Headspace Guages

[GT27]

How important are the cartridge length headspace guages to semi-auto guns, namely a AR15, your thoughts?:coffeecom

[wv109323]

I have reloaded for close to 30 years and never had a cartridge headspace gauge. With that said I have only had to pull one batch of .308 reloads due to an error on my part.
IMO the headspace gauges are not important but give an inexperienced reloader a little more confidence in his reloading. You can accomplish the same thing by chambering one of your reloads. Of course all safety issues need to be addressed when chambering a live round into a firearm.
Cartridge headspace gauges have only been popular for about the last 10 years.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i picked one up to use for my AR and i'm glad that i spent the $20. on it

[Nobade]

They are very useful for setting up your full length sizing die, especially if your rifle is a bit long on headspace. Once the die is set they won't do you much good until the time comes again.

[GT27]

I bought a Wilson,haven't received it yet.I reloaded some 223 LC11 brass when I first got a Stag 3 and had a few to get stuck in the chamber and wouldn't fire. I had to "mortar" them out. I suspect out of spec resizing.I've always owned bolt rifles and neck sized.I'mnew to this platform and reloading for it,especially FL sizing,so far its a real pain!That's the reason I bought the CHS guage,no more guessing!Thanks for the reply's and if you have any advice I'm all ears!
http://i49.tinypic.com/10frf5h.jpg

[EDG]

If you load ammo that is going to be used in multiple rifles or a rifle that is not in your possession the gage is a good thing. They are more important for autoloaders, pumps and lever guns. I prefer to use the Stony Point/Hornady gage rings that are attached to a dial caliper.

[largom]

If you load ammo that is going to be used in multiple rifles or a rifle that is not in your possession the gage is a good thing. They are more important for autoloaders, pumps and lever guns. I prefer to use the Stony Point/Hornady gage rings that are attached to a dial caliper.


I use these cartridge gauges exclusively and keep the info in my log books. I use headspace gauges for chambering new barrels only.

Larry

[EDG]

I have a number of rifles that require extensively formed brass. I record the headspace data for the formed brass for each rifle, even when there are duplicate rifles the headspace differs some. When the dies are set to produce that dimension I can see the difference made by variations in the amound of case lube used and the speed of the stroke sizing a case. From this I developed a technique to maintain the headspace dimension to ±.001. Accuracy is much improved and cases last forever, which is nice when you start with new brass and invest alot of additional labor.

[7of7]

I have just begun using the cartridge headspace gauges. What I found is that I was oversizing my brass. IMO, they help in setup of your sizer die.

[o6Patient]

I take the cases fired in a particular chamber and size it back just until the bolt closes freely.
I'm not sure how a head space gauge would typically help. (Lots of things I'm not sure of though :-)