Ammunition Gauges Work Or?

[mgunner]

I use the plunk test using my rifle but it's a bit of a pain to sit there with the rifle doing that. Do any of the gauges work that are out on the market or is the plunk test the only way to be sure?

 

[GTN]

I have a plunk test gauge but for pistol. I got it on amazon

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

They work but they will have the absolute minimum spec. Sometimes when a round has to be given some help to get in a gauge it will go right into a barrel. Especially in something like a glock or ak.

 

[Acer-m14]

no plunk gage here for rifle .. load 223 , 270 and 300bo

only issue i had was with some 270 i loaded once ..

2 different bullet profiles same weight ..

but one would not let the bolt close ..

it was the Remington brass .. a little more twist on the die to knock the shoulder back some on the brass ..

then it was all fine ..

 

[Xae289]

They will work well if you full-length size your rifle brass, but won't work if you only neck size. If you neck size, your rifle is your only gauge.

 

[dsdmmat]

I use Wilson gauges for all my rifle calibers and midway gauges for my pistols.

 

[JunkBoxFull]

I use Dillon gauges. They seem to work very well, for me.

 

[FP1201]

Primarily I use Wilson Gauges, I also have some other Brands of Steel Gauges that work equally as well...
A few "Blocks" of aluminum from MGW, which also work well enough for Pistol rounds.
I bought three Lyman anodized aluminum gauges for .458socom, 12.7x42 (.50 Beowulf) and .450bushmaster and I'm NOT impressed with them at all.

 

[repete]

I've got some RCBS ones that seem to be oversized, rounds will drop right in the gauge but not the chamber! I have a multi-caliber aluminum block for handgun that seems ok, but nothing beats the gun! I use an old 1911 .45 ACP barrel sitting on my bench, and an old .357 cylinder.

 

[FP1201]

I've got some RCBS ones that seem to be oversized, rounds will drop right in the gauge but not the chamber! I have a multi-caliber aluminum block for handgun that seems ok, but nothing beats the gun! I use an old 1911 .45 ACP barrel sitting on my bench, and an old .357 cylinder.

The problem with using a 1911 barrel is a bulge in the case and the unsupported section of the Chamber...I used to have a hell of a time with 10mm cases and to an extent .40S&W cases with a "bulge" at the base: I use a Lee Bulge Buster Die (which amounts to a carbide die that's open at the top, using a pusher pin on the Ram to force the case all the way through) between that and the "Factory Crimp Die" I've had ZERO problems with rounds chambering in any of the three Delta Elites, or the MSR 10mm Carbine.
If nothing else, strictly from a safety standpoint (and I'm guilty of doing this) is to actually chamber a Case or Round to make sure it fits and functions properly...now with high volume rounds like 5.56, it gets pretty tedious loading-chambering-ejecting-picking up the tested rounds, where a gauge would work faster.

 

[FP1201]

no plunk gage here for rifle .. load 223 , 270 and 300bo

only issue i had was with some 270 i loaded once ..

2 different bullet profiles same weight ..

but one would not let the bolt close ..

it was the Remington brass .. a little more twist on the die to knock the shoulder back some on the brass ..

then it was all fine ..

In the early days and with converted Brass, there was a neck thickness problem with .300BLK and a quality gauge save the ass ache of sticking a to o tight round in the chamber...The Best ones were cut aways where you can actually see a window into the chamber area to see where the issue lies.

If I "load for a friend" I check each and every round with the exception of something I just don't have a CCG for and even then, we'll test chamber a couple just to make sure.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

If nothing else, strictly from a safety standpoint (and I'm guilty of doing this) is to actually chamber a Case or Round to make sure it fits and functions properly...now with high volume rounds like 5.56, it gets pretty tedious loading-chambering-ejecting-picking up the tested rounds, where a gauge would work faster.

I think we've all done this at least a few times but if you're gonna do a bunch you should remove the firing pin.

 

[mgunner]

Thanks guys, I'll have to see which one I should try out.

 

[Zerex]

I have RCBS precision mike and Wilson case gages, for each caliber I reload.

It is amazing how many cases fail the gages.

For .45 ACP, I also use a lose bbl as a final test.

I once sent out 5000. 223 cases for processing....................2500 failed the test.. WTF!!!!

Another 1000 from another vendor, were supposedly already processed, were again, about 50-50.
It appeared that their presses that were used, were ooa, or they just deprimed, cleaned them, and sent them back. the rejects were all .003-.004 too long and may never have bene resized , as that is the typical size tht .223 fired brass measure.

A semi usually has .003 headspace..when you try to stuff in cases that are .004++++ long, you might have a slamfire...........I use factory ammo and headspace gages in the caliber themselves, in the mikes, to establish a safe standard......... for comparing the readings to my resized brass. I try to maintain a +.001 max size, over factory ammo.

I anneal a lot of fired cases, resize them, measure them, trim them , wet tumble them, dry them.
It is your head.

I once showed a friend that all of his .308 was shit........all way over length and would not chamber well.......was a accident waiting to happen.

Shotshell reloading...biggest danger is a double charge, accidently thrown, with low volume powder.

Many lucky reloaders out there.

 

[dwa12479]

I have Wilson case gauges for the calibers I reload. Never had one go wrong on me yet.