Measuring Case OAL w/o Hornady Gauge?

I tried the "rod method" and then a $15 plastic franklin kit and then the hornady. Hornady way more consistent over multiple measurements. Worth the relatively modest $ if you want to carefully set bullet depth, but I am sure lots of great round have been developed without the extra precision.

VikingsGuy said:

I tried the "rod method" and then a $15 plastic franklin kit and then the hornady. Hornady way more consistent over multiple measurements. Worth the relatively modest $ if you want to carefully set bullet depth, but I am sure lots of great round have been developed without the extra precision.

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I'll be getting a set at some point, but just can't justify it right now. I tend to be a little bit of a cheapskate until I find a real need for a tool, which you've probably already noticed from my other posts...

If I can get half inch groups out of this gun without messing with the COAL, I think I'll just forget about it!

OhHeyThereBen said:

I'll be getting a set at some point, but just can't justify it right now. I tend to be a little bit of a cheapskate until I find a real need for a tool, which you've probably already noticed from my other posts...

If I can get half inch groups out of this gun without messing with the COAL, I think I'll just forget about it!

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No doubt. I just like the detail stuff and hobbyist/engineer aspects of hand loading. I have no doubt that I could have taken both my fall animals with boxed ammo - but for me it was fun to tweak it to my liking.

VikingsGuy said:

No doubt. I just like the detail stuff and hobbyist/engineer aspects of hand loading. I have no doubt that I could have taken both my fall animals with boxed ammo - but for me it was fun to tweak it to my liking.

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Yeah so do I. That's my favorite part. So I suppose you just talked me into it.

OhHeyThereBen said:

Yeah so do I. That's my favorite part. So I suppose you just talked me into it.

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I am a bad one to listen to, I like buying gadgets and am old enough to have the budget.

VikingsGuy said:

I am a bad one to listen to, I like buying gadgets and am old enough to have the budget.

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I'm old enough to just start being dangerous.

mtmuley said:

Get the tools. mtmuley

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Absolutely you should get the gauge, makes it more consistent and that's what reloading is about

Buy every new gadget that come's along. Be hard to go wrong that way! You'll have a bunch of tools and your loads probably won't shoot any better!

Don Fischer said:

Buy every new gadget that come's along. Be hard to go wrong that way! You'll have a bunch of tools and your loads probably won't shoot any better!

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Lots of different reasons to hand load, and lots of different standards for “better”. Some handload to save money, some to be able to shoot a hard to find bullet not commonly found in boxed ammo, some load to make “reduced load” for kids, some reload for hard to find cartridges, some reload to chase speed, some load for the “hobbyist” aspect, some load to squeeze out every ounce of performance whether necessary for the hunt or not.

If you just want to kill an animal at 200yds with minute of deer accuracy just buy a standard “green box” of 20 rounds, site them in and shoot for the next 5 seasons — doesn’t get cheaper than that. If you enjoy the engineering aspect and want to squeeze out all potential performance of a rifle/cartridge pair, extra tools, steps and costs can make a difference.

For example, VORTX boxed ammo shot 1.0 MOA in my .270, my first handloads were 0.85 MOA, after further refinement and a few better tools that allowed more precise bullet seating I got it down to 0.68 MOA. All three would have killed my cow elk at 140 yds this fall. The handloads where much more expensive when you consider all the underlying costs and the relatively low volume I shoot that gun, but I had a ton of fun in the process. YMMV

Don Fischer said:

Buy every new gadget that come's along. Be hard to go wrong that way! You'll have a bunch of tools and your loads probably won't shoot any better!

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Yeah these new fangled COAL and BTO gauges, haha.

very easy with the comparitor tool