a lubed case in the shellholder, the die makes contact with the shellholder and centers the die in the press threads and then the lockring is tightened down. Without a lubed case in the shellholder it is possible to lock the die down off center and induce case neck runout.

On a normal hunting rifle you can achieve the same thing by using feeler gauges between the die and shellholder to control shoulder bump. Start with a .010 feeler gauge to control the gap between the die and shellholder and keep going smaller on the feeler gauges until the desired shoulder bump is achieved.

Below, with the Hornady Cartridge Case Headspace gauge attached to a set of vernier calipers you only need to buy one cartridge headspace gauge rather than a gauge for each cartridge.





When loading the same caliber in different rifles the Redding competition shellholders aid greatly in controlling shoulder bump.

 

[BCboy]

I have the hornady and am more then happy