Concentricity tool, yes or no?

[Richard Coody]

A runout gauge is a great learning tool like many others. It will teach you what you need to do In your loading procedure to produce straight ammo. I will diagnose where you are inducing runout and let you know when you have solved the issue.

After you have what works for you down that is when the tool will begin to gather dust.

There are many steps like this during the incremental learning process for loading precision ammo.

Runout is no game changer. I can only think of one time when I could see the difference.on target. Bench gun, turned necks, custom sizer with mandrel sizing after,, sorted by seating force with a 21st century hydropress, sorted by 0 runout with the 21st century concentricity gauge, charged with autotrickler well everything I tried when I went down the rabbit hole. Gun averaged high 1's low 2's. Sorted ammo had a tighter range and maybe 2 or 3 hundreds lower average. Was it worth it?

Anyway through all those different techniques I tried I found what works for me and have simplified my process a bunch. I learned a lot. But you can only absorb so much at a time. It is a learning experience that builds step by step. Enjoy the journey.

 

[Timon]

Thank you so much to all those that replied, I have learned a good bit from all the opinions. I think for the time being I would feel better if I was able to check the runout on my loads. I don’t know how much of a difference it does or does not make, but I would like to be able to check it. So, I will buy the 21st Century one. In the future it may gather dust, but for now, I think it will see use.
Thank you again for everyone’s great information.

 

[LC Tikka]

Thank you so much to all those that replied, I have learned a good bit from all the opinions. I think for the time being I would feel better if I was able to check the runout on my loads. I don’t know how much of a difference it does or does not make, but I would like to be able to check it. So, I will buy the 21st Century one. In the future it may gather dust, but for now, I think it will see use.
Thank you again for everyone’s great information.

When checking cases for runout, start on the case body where it contacts the supporting pads, if the case body is not round then not much point moving up to the neck, if you're chasing true concentricity.
LC

 

[coldboreshot]

Have or not have. At the end of the day, it's what makes the end-user confident of their loads and reloading process.

 

[Intheshop]

Got a huge shop full of tools/equipment that doesn't get used every day.....

In anycase,cool beans for the OP snagging one. It "should" isolate any process problems which are causing the misalignment.

 

[Bill Norris]

To each their own and seemingly some need it and some don't. I purchased the Sinclair model years ago and used it for awhile. I finally realized it was showing my the same thing time after time and that was I didn't need it. Sold it to a friend and never looked back. Erik Cortina says he can shoot rounds with up to .004 runout with no decrease in accuracy. I never seen .004 in any rounds I loaded using Redding dies.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Waste of money, I have one, most unused piece of equipment I own. Spend the money on components to practice bench manners or on wind flags to ALWAYS practice over and you will be WAY ahead. I lump them with scope ring lapping tools. Something for some one to sell which is not needed 99.999 % of the time.

 

[6MMsteve]

If you are handy you can make one. I made my own but not as fancy as the good ones.

On a second note, does run out affect accueacy? I don't know. Someone will let us know.

I made my own also out of drill rod, and epoxy it works

 

[WVRJ]

As is,the Hornady tool will only measure a loaded round,so you won't know if you have runout from sizing or seating.It also uses the case rim to center that end of the brass and can mess with the actual reading.I added V-blocks to mine and it's more versatile.The straightener isn't much help,especially on the smaller calibers.I use it occasionally,and I find that most of my runout comes during sizing.I tried several sizing methods and have found that it takes consistent brass to make bushing dies without an expander work to their potential.Lee collet dies will help,as will an expander that has some play.I haven't tried the mandrel method yet.For most of my precision ammo,I use the Wilson chamber dies,and have found them to be the best for runout that comes from the seating process.I recently compared the chamber die to a conventional die and the results were the conventional die induced a lot more runout than the Wilson die.I loaded ten rounds with each and the conventional die averaged .007 runout and the Wilson had .001.I then shot the ammo through a very accurate 223 I have,and the difference was a tenth of an inch at 100 yards.The worst round had .011 runout and was still in the group that the other 4 rounds went intne of the groups from the Wilson was the best I've shot with that rifle,it was .211.I seldom do more than spot checks any more for runout unless I'm doing something competitive.Would I want to load without a concentricity gauge any more?No.But I don't use it all that often unless I'm changing something and want to be sure.

 

[jackson1]

Would have to be a maybe. Rarely use it now, but it did teach me if I was going the right direction down the rabbit hole. If you are any where near as anal retentive as I am, then yes. Bought the Hornady tool when it first came out. It now has a special place in my small museum of poor reloading tool purchases. Have the SinClaire tool and use occasionally. Leaned a lot, mainly about using the proper seating stem. The gauge caused me spend plenty of money on reloading dies. Outside of my collection of Wilson seating dies, have pretty much returned to the beginning (full length sizing, with properly adjusted dies). Had plenty of fun on my journey.

 

[marchboom]

Waste of money, I have one, most unused piece of equipment I own. Spend the money on components to practice bench manners or on wind flags to ALWAYS practice over and you will be WAY ahead. I lump them with scope ring lapping tools. Something for some one to sell which is not needed 99.999 % of the time.

Exactly!

You will get the most bang for your buck with a set of good wind flags. Learn how to read them and apply what they are telling you to your shooting. Once the bullet leaves the barrel you have no control of it. But with flags you can have a good idea where the wind (even a slight breeze) with move the bullet on it's way to the target. Compensate for the wind (or just shoot when the wind conditions are the same as you previous shot) and you will see a much better improvement in your groups than most of the work you do at the reloading bench would give you.

Ask me how I know this.

 

[Uncle Ed]

For anyone using full length dies and using the dies expander a runout gauge will tell you if the expander is centered in the die.

The same applies to bushing dies, the bushing floats, can move from side to side and even tilt when sizing the neck.

The only reloaders who might not need a runout gauge, are as smart, good looking, and modest as I am. This is because they also use Forster dies with the high mounted floating expander. The case neck is held and centered in the neck of the die when the expander enters the case neck. Meaning the expander can not pull the case neck off center.

Tech Line & Tips (FAQs)​

Concentricity Problems​

a.k.a Neck Runout With Bottleneck Cases
https://www.redding-reloading.com/tech-line-a-tips-faqs/146-concentricity-problems

We have conducted many tests over the years on the various factors contributing to concentricity problems with bottleneck cases. We have repeatedly found a definite correlation between the uniformity of the brass (or lack of it) and the resulting concentricity of the neck to the body of the case.

An interesting experiment also revealed that neck turning of brass that was intentionally sorted as non-uniform, showed little or no concentricity improvement when used in standard S.A.A.M.I. spec chambers. Conversely brass that was sorted and selected for uniformity remained uniform and concentric with or without a neck turning operation.