L.E. Wilson Case Gauge necessary?

[Samuel Whittemore]

I was told the case gauge would only get a case trimmed as accurate to sami specs and therefore for precision trimming virtually worthless. True/False?

 

[Supersubes]

My first thought is those gauges are dumb. You already have a caliper, measure case length with that. Those case gauges are also used for checking headspace within the saami window. Better to buy a Hornady headspace comparator kit, also used with your caliper, which will allow you to take comparative headspace measurements for all common cartridges. Saami specs are for firearms and ammunition manufacturers, not the home handloader.

 

[spife7980]

My first thought is those gauges are dumb. You already have a caliper, measure case length with that. Those case gauges are also used for checking headspace within the saami window. Better to buy a Hornady headspace comparator kit, also used with your caliper, which will allow you to take comparative headspace measurements for all common cartridges. Saami specs are for firearms and ammunition manufacturers, not the home handloader.

YES!

A guage will tell you if it passes or fails on all dimensions, it wont tell you shit about what or where its out of spec. Get some real numbers with real tools, aka a caliper and comparator.

 

[Steel head]

Those gauges are ok as long as you realize that are more for checks on bulk ammo.
They aren’t precision tools.

 

[Samuel Whittemore]

Thanks.. Yeah, I bought it on impulse after watching a Gavin Tobe video... and my loader friend / teacher just essentially validated everything y'all just mentioned too! Thanks.

 

[ncr92]

The case gauge combined with a depth gauge can measure shoulder length just as accurately as calipers and a bump gauge. Calipers are more commonly used because they are a more generalized tool and most reloaders have them.
I bought a Wilson case gauge recently and I like it. I resize my 308 cases to a shoulder length of 1.568 measured on my Sinclair bump gauge. Because I have the case gauge I know that this equates to SAAMI max minus 0.003. I don't need to know this number but it's nice to know.
I'm using the depth gauge rod on my calipers when measuring shoulder length with the case gauge. This is a bit fiddly. With a dedicated depth gauge, I think it would probably be quicker and easier to use the case gauge for shoulder measurements.

 

[Powder_Burns]

Been reloading for 17 different chamberings for over 15 years, haven’t needed a case gauge yet.

 

[spife7980]

Exactly. A set of comparators can measure infinite cases accurately and even provide you with with a hard number for your troubles.

 

[Lucky Se7en]

I’ve never used the gauge for trimming, measuring using a micrometer and setting the trimmers up accordingly has always seemed like an easier and more precise way to me. Maybe easier is a bit subjective? I bought the gauges for the SAAMI headspace dimensions, they are nice to have but I’m not sure that I’ve ever gotten any functional use out of them.

I bought my case gauges thinking that it’d be beneficial for me to have a dedicated FL sizing die set to SAAMI. Tried it out for a bit in some 308 plinking rounds and started getting signs of case head separation earlier than I wanted and went back to the approach that everyone else had mentioned. My 308’s don’t vary in headspace nearly as much as SAAMI allows and I don’t plan on allowing anyone to take my reloads and put them into their guns so sizing down to SAAMI seems to have more cons than pros for me.