Hornady Cartridge Headspace Gauge Kit

[Four Fingers of Death]

Got myself one of the doo dads!

Let me see if I got it right;

(assuming all set up), insert fired cases, measure longest base to shoulder case. Use that one. Note measurement.

Screw in FLS die until it bumps back the shoulder to the above measurement less the clearance you need (1-2thou for bolt rifles, a few thou more for pump, auto rifles). Once you hit this you are good to go, cases should be resized to allow 1 thou clearance from shoulder.

Am I on the right track here?

Surprisingly there was only one video on YouTube about this and the guy spoke so softly if was hard to fully understand.

It occurs to me that if you are about to head off and hunt in a hostile, dusty environment, an extra thou or so would be a more reliable setting.

[TNsailorman]

fingers, is your kit Hornady or RCBS? I have never seen the hornady but have had a RCBS in 30-06 for years. Works great in the rifles I have used it for. I can't speak to the temperature making a difference as it rarily gets above 40 degrees here during hunting season. See 0 degrees occasionaly but not 100+. I set the shoulder back the usual 1 thou. as the only problem I should have is the normal "springback" of the brass. Of course I try them in a rifle before I load them. Ain't technology fun. James

[Four Fingers of Death]

My set is the Hornady one.

What I meant was not so much about heat, but dusty/sandy conditions which could cause a too tightly spec'd gun to fail.

I remember reading a report from an African PH's conference that many American clients who had excellent rifles had problems because the tightly spec'd guns didn't like getting full of crud, whereas the English, European and African guns were built for reliability before precision.

[Doc Highwall]

Four Fingers of Death, you have it right. I usually measure 10 cases and get an average and then lean towards the long side when setting the die and then remeasure 10 more after they have been fired once more.

[DCM]

Another consideration is if it is going in a semi auto or came out of one. If so one would want to size it down even further for reliability, Don't know how I know that.

[Four Fingers of Death]

No semi autos around here (the Gobbermint reckons they are a device of the devil!), but I do shoot a Remington 7600 PoPo pump gun! It kicks and bellows, but I kinda like it as it handles like the 870s I used to use at work (and am now not allowed to own). I think for it I will just use milsup brass and discard it while hunting. I have so many 308s using this system, I will probably buy a Lee RGB die set for each rifle.