View Single Post
Old June 9, 2010, 03:47 PM   #16
Nnobby45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2004
Posts: 3,150
Quote:
A fired case tells you nothing. Neither does bits of tape, loaded factory cartridges or anything else.
Only headspace guages will tell you if the headspace is within tolerance. Headspace guages are precision instruments that measure nothing.
As for masking tape. It does represent a pretty good go-no go gage. Better than nothing. A highly respected rifle builder once told me to size my cases so that I could close the bolt "like nothing was there". One piece of masking tape placed on the case head should result in some feel. Two, lots of feel. Three, and the bolt should not close.

Not a precise way to measure head space, by any means, but a good way to keep you out of trouble if you don't have a gage.

I disagree that a fired case tells you nothing. It tells you everything you need to know, IF you have a way to compare it with other cases.

The RCBS Mic gage is very good, because it measures the difference between a fired case (perfect head space), and your sized cases. I find that .002 sometimes gives me a little too much "feel" when I close the bolt. .003 is about right. Because brass is elastic, not all of it gets sized (or stays sized) the same amount. You need to allow for that when you size. Hunting ammo, little or no feel. Varmint, target, it's up to you. My experience is with bolt action rifles.
Nnobby45 is offline  
 
Page generated in 0.04016 seconds with 8 queries