Set Sizing Die With "GO Gauge"??

[jds holler]

Anybody do this around here? Seems like a pretty good way to go to get the shoulder in the right place. Judge the fit of the go gauge in your rifle and use it to get the same feel in the press. Am I being dumb? jd

 

[MagnumManiac]

Anybody do this around here? Seems like a pretty good way to go to get the shoulder in the right place. Judge the fit of the go gauge in your rifle and use it to get the same feel in the press. Am I being dumb? jd

This will most likely not work.
A comparator is the easiest way to set your die, simply measure a few fired cases and adjust your die to suit bumping the shoulder .002"-.003".

A 'go-gauge' doesn't give you a measurement. You really need one.

Cheers.

 

[DRNewcomb]

The issue is that brass is not plastic (the characteristic, not the material). It does not just deform and stay in position. It springs back a bit. So, setting a to a size gauge does not necessarily produce an outcome of the same size.

 

[Ggmac]

It should not work , UNLESS your rifle is set to min headspace , the go gauge , unfortunately it could be anywhere between the go and no go .
You do not want to ruin a go gauge , trying to cam it over or even just compressing it a bit , in a hardened die .
There are easier ways .

 

[jepp2]

Judge the fit of the go gauge in your rifle and use it to get the same feel in the press.

Can you share how you intend to "judge the fit of the go gage in your rifle"?

Full length sizing in a press is an absolute end of stroke movement, not a feel. It is the position of the die relative to the position of the shell holder at the top of the ram stroke.

Obtaining a measurement from the case head to the datum line on the shoulder on fired brass will give you a relative measure to size shorter than. Many tools can be used to do this.

 

[jds holler]

Can you share how you intend to "judge the fit of the go gage in your rifle"?

I guess I was thinking that if my bolt closes easily on the go gauge, I could then screw the die down to contact the same gauge, and then take it .002" more. No need to cam-over on the gauge.

I think I see now that my cases could possibly still be too long at that point?

 

[Milo 2.0]

These are worth their weight in gold when it comes to bumping, everyone I have the "go" is spot on.
http://www.whiddengunworks.com/product/case-gauge/

 

[hoz53]

I guess I was thinking that if my bolt closes easily on the go gauge, I could then screw the die down to contact the same gauge, and then take it .002" more. No need to cam-over on the gauge.

I think I see now that my cases could possibly still be too long at that point?

The trouble is your chamber could be say .002 longer than go so you would be setting a .004 bump and you really don't know. Nogo is usually .003 longer than go. I often measure a go gauge with my comparator to give me an idea how headspace should be. Then I compare that to fired brass. I use the fired brass to set bump.

 

[jds holler]

Milo 2, that case gauge does look slick.

Hey, thanks for the insight guys. jd

 

[dmoran]

I adjust my dies in fallow-on to the brass cycles, and are not at a 1-time setting for me.
I use die shims, then add or subtract shims to maintain a common bump number. Like to have .006" of shim under the die for a start setting, with the ability to adjust in .001" increments. I use surface ground shell holders, ground to .115" deck heights, so that I never have to worry about getting enough case into the dies (also to assure a "square and truly flat" shell holder, which some are not).
Donovan

 

[clowdis]

Put the lever of your press all the way into the cammed over position, insert the "go" gauge, and screw the sizing die all the way down until it touches the gauge. This should give you a good reference point from which to start. Whether it's correct or not depends on the spring back of the brass and size of the headspace on your rifle.

 

[jds holler]

Put the lever of your press all the way into the cammed over position, insert the "go" gauge, and screw the sizing die all the way down until it touches the gauge. This should give you a good reference point from which to start. Whether it's correct or not depends on the spring back of the brass and size of the headspace on your rifle.

This was pretty much my thoughts with my original post. And I still think it would give better results than simply running the die down to the shell holder +1/4 turn. But rifle chambers are individuals, and I definitely see the validity of the opinions above. jd

 

[Zero333]

You're better off FL sizing a piece of brass, then put 1 pc of masking tape on the head and see if the bolt closes. If the bolt won't close then you're good to go !

Otherwise you need a Headspace comparator or a headspace micrometer gauge like the one from Whidden.

I will not resize with out my headspace comparator.
0.002" to 0.003" is what I aim for.

There is one more option for a headspace comparator, but I have to tried it so I don't know how well it really works. The idea is sound but I wonder how stable it is.... Check out the following pic..... ( I did not take this pic, saw it floating around the interweb, saved it and uploaded it here )

It's a 9x19 brass case being used as a comparator !

 

[M14AMU]

Try this one! Fellow has a Whidden case guage and when checking a fired cartridge the reading is -5 from supposedly Sammi! -5 below the go reading on the comparator! If I want to just neck size is the -5 reading to be disregarded or should I adjust the die to give a reading on the comparator a dead nuts position of ZERO?

 

[Rocketvapor]

JD, have you found the answer yet, from 2017
I'm resizing 6mm HAGAR cases to 22 Nosler, (22 NOSGAR).
I can find the spot that the bolt will not close and will close with a little effort.
My press doesn't cam over, hard stop.

 

[cem]

Might work might not. Try it and you tell us. I would not expect feel to work or indeed to mean much. When I use a head space gage in the rifle chamber I just might pull the extractor and/or ejector and firing pin (don't pull the firing pin in a modern sporting rifle but a short firing pin that doesn't reach the case head is sometimes used) and of course some gages will have a notch so as not to be loaded by pressure from the extractor.

Notice the Redding Instant Indicator ships with a gage that can be used to zero the dial but the resized case is still measured. For cases with dimensions close to each other the Redding indicator can be used for multiple cartridges with appropriate case gages and bushings.

 

[JMayo]

I use a pma tool on my dies to sneak up on the correct sholder measurements. It has dashes to use for reference.

In my opinion ... This isn't a hard thing to do so why complicate it. Set die long and keep screwing it down until measurement is obtained.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

I must be missing something here, but how do you know that the go-gauge is the exact as your chamber? I have always only trusted the chamber, not the gauge.

 

[bozo699]

I don’t know why I’m replying to a 5 year old thread but the only tools any of you need to get the proper shoulder bump is whatever it take to get your bolt from your rifle stripped down and that’s it!…. I have all the fancy cheaply built bump gauges and they work……. So so but nothing like your chamber does!….
Wayne

 

[Bronsin]

I got the idea to try that some years ago. Go Gauge wouldn't fit in the shellholder, so that was that.