- Thread starter cjmac1988
- Start date
I don't have a small base die, and I've never had a problem.
Hornady headspace gauge in some calipers and compare it to something like an un-fired XM193 or XM855 round. Has worked well for me setting up my 1050.
I dont try to go crazy with the AR15 brass and matching it to the chamber and what not. I just bring it back to factory specs since I have quite a few AR's that I shoot.
I dont try to go crazy with the AR15 brass and matching it to the chamber and what not. I just bring it back to factory specs since I have quite a few AR's that I shoot.
Get a headspace comparator and knock the shoulder back .003 to .005 and you should be good.
I used a headspace gauge and averaged 10 fired case from my rifle. My sized brass came out to about .0025 and it gauges/chambers fine.
I used a headspace gauge and averaged 10 fired case from my rifle. My sized brass came out to about .0025 and it gauges/chambers fine.
I like to drop my finished rounds in a Wilson gauge.......if they fit, they usually cycle fine. I happen to use the small base dies.....my 6.5 creedmoor AR10 is very temperamental, and the small base resized makes my life a lot easier. On other calibers, I have not needed the small base dies.
What the others have said. You should not need a small base die. Try a few and see if they chamber ok. You can always add a die at a later date. Lightman
Skip the Wilson gauge and get the Hornady gauge for calipers. Has MANY more uses.
Wilson gauges will still pass a piece of brass that hasnt had the whole body sized correctly because its only specs are head space and trim length, everything else is over sized. I have had a few pieces of brass pass a Wilson gauge that wouldnt chamber. 300BLK is more prone to this than .223, but the principal is the same. I dont even touch my Wilson gauges anymore. Sheridan Engineering is coming out with a .223 gauge that will be a min saami chamber gauge in all dimensions. If a piece of brass passes THAT gauge than it WILL chamber.
Wilson gauges will still pass a piece of brass that hasnt had the whole body sized correctly because its only specs are head space and trim length, everything else is over sized. I have had a few pieces of brass pass a Wilson gauge that wouldnt chamber. 300BLK is more prone to this than .223, but the principal is the same. I dont even touch my Wilson gauges anymore. Sheridan Engineering is coming out with a .223 gauge that will be a min saami chamber gauge in all dimensions. If a piece of brass passes THAT gauge than it WILL chamber.
Close the bolt gently on a sized case. Use the forward assist. Once you can get the bolt to rotate add another .003" of headspace.
Wilson gauges are are only good for speed checking. Get the hornady headspace gauge so you know exactly how much you're bumping the shoulder...... Anything else is just guess work, and guess work doesn't equal precision reloading and shooting.
Like others have said, case gauges are ok but a bump gauge is the way to go. I prefer the Sinclair comparator body and respective bump gauge for the caliber I am reloading. I measure a once fired case, fired in my rifle, and then set the die to where it full length resizes and only bumps the shoulder 0.002-0.005 back. That'll give more life out of the brass than trying to duplicate new rounds that are sized to fit in all chambers.
