Who makes the best Rim thickness gauge??

25_Straight

25_Straight

Member
Rating - 100%
138   0   0
Location
Ontario, Canada
So let’s hear it, who makes the “BEST” Rim thickness gauge?? I have seen a few different a ones online and want to know who makes the best one. Now I know it’s really not rocket science to make one, and the idea of it is pretty simple but I’m just curious what everyone has used and find gives the best and most consistent results. Thanks Happy Holidays and happy shooting.
 
Last edited:
Not rain on the parade, but sorting .22LR ammo by rim thickness is generally agreed to be an unproductive use of time -- and it is very time consuming. The way to better results is to use the best ammo that you can afford. Bulk ammo is usually well known for inconsistent results, while entry level target ammo is much better.
 
grauhanen said:
Not rain on the parade, but sorting .22LR ammo by rim thickness is generally agreed to be an unproductive use of time -- and it is very time consuming. The way to better results is to use the best ammo that you can afford. Bulk ammo is usually well known for inconsistent results, while entry level target ammo is much better.
Click to expand...

Yes high end ammo is the way to go and all I shoot however there’s still some variances in it. So by sorting should eliminate all the variances and give the best possible results.
 
25_Straight said:
Yes high end ammo is the way to go and all I shoot however there’s still some variances in it. So by sorting should eliminate all the variances and give the best possible results.
Click to expand...

Rim thickness is only one variable. The variation in top match quality ammunition is near nonexistent. The other variations which may make a difference can be not measured without dismantling the cartridges. Those are the powder , primer , case , and bullet mass. This makes the weighing of cartridges nearly pointless as slight variations in the lightest components(powder and primer) can have dramatic effects on downrange performance. In some brands, the priming mix outweighs the propellent.

There is a reason that Eley , Lapua, RWS et al take great pains in the quality control of their top flight munitions , and you pay for it !

Your time would be better spent shooting more with the best possible ammunition you can manage matched to your rifle with good quality wind flags to learn the affect of varying atmospheric conditions …….but whatever floats your boat.
 
You are wasting your time measuring rim thickness. You ar better off buying match grade ammo.

Having said that, I buy mediocre ammo and cannot resist measuring and sorting each round by rim thickness (and overall weight...), but I recognize that I have a problem.

I made my own using a section of cut barrel and a digital caliper.
 
SharpCdn said:
Having said that, I buy mediocre ammo and cannot resist measuring and sorting each round by rim thickness (and overall weight...)
Click to expand...

So the big question then should be.... do you notice any marked improvement in your groups or the performance of sorted rounds at the various distances?

BTW Im OCD enough to take this sort of activity on as well, but It is balanced and countered by an inexplicable desire to shoot rather than sort! Haha!
 
Mr. Jeffery said:
So the big question then should be.... do you notice any marked improvement in your groups or the performance of sorted rounds at the various distances?

BTW Im OCD enough to take this sort of activity on as well, but It is balanced and countered by an inexplicable desire to shoot rather than sort! Haha!
Click to expand...

In my humble experience: In a rifle with a good tight headspace, perhaps a marked improvement in the reduction of fliers at the most and slightly better accuracy gains in a sloppy-headspaced rifle. But even the most precisely sorted ammo easily gets outshot by a large margin - in any rifle - with a good box of match ammo. I feel a lot better when it is sorted, which gives me the psychological advantage of feeling like I am a better shooter. :)

So its a matter of feels over reals.

It is valid advice to buy good ammo if you can.
 
dryfire said:
Rim thickness is only one variable. The variation in top match quality ammunition is near nonexistent. The other variations which may make a difference can be not measured without dismantling the cartridges. Those are the powder , primer , case , and bullet mass. This makes the weighing of cartridges nearly pointless as slight variations in the lightest components(powder and primer) can have dramatic effects on downrange performance. In some brands, the priming mix outweighs the propellent.

There is a reason that Eley , Lapua, RWS et al take great pains in the quality control of their top flight munitions , and you pay for it !

Your time would be better spent shooting more with the best possible ammunition you can manage matched to your rifle with good quality wind flags to learn the affect of varying atmospheric conditions …….but whatever floats your boat.
Click to expand...

I understand its only one variable and really the only one that we can control without taking the ammo apart, which I’m sure isn’t a thing but who knows. I already shoot high end ammo like Eley, Lapua and SK cuz each rifle likes different ammo. I guess what I’m asking is, is it pointless to measure the rim on the high end stuff? Has anyone measured high end stuff and if so what’s the variance in thickness??
 
I ordered one. I have about 5k of AE that I can sort. It's going to be a long winter and I might as well have something to do. I might get a resizing die while I'm at it.
 
grauhanen said:
Not rain on the parade, but sorting .22LR ammo by rim thickness is generally agreed to be an unproductive use of time -- and it is very time consuming. The way to better results is to use the best ammo that you can afford. Bulk ammo is usually well known for inconsistent results, while entry level target ammo is much better.
Click to expand...

Not from my experience. I buy 'bulk' budget packs of say Federal and run them through the rim gauge and batch them. 10 packs of 525 value packs, all sorted gives a fairly consistent round.

I agree that it does not make budget ammo into Eley Tenex, but when batched I find it brings in the groups and reduces the fliers to almost zero.

There is a direct correlation in rim thickness and consistency, as the higher quality ammo gives you 1-3 variations, with a match grade round often giving only 1 measurement.

Candocad.
 
Interesting videos on rim thickness and a test of the sorted ammo in the second video.

....the deviation in a list...
Remington Thunderbolt 0.008
Remington Golden Bullet 0.008
Remington Yellow Jacket 0.007
CCI Standard 0.004
Federal American Eagle 0.004
Federal Gold Metal Ultra Match 0.003
Federal Champion 0.003
Federal Auto Match 0.002
CCI Mini Mag 0.002
Eley Match 0.000
Click to expand...


 
SharpCdn said:
It is valid advice to buy good ammo if you can.
Click to expand...

yep. I'll go with that. Im having difficulties justifying 20buckabox ammo atm. Maybe when Im rich and famous and can afford to throw financial caution to the wind! I have a Stolle swindlehurst I bought from a great guy in Alberta. The chamber on this rifle is tight. I believe its been chambered for Eley ammo. So shooting run of the mill through it is kinda moot. i would however like to better the accuracy in my cheesy lakefield 92S . She shoots 'okay' right now but if I could get rid of that one flyer, i could better my scores.
 
Candocad said:
Not from my experience. I buy 'bulk' budget packs of say Federal and run them through the rim gauge and batch them. 10 packs of 525 value packs, all sorted gives a fairly consistent round.

I agree that it does not make budget ammo into Eley Tenex, but when batched I find it brings in the groups and reduces the fliers to almost zero.

There is a direct correlation in rim thickness and consistency, as the higher quality ammo gives you 1-3 variations, with a match grade round often giving only 1 measurement.

Candocad.
Click to expand...

What kind of rifle do you shoot to experience the same results with bulk ammo as with entry level target ammo?
 
KDX said:
Where did he say that?
Click to expand...

Earlier in this thread in post #4 I wrote this (forgetting, unfortunately, to put the word "to" between "Not" and "rain"):

grauhanen said:
Not rain on the parade, but sorting .22LR ammo by rim thickness is generally agreed to be an unproductive use of time -- and it is very time consuming. The way to better results is to use the best ammo that you can afford. Bulk ammo is usually well known for inconsistent results, while entry level target ammo is much better.
Click to expand...

In post #12, which quoted what I said above, the following was the reply:

Candocad said:
Not from my experience. I buy 'bulk' budget packs of say Federal and run them through the rim gauge and batch them. 10 packs of 525 value packs, all sorted gives a fairly consistent round.
Click to expand...

In post #16 I asked about the rifle used to garner that experience. No malice is intended on my part.

I hope that helps.
 
Mr. Jeffery said:
yep. I'll go with that. Im having difficulties justifying 20buckabox ammo atm. Maybe when Im rich and famous and can afford to throw financial caution to the wind! I have a Stolle swindlehurst I bought from a great guy in Alberta. The chamber on this rifle is tight. I believe its been chambered for Eley ammo. So shooting run of the mill through it is kinda moot. i would however like to better the accuracy in my cheesy lakefield 92S . She shoots 'okay' right now but if I could get rid of that one flyer, i could better my scores.
Click to expand...

There's no assurance that $20 a box fodder is going to make your show pony run , but not feeding the best you can afford that is mated to your gun is an assurance for mediocre results. The same can be applied to your 92S. Next time at the P'ville precision match ask Yodave. The topdogs in the ARA chase south of the 49th don't necessarily use redbox but they do everything they can do to get the most out of black or C-X. None of them spend their time sorting by rimthickness or weight. They spend a lot of time shooting over flags once they have their delivery system sorted. Time is actually the most valuable commodity.
 
To the original question, if I want to measure rim thickness I slide a loaded .22 round into the case mouth of a fired .223 case. It slides neatly inside til the rim touches the case mouth. The difference between the empty case measurement and the measurement from "head to head" is your rim thickness.
My experience has been that results are inconclusive using rimfire ammo sorted by rim thickness, but whatever floats your boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom