Shoulder bump guage .
- Thread starter GRS1
- Start date
A gauge like the Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge is a very good tool the measure your fired brass and then setup your dies.
The Hornady gauge can be used with every caliber I can think of, meaning you only need to buy the one gauge.
And if you have chronologically gifted eyesight a digital vernier caliper makes the Hornady gauge very easy to read.
Below a fired .223/5.56 case from my AR15 in my Hornady gauge and I set my die up for .003 shoulder bump.
The Hornady gauge can be used with every caliber I can think of, meaning you only need to buy the one gauge.
And if you have chronologically gifted eyesight a digital vernier caliper makes the Hornady gauge very easy to read.
Below a fired .223/5.56 case from my AR15 in my Hornady gauge and I set my die up for .003 shoulder bump.
Assuming you are talking about comparator/case length/OAL to ogive gauges, there are three common versions, Brownell's/Sinclair has one, Hornady has a couple of kits, and Forster has one. Or you can do it manually with an FLS die, by just neck sizing close to the shoulder first, seeing if it will chamber, then turning it down a bit at a time, til it will chamber with a slight resistance and giving your die an extra 1/8 of a turn down and leaving it there. That will usually give you 2-3 thou. You may get a bit more precise with a micrometer head die. Redding, Forster and RCBS also make bushing/bump neck ( also with micrometer heads if you like) dies that will neck size only and bump the shoulder without sizing the case. They can be used in conjunction with a body die that does not size the neck if that is all you want to do once in a while, or if the need arises. And then you'll hear about using the bushing dies and having to turn necks, so that you are not pushing brass to the inside of the neck and creating uneven inside surfaces, for which there are internal neck reamers to repair that issue. And then the proponents of the Lee collet neck die say it will avoid that issue, but, for which you'll still need the FLS die to reset shoulders once in a while.
All according to how many tools you want to buy to accomplish what you want, but, the basic case comparator/ ogive OAL Hornady kit will probably give you the most bang for your buck.
All according to how many tools you want to buy to accomplish what you want, but, the basic case comparator/ ogive OAL Hornady kit will probably give you the most bang for your buck.
Use a deprimed and trim squared pistol case and a set of digital calipers.
Put the pistol case over the shoulder of a fired rifle case, measure and slowly adjust the sizing die until the shoulder bump is 2-3-4 thousandths less than the original fired case. This is the cheapest method. A 44 Rem Mag case works well for bigger cartridges.
Put the pistol case over the shoulder of a fired rifle case, measure and slowly adjust the sizing die until the shoulder bump is 2-3-4 thousandths less than the original fired case. This is the cheapest method. A 44 Rem Mag case works well for bigger cartridges.
