case gages

[REELDOC]

A hundred years ago I bought 3000 Lake City 308 brass. I was a lot dumber back then on sizing brass. I was using a RCBS precision mic to make sure I had set the shoulders back. Recently I decided to use some as backups for my good brass for use in gas guns. Well to my displeasure I got some failures to chamber. I said to my self, self WTF is going on? My shooting bud said I probably need to check them in a case gage and not rely on the precision mic. Soooo, I pulled out a Wilson case gage, that I have had for a hundred years also, and checked every one of them. About 1 in 50 would not pass the gage. That sucked. Half of them were able to be resized, half had rim issues.

Whut I'm trying to say is that no matter how long you've been reloading, for me about 20 years, you still have stuff to learn. Had they not been able to be chambered in a social situation I would have been up the crick. Older and smarter now.

Next is to check 5000 LC 223 brass........Damn.

 

[Slacker]

Live and learn.

I have been loading rifle for about 3 years now and learned the value of case gaging all ammo on the first range trip with my reloads. As fate would have it, my Sabre defense 20" upper has the tightest 5.56 chamber in the State. Case guage is non negotiatable if headstamps are mixed.

I routinly hear folks saying they have loaded rifle for 20 years and never needed a case guage. Waste of time!
I used to think they knew some trick that I did not...
Come to find out, the only trick they knew was never shooting the ammo they loaded!!

 

[Charlie R]

Absolutely, rolling your own is a thrill provided you don't take yourself too seriously and you enjoy learning from you own mistakes, since there is no denying ownership of the problem, and you don't mind pulling bullets.

Keeps you humble, it does.

 

[Catfish]

When I got one, I got them all and i now check everything before and after loading. Next to calipers and a scale it is the most used accessory on the bench

 

[Beef15]

9mm I do now, if I culled CBC brass I bet failures to go to battery would be reduced to 1:1000.

40 I would if I shot more I would, seems I have a tight chamber.

45 I've never had choke due to cases. Same for 357 Sig and my rimmed rounds.


Rifle, no. I have had issues with .223, I felt them on the press but tried them anyway, now all PPU goes in the scrap bin and we're flawless again. Have loaded thousands and never had failures to go into battery before PPU.

Everything else is generally my brass and manually operated, no problems.

I don't generally knock gauging, but I don't go crazy advocating it. Have seen many accounts that started with why won't they gauge and ended with ammo that chambered and shot fine anyway.

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