Hornady OAL Gauge ?...

[Joe C]

Hey all,

Bought a Hornady OAL gauge the other day and after I got it home realized it doesn't have an insert for .264" in it, although it has .257" and .277"... Would someone out there that has a .264" insert mind telling me what the I.D. on yours measures, perhaps with a pin gauge if you have one?

I have a lathe and aluminum stock ready to go but just need the measurement...

Thanks in advance.

 

[243winxb]

Dont have one. My guess would be .256" by looking at the SAAMI chamber drawings for 6.5 type cartridge bores. :-\ The Datum is .400" on the 260 Remington drawing. http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/260%20Remington.pdf

 

[watercam]

All you need is clearance enough for a bullet to pass through with no resistance. .265"-.266" should do it. Outside neck diameter around .290 or so.

 

[Joe C]

Watercam,

Thanks but im trying to measure the oal of loaded rounds and if the bullet passes through it wont work...

Wondering if i can use a size F drill bit at .257". Might drill it out with a .250" and then bore it to .256" like 234winxb mentioned but sure would like to know what one measures for sure...

 

[BoydAllen]

Truthfully, since none of them are going to be an exact replica of your chamber throat. As long as you note it, there is nothing wrong with using the next size smaller.

 

[Joe C]

Truthfully, since none of them are going to be an exact replica of your chamber throat. As long as you note it, there is nothing wrong with using the next size smaller.

Really...now that is an interesting way to think about it and I think you are right sir. If I follow you correctly, essentially all a person is doing is trying to measure and make sure that you are moving the bullet back in the case a certain amount. So it really doesn't matter if it is exact. GREAT IDEA!...and saves me time...

Now the other side of the coin is, would you still need the correct size to sort bullets?

Thanks again for the great info...

 

[BoydAllen]

Probably not, but I can't say for sure, because I don't sort bullets. (The custom bullets that I shoot in my 6PPC seem to be pretty uniform.) I will say that since you have the machine tools, that I have a suggestion for you to try. Make one insert that hits the ogive just above where the bullet would be marked by the rifling...just above, and another that contacts the ogive where your seater stem does. Next put a set of bullets in something like a reloading tray, and make a spread sheet. What you want to do is carefully measure the ogive length (from the base) of each bullet, with both inserts, and then subtract the smaller number from the larger, and look for variations in the answers. Tell me what you get. Of course you want to keep track of each bullet by position in the loading block. When you load the bullets, keep the rounds in the same order, and then go back and measure the loaded rounds the same way, except this time from the heads of the cases with each insert. It will be interesting to see how uniform your rounds are measured near where the rifling will mark the bullets, and whether the variation that you see corresponds to the differences that the measurement (basically the bullet to bullet variation of distance between where the two bulllets contact each bullet) of the bullets showed.

That should keep you busy for a while.

 

[DennisH]

I believe Hornady sells a kit that includes the 264 cal bushing. I had to buy it for my 6.5x47, it also includes a few more besides the basic kit.

Midway shows is seperate, but I do know there is/was a seperate kit

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/261048/hornady-lock-n-load-bullet-comparator-insert-264-diameter

 

[DennisH]

Here is the kit with "all" the inserts.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/348740/hornady-lock-n-load-bullet-comparator-complete-set-with-14-inserts

 

[rocketron]

sinclair = .256 hornady = .252

sorry don't have a pin gage. had to use calipers.

 

[Joe C]

Ron,
Thank you for the numbers sir. After measuring some thing I think I'll go with .256".

Boyd,
Excellent thoughts and i think i know what you are trying to teach me...spend more time shooting. ;-) I enjoy reading your thoughts and you have given me good things to think about.

Dennis,
I wish the place i bought them would have had the 14 piece set!