Factory Headspace Higher than SAAMI Maximum?

Your fired brass is your reference. Use the compariitor against fired cases and don't worry about factory loads. If the bolt closes on the factory round it is good to shoot.

If you set your die to match factory it will be inside saami spec but not optimized to your chamber. If you load for several guns that may be fine or set it the the firearm with the tightest chamber so its safe in all.
 
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NMexJim said:
Define precise. When you’re dealing in a couple of thousands, a ruler is a hand grenade.
Click to expand...
I get your entire statement, but the poster said you can’t measure a bus with a ruler, later in the post he mentioned the 1/16” range.
I sed many of us here could measure a bus with a ruler to his “precisness”….
I asked what that statement had to do with what is on the table…………….crickets……..as usual……
 
I’m nowhere near a professional, but…….
In the OP’s situation, with the case he’s using, if he’s got a comparator bushing with a .400” hole in it, measures the particular case with the comparator and deducts the bushing length, does he not end up with the chamber dimension of the CASE that he just measured….?????
Because he has been talking about the case, not the firearm’s chamber….???


‘Spain it to me , boyz……
 
NMexJim said:
Production machining is not nearly precise enough for the kind of accuracy you’re talking about. That’s why the SAAMI standards allow a tolerance of -.007 in the cartridge and a min and max dimension in the chamber.
Click to expand...

I've machined lots and lots of parts that had to be held to +/-.0002". So, it can be done, just costs more than if they had called out +/- .002 or +/- .02.

Tolerances make things cheaper because you don't have to pay for the precision. What would have gone into the scrap bin, is now usable.

Kind of like buying "blem" bullets. They might not be acceptable for the MFG to put their name on them but the fact that people buy them shows that some have more tolerance for imperfection, if the price is right.
 
IMG_2286.jpeg
F Guffey was a very smart guy that tried to teach members how to do things the correct way. Perhaps socially awkward but smarter than most and never lost his cool regardless of how much criticism he received. How many guys can say that about them selves ?
 
JFrank said:
if the case is completely formed to that chamber, otherwise he’s just measuring a case.
Click to expand...
Yes….

First line of original post:
Click_Here said:
Messing around with the Hornady comparator and I wanted to measure my fired cases compared to factory loaded cartridges.
Click to expand...

OP is measuring his fired cases and comparing them to factory ammo….
I READ what he was doing right away, then he gets a bazzillion posts on what he allegedly is doing wrong….
Not that difficult of a procedure that he is attempting to do, so why have a few wanted to try and demean him in his efforts….?!?!?!

And that’s not directed a you @JFrank …

Just get tired of the same guy shooting down everyone’s efforts….!!!!
 
As I read the OP, what threw him for a loop was belief the reading he thought he was getting was the exact SAMMI spec, and not realizing his comparator was not hitting that exact data point, but was instead only coming to a stop somewhere on the shoulder. As for hitting that exact data point for the SAMMI spec, it would be a coincidence if it did. But process still works, as distances measured and actions taken are relative to the task, not exact to the SAMMI specs.
 
Anecdote Alert

A guy here had a very accurate AR, amazingly good for a 3-gun carbine.
But he stuck one of those RCBS gauges in the chamber and found EXCESSIVE HEADSPACE! Horrors.
So he complained to the company and they replaced the barrel with one that checked spot on.
You got it… not nearly as accurate. StIl good enough but he still felt like he had outsmarted himself.
 
All good guys. Before I posted I figured it would go exactly like this. One or two or three people not understanding or understanding my question and speaking their mind, correcting my use of a tool and yelling at me in all caps like I can't read. You learn from every post whether or not its related to the original topic, if you catch my drift...

There are going to be those that have been there and broke that and feel they have the clout to shout down to those who are at a point where they once were.
No biggie no surprise.

I promise to help others in the future when I recognize the issue i've once faced before but I certainly wont try and make the member feel like they should have never posted the question.

I might be new (almost 2 years into) to handloading but i've been around 2A forums for the last 20 years. Its the same on every forum albeit this place is much more friendly and moderated WELL. Except for Snipershide that place is the wild west sometimes, good info + entertainment. Theres a good 6.5 CM vs .308 thread going on, its a spectacle right now.
 
FWIW;

What the OP has done is establish what the Comparator reads when measuring a commercially-loaded case.
That case is most likely sized for what are minimum SAAMI case dimensions.

With that as a reference point, that OP can write down the offset and go from there.

:thumbup:
 
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