head space guage

hound2013

hound2013

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will this tell me if my ammo will fit my guns properly o do I need something else I don't like putting ammo in my guns to try them, I was reading this in brownells I need to get each caliber that I load.any info will help thanks >>> hound2013
 
make a couple of dummy rounds, if they chamber okay then your good to go, then start with primers and powder as per normal
 
if your using brass that was fired in a rifle that isn't yours then start out with the sizing die way up off the case, screw it down until it touches the case and then screw it in a quarter turn at a time and run the brass into the die, try to chamber the brass, repeat until the brass will chamber with no resistance on the bolt handle, tighten the lock ring on the die body and run all your brass through. If your sized brass chambers your good to move onto seating a bullet and making a dummy round, again try to chamber it, if there is resistance check the OAL and if necessary seat the bullet deeper, try to chamber it again, when no resistance is felt your good to go, bare in mind that the OAL given in the reloading manuals is typically correct 99.9% of the time
 
I'd say get the case gauge , also if you are going to use once fired brass that did not come from you and you are planning on shooting it in a semi then I recommend you get small base dies
 
PitBull1973 said:
I'd say get the case gauge , also if you are going to use once fired brass that did not come from you and you are planning on shooting it in a semi then I recommend you get small base dies
Click to expand...

Agreed, I never thought I would need a case gauge but it has become one of the most useful reloading tools I have. I have the one from PTG that gives you the exact variation in thousands from the go plus or minus. You can determine your exact headspace. You don't NEED it but it's a nice thing to have.
 
Get one. Its possible to close a bolt on a proper head space with a too short throat and too short case length. I ####ed up 200 casings like that. I did a dummy round. Bolt closed no problem. #### case is too short...

The gauge will tell you the exactly what is up plus the "acceptable" tolerances. Put it in there. See if you need to pullback the shoulder or not. Then you can see right away if your neck is too short or too long.
And obviously if the case do not enter the gauge...Well you need to resize better.

You can see the MIN/MAX tolerance cut on both sides.


Perfectly in between.

Freshly trimmed/deburred/chamfered. I like it just a tad shorter so I do not have to trim all the time. Shoulder get's against the chamber perfectly.


You need this tool. You can get some at 25$

Cheers.
 
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Cpt.Flan said:
Get one. Its possible to close a bolt on a proper head space with a too short throat and too short case length. I ####ed up 200 casings like that. I did a dummy round. Bolt closed no problem. #### case is too short...

The gauge will tell you the exactly what is up plus the "acceptable" tolerances. Put it in there. See if you need to pullback the shoulder or not. Then you can see right away if your neck is too short or too long.
And obviously if the case do not enter the gauge...Well you need to resize better.

You can see the MIN/MAX tolerance cut on both sides.


Perfectly in between.

Freshly trimmed/deburred/chamfered. I like it just a tad shorter so I do not have to trim all the time. Shoulder get's against the chamber perfectly.


You need this tool. You can get some at 25$

Cheers.
Click to expand...
thanks for the pics very helpful to see what it does
 
yodave said:
make a couple of dummy rounds, if they chamber okay then your good to go, then start with primers and powder as per normal
Click to expand...

A wildly undersized case will easily chamber but will be unsafe to shoot as the case will likely rupture when fired.

Get yourself a headspace measuring gauge (the old Stoney Point one) and then measure a few fired rounds from your rifle. Then set up your sizing die to a little under the measured headspace from the rifle. Now you are producing ammo sized exactly to fit your rifle.
 
No. Headspace gauges tell you nothing about the ammo at all. If your cases are sized properly(and they will be if the dies are set up correctly), you'll be fine.
 
As said great tool,never used one till just lately borrowed it from my nephew,i don't know how we went on with out one all those years.Still thinking hard on the Innovative Technology headspace gauge,looks like a good unit.
 
If your starting to reload a new caliber in your setup, I would recommend to check Hornady"s and Sinclair head space gauge, both have differrent approach , and have both.
Measure 5 Fired brass that came from your rifle and get the average reading, and bump .003"-.006" for a gas gun, .001"-.003" for the bolt gun. Also have the Dillon gauge, but the Dillon is more of a visual, the Hornady and Sinclair will give you actual reading.
 
The hornady lock and load is pretty bullet proof.
it gives you a actual reading like FFGATS said above.

Its unwise to be reloading brass without one especially in semi-autos as this can cause improper bolt lockup and slamfires.
 
leonard said:
The hornady lock and load is pretty bullet proof.
it gives you a actual reading like FFGATS said above.

Its unwise to be reloading brass without one especially in semi-autos as this can cause improper bolt lockup and slamfires.
Click to expand...

And these Gauges- Sinclair / Hornady are not expensive, you can also add the Sinclair OAL guage, which measures from the OGIVE rather than the tip of the projectile.
 
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