Why Use Cartridge Gauge?

[Mitty38]

Trying to figure out the necessity or the convince of a case gauge.

Since I have went to 10 mm.
I have been told by some, that one is absolutely necessary.

I just can't see that.

As I build my loads up from minimum. I never get a case stuck.
As far as length I check all my rounds before boxing. Check both the edge of the neck, and the oal, with a set of calipers. Never go over sammi on pistol calibers.
If the base has swelled It just won't chamber.
I personally, outside of convenience, see no need for one.
So is this a necessary step I am missing. That is going to bite me later for not doing. Or is it just a convenience tool for those who want to do everything fast and easy.

 

[Ben]

If you're loading for an auto pistol, remove the barrel and lay it on your loading bench. You now have your gauge.

 

[Mitty38]

If you're loading for an auto pistol, remove the barrel and lay it on your loading bench. You now have your gauge.

I do that sometimes with my pistols when I don't feel like using calipers for a final check.
But the 10 mm has a fixed barrel and uses the firing pin as the ejector.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I like a good case gauge for my 10 mm loading. I have a number of 10 mm and most of them that I shoot regularly are Glocks. A couple of them have aftermarket barrels in them but some don't. Clock has a pretty generous chamber and yes, you can use it to see if your bullets are going to fit in your chamber when you've gotten oversize chamber you may not be doing yourself justice.

The 10 mm and But if it's loaded to its full potential from these generous chambers, you can get quite a bit of case swell. And often times your sizing will not take that out and you're not gonna know because you're just loading normally and chucking it back in a oversize barrel well, that may cause you That a case would show. Now, if you're starting with brand new brass, you're only loading your gun you're never loading heavy loads. You can probably be just fine with just your barrel and OK but if you're buying brass once fired or you're picking up brass willy-nilly I recommend , bald Buster bulge Buster voice to text ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It will save you a lot of size bald spots.

 

[RBHarter]

You have involved in this already ;
A chamber reamer some where between .001 under min and .001 over max spec .
You have a sizer die reamer some where between min chamber -.001 an .004.
You have a seating and possibly a crimp die somewhere between chamber and -.001 that can crimp -.007 and cause a case bulge .
Maybe a body post size die of min chamber -.001 .
These might have been ground in house , 2nd or 3rd recut reamers , or made by any 1-5 of 10+ reamer makers or all of the above .

Now you want to add another one to the mix ?
I love tools that make jobs easier. That's why I had real MAC black chrome cylinder base wrenches and 2 Altoids tins marked vacuum pump wrenches that were turned , tweaked , twisted , ground, and offset about 8.5° from the other one just like it ..... I don't need another one to complicate case fit in a pistol or carbine. I either load lots for a particular arm or load to the smallest chamber on hand . I use the 45ACP FCD gutted as a sizer for the Colts in the Rossi 92's.

 

[popper]

Fixed barrel? Creates 2 problems. Case gauge would check for length but most don't check dia. Most pistol brass shortens due to sizing. I don't know if Sheridan gauge checks PISTOL brass SAAMI dimensions, supposedly does for bottleneck. I just use case gauge for rifle and a NOE sizer insert for neck dia. Do plunk test for SA pistol.

 

[Elpatoloco]

I like a good case gauge for my 10 mm loading. I have a number of 10 mm and most of them that I shoot regularly are Glocks. A couple of them have aftermarket barrels in them but some don't. Clock has a pretty generous chamber and yes, you can use it to see if your bullets are going to fit in your chamber when you've gotten oversize chamber you may not be doing yourself justice.

The 10 mm and But if it's loaded to its full potential from these generous chambers, you can get quite a bit of case swell. And often times your sizing will not take that out and you're not gonna know because you're just loading normally and chucking it back in a oversize barrel well, that may cause you That a case would show. Now, if you're starting with brand new brass, you're only loading your gun you're never loading heavy loads. You can probably be just fine with just your barrel and OK but if you're buying brass once fired or you're picking up brass willy-nilly I recommend , bald Buster bulge Buster voice to text ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It will save you a lot of size bald spots.

I am scared of using a buldge buster die on "Glocked" brass. Sure it will fix it and make it chamber, but that spot in the brass has to be weaker! Like, you say though, if you are not loading full house loads, it probably doesnt matter.

My only 10mil is a Gen 4 Glock. Supposedly they beefed up the barrel in them where they were lacking. Mine ruined the first couple of rounds of brass. I stopped shooting it and ordered a KKM barrel and it now doesnt "Smile" the brass.

As for case gauges..... I only use one in the 350 Legend. Some of the brass that comes out of my AR would not size all the way back down with Lee dies. I purchased a set of hornady dies and now that case gauge is a peper weight.

 

[garrisonjoe]

I run a Dillon loaded round gauge on cast bullet semi-auto rounds that I use in competitive shooting. Cannot afford a failure to chamber. It catches ALL the over-diameter case bulges that the sizing die cannot reach due to the shellholder stopping the sizer die. Then I bulge-bust the expansion out of the case and continue to use it.

If you are just recreational shooting, and don't mind a few failure to chamber problems, no need to have a loaded round gauge I suppose.