Every round thru case gauge?

[Otto]

In addition to the Shockbottle, I also keep an Evolution Gun Works gauge in my range bag to check junk ammo of other shooters at the range.
These folks aren’t reloaders but instead are buying no-name ammo from unknown sources off the Internet ....the failure rates of this stuff is often alarming. Signs of the times I guess.

 

[9mmepiphany]

This has been working for me for a long time, but I am looking at blocks.

One of the newer players on the block is Armanov
https://www.amazon.com/Armanov-Case...sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-6&tag=mozilla-20


They make a lot of aftermarket upgrades for Dillon presses also

 

[Jim Watson]

A lot of these things are case gauges with the holes lacking chamber throats.
I have an EGW 4 hole/4 caliber block and it will not pass anything that has any bearing surface above the case mouth.
The slight shoulder on the Bayou 124s I am loading now is a show stopper.
.45 SWC; not a chance.

My Wilson .45 and Lyman 9mm (Midway was out of Wilson 9mm that day.) will pass normal loaded rounds even with a bit of bare shoulder.

When I was shooting 9mm Miller Major, I had a gauge reamed with the same long throat chamber reamer as the barrel.

 

[irishlad]

I gauge every round I make. Its my last QC check.

Me too .

 

[bummer7]

Wow...so many varied responses: Everything from "I never check" to "I check every round" and everything in between. Interesting.
I get it that my progressive press may not catch all defective brass, which led to the question. Since it was bugging me, I decided to go through about 2,200 9mm loads and case gauge every single one, just for piece of mind. It took about 2 hours or so, but afterwards I found several questionable rounds. 3 of them had a significant bulge at the base, although closer inspection didn't reveal any visible cracks. Several others just sat slightly higher in the gauge than others, so I set them aside as well. After pulling the bullets, reusing the primers and recapturing the powder, I just tossed all questionable brass away.l.p.
I'm not really certain as to what kind of issues those rounds would have had upon firing, but I definitely feel better knowing they're gone. At the very least, the bulged brass would have caused jams.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who responded. From this point onward, I will likely check all finished rounds, just to know that I've been thorough. Doesn't seem to take much time...but I definitely see a Shockbottle in my future.

I admit I check every round. It doesn't matter if the round was loaded on my Rockchucker or progresive press. I shoot my reloads in matches and it is the same ammo I use for practice too.

 

[GoldieMI]

One of the newer players on the block is Armanov

how well does it work? First hand experience with this?
I've got some of their parts for my 650.

 

[jmorris]

I guess if we count the chamber as a check, I do check every round I fire. Some of them, the instant before being fired.

 

[9mmepiphany]

how well does it work? First hand experience with this?
I've got some of their parts for my 650.

Yes I do.
I have long used a Shock Bottle and he recently got the Armanvo when he was ordering other parts for his 750. If the Armanvo had been available when I bought the Shock Bottle, I wold have opted for it. While it is a little more expensive, it is much more convenient to use

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

I am loading 9mm on my Dillon 750, and as a final step, some finished rounds are spot-checked with the case gauge. Is it necessary to put all rounds through the gauge or is a random check sufficient? Does anyone do this for every round? Thanks in advance.

Nope. As long as the rounds seat in the chamber and the slide closes, I am good.

 

[cfullgraf]

When I was shooting IHMSA silhouette in the 1980’s with a 357 Mag revolver and Contender and before I got a case trimmer, I’d check every round in the Contender chamber. The occaissional long case would get a bulge in the crimp that prevented chambering.

Of course, silhouette is not a speed event so once aware of the potential problem I’d had time to remove a bulged round and replace it with a good one.

I have not shot any competitions with auto loaders but generally, I adjust my reloading process where I do not get jams to any speakable level. If I had problems, I’d figure what I needed to fix in my reoading process to eliminate the problem. If I did compete, I probably would check all the ammunition once I started to be competive.

I’ve pretty much stopped using range pick up brass. I have had more trouble with odd ball head stamps that it is just not worth fooling with range pick up. Also, I do not buy “once fired brass” any more for the same reason.

For competitive skeet, I shot reloads at first in tournaments but move to factory. First, it eliminated the chance my ammunition might be checked and second, it generated hulls for practice ammunition. Again, I stick with one hull manufacturer.

 

[jmorris]

I started out just loading and dealing with malfunctions as they occurred, same as dud .22’s. After I began shooting timed competitions, my drive to win forced me to eliminate them.

So after a FTF malfunction, I began “plunk” testing every round fired, “on the clock”. After awhile I had a “mystery malfunction” because the round plunked just fine right before it failed to feed. A friend of mine went to his bag, retrieved a case gauge, then dropped the round in question in it and it failed.

That’s when I gave things a little thought and realized “plunk” testing really didn’t ensure the firearm would go into battery. Drop a round into a barrel and that might tell you if a OAL/ogive issue is present but doesn’t “check” any of the rim and not all of the base either, like a case gauge does.



However, the round entering the breechface, while held by the extractor will for sure.



Having case gauged hundreds of thousands of rounds since then, all practice and match ammo for those games, I came to the conclusion that most case gauge failures are from rims being damaged by the extractor and ejector or otherwise a base problem. That’s why I own roll sizers and even automated them for my most used calibers. They get the part of the case no regular size die can (because it’s in the shell holder/shell plate and inside the extractor grove, that even a push through sizer cannot do).



I still don’t use them for everything though. Lots of stuff I do just does not need the extra procedures for me to maintain happiness.

 

[HDMontana]

I use a gauge on all my hand gun rounds. Since I do them in a Lee turret, I already have the round in my hand when I take it out. A quick check on the gauge and then into the finished round box. .223 on the progressive usually does not get checked.

 

[lordpaxman]

I check every round with a case gauge and also check OAL too.

That’s interesting, while I don’t measure every finished round with a caliper, when they’re in the 100 gauge block on a flat surface they’re loaded long enough that they all are proud of the block surface (except the .380s). I do scan the surface of the rounds but that’s the only length check I do. So far I haven’t found any problems that way.

Several others just sat slightly higher in the gauge than others, so I set them aside as well.

I put those in the practice bin. I’ve found my guns chambers will accept quite a wide variance, but I don’t bet the bank on them and use them for live fire practice.

 

[Fishingted]

Not for 9mm but yes for 45 acp 40S&w and 10mm auto.

 

[Bartojc]

I have just recently purchased a multi-round case gage from EGW I think. Until recently I did occasionally gage a few rounds a ran with it. Over time I now shoot much more than I used to, and probably once a year or so I run into a round that will not chamber or extract. In all of my cases a gage would have caught it. I've decided it makes sense for me to gage every round of 9mm to avoid such issues. I only load a couple hundred rounds at a time so it really will not take much time per session.

-Jeff

 

[packetloss]

I case guage 100% of my rounds. I've had cracked cases get caught during case gauge check. I use a Shockbottle 100 round gauge https://www.amazon.com/Shockbottle-100-Hole-Chamber-Checker-Cartridge/dp/B00EQC9E0K. I then can just pop all the rounds into a 100 round MTM case after I'm done so it's not even slowing things down at all.

 

[DanK3Pos]

I load mixed range brass 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP. I do put every load through a case gauge. I've found too many that fail to not put all through a case gauge. For my eyes, it is easier to case gauge than it is to sort by headstamp. Some won't fully seat in the case gauge (rare), some will seat with effort, but won't fall out.

Now, of the ones that fail the case gauge, my 9mm XDM will usually fail those, as well. Most of them clear my CZ. I consider these rounds Glock fodder, though, and they are set aside, unless there is an obvious defect. Defects are broken down and the brass goes in the 'bad brass' bucket.

 

[DanK3Pos]

I case guage 100% of my rounds. I've had cracked cases get caught during case gauge check. I use a Shockbottle 100 round gauge https://www.amazon.com/Shockbottle-100-Hole-Chamber-Checker-Cartridge/dp/B00EQC9E0K. I then can just pop all the rounds into a 100 round MTM case after I'm done so it's not even slowing things down at all.

Damn. Thanks for that little tip. I couldn't fathom any real advantage to the 100 round case gauges.

 

[BillKilgore]

If I reload a small batch (<100) of some caliber, I case gage them all. If I am reloading a large batch (~1000), I carefully check the first 10 out of the press, then 10-20% of the finished rounds. If there are any problems, they tend to reveal themselves in those first few rounds.

ETA: I do several thorough inspections during the case prep. So far, I have caught all cracked, bent or questionable cases at this stage. With the price of components, I don't want to waste a primer on a defective brass.

 

[MySuomi]

I load on a single stage press. I also use a spare barrel to plunk test every single round made. (380, 9mm, 40 cal, 45). I test immediately after bullet seating/crimp.

But, after reading the thread I am wondering if I am not getting thorough results since I use a barrel and not a case gauge.

 

[Master Blaster]

Match ammo and carry ammo gets checked other wise no for pistol ammo spot check only. Every rifle round I load goes through a gauge.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I load on a single stage press. I also use a spare barrel to plunk test every single round made. (380, 9mm, 40 cal, 45). I test immediately after bullet seating/crimp.

But, after reading the thread I am wondering if I am not getting thorough results since I use a barrel and not a case gauge.

My gauge is tighter than my barrel. I think if it fits the gauge, theoretically it should fit all chambers (although COAL is also a variable in other chambers that needs to be checked). If you only check your chamber, you are guaranteed fit in your gun but maybe not in another gun.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I gauge my reloads in all calibers, but only on a random basis to make sure my process is correct...every 10th or so round for routine stuff.

 

[Fishingted]

Had a bit of a reality check just yesterday. Recently Had bought a Lee Bulge Buster for My 10MM and 40S&W brass. Also got a gauge for that same calibers. Mind You 98% of my Brass for the 10mm Glock 40 MOS is all My Own. I started out reloading for that gun with brand new Star Line Brass. I quickly bought several after market barrels for it. A LW 9 inch and a Alpha Wolf Threaded Barrel with a compensator on that Barrel. I had just made up about 500 rounds of 10MM using CFL Powder. I Load on a Dillon 550. This Brass has only had 1 Loading Cycle. I have checked a little over Half of them with the gauge and I am getting about a 10 percent failure rate. Most were able to be fixed by running thru the bulge buster. But even then a few on closer inspection were suspect and I pulled the Bullets and discarded the cases. Conclusion is that when I first Got that gun I had shot some ammo thru it with the Glock stock Barrel. Which is a a Unsupported Chamber. Some of the Finished bullets were Very Hard to even get to go thru the bulge buster Die. And I did manage to Jam one that I had to Beat Out. I hate To think what could have happened Had I not ran them the thru the Gauge. I am now in the process of going thru all my 10mm and 40 S&W ammo. If it doesn't make the gauge it isn't going in the Gun. That simple. Also have Gauge for my 45 ACP. And I am Getting a Gauge for my 9MM also. Also I will Never Shoot any Ammo in a Glock Stock Barrel that I intend to Reload. A little Lengthy But I hope it helps other Re-Loaders to Not make a Posable Catastrophic Mistake. Get A Gauge and Use It.

 

[Johnnyd]

I load for a dozen different 9mm guns and my gauge is tighter than all of my barrels.