So a friend and I were experimenting with the Hornady bullet comparator and OAL gauge. I would think that using the OAL gauge (with the modified case and a bullet) and measuring it with the bullet comparator would give you the distance to the lands in your chamber. I would think this measurement would be consistent from bullet-to-bullet since it is a measurement of your chamber itself... However, this measurement changes if you use two different bullets in the same chamber. We verified this numerous times to be sure and made sure we were not pressing the bullet too hard (engraving it) or too soft (not touching the rifling).
My only theory of why the measurement changes is that the Hornady bullet comparator does not actually measure the part of the ogive that touches the lands - it must measure some other point of the ogive geometry.
Can anyone confirm this or offer another explanation as to why this measurement changes with these tools?
My only theory of why the measurement changes is that the Hornady bullet comparator does not actually measure the part of the ogive that touches the lands - it must measure some other point of the ogive geometry.
Can anyone confirm this or offer another explanation as to why this measurement changes with these tools?