Dillon chamber check too large?

[Poppa Bear]

Did you notice that most of the rounds that failed to fit, failed just above the extractor groove? It is easy to size the upper body of a case but it is much harder to size the base of the case. That is why I use a push through die as the last step in my loading process. Cases that came from my gun tend to slide through the die with little effort. Cases that came from other guns will start easy but take a little effort to push through once I hit the base.

[RPatton]

Save your money, time, and lot of effort by just using the barrel to check your ammo.

I don't know why they call it a "chamber" gauge since it is rarely a duplicate of the chamber and the error of assuming that it is will leave you standing there clearing a "fat bullet" jam while the meter is running.

If the round won't go "plunk" in the barrel then change something. That something is usually the OAL , the case mouth is still too large, or your sizing die is not sizing the case completely . Once you pass the plunk test then load your ammo.

If you change anything then repeat the plunk test.

The ritual I have is to use the barrel to check all pistol ammo even if the die setup has not changed. Sometimes find at least one show stopper in the lot.

Bullets that go plunk in one barrel may not go plunk in another.

The problem with using the barrel for a case gauge is the barrel does NOT completely encircle the case all the way to the edge of the rim the same way a case gauge does. A damaged rim or bulged case MAY just happen to line up with some portion of the barrel other than under the barrel hood and appear to be OK, but when it counts, Mr. Murphy will put that bulge directly under the barrel hood and lock up the gun.

Dropping the bullet in the barrel rim first will eliminate the problem of a damaged case rim causing a jam.

You must first know your OAL is not allowing your bullets to hit the lands when chambered before assuming that dropping in rim first will catch any problem ammo. I always did the rim first check after loading and then with the bullet first the night before any major match.

I have checked ammo after loading and then later found cracked cases after it had been loaded for a while. The cracking seemed to be a problem only with some cast bullets that were 205 grain .401" bullets loaded in brass that was sized in a U die. Old brittle brass was probably the root cause of that problem.

Check ammo bullet first.

Check it rim first.

Put all ammo in 100 round boxes and verify you have no high primers.....and that you actually have primers.

Shoot it.

Edited September 8, 2015 by RPatton

[Ming the Merciless]

Save your money, time, and lot of effort by just using the barrel to check your ammo.

I don't know why they call it a "chamber" gauge since it is rarely a duplicate of the chamber and the error of assuming that it is will leave you standing there clearing a "fat bullet" jam while the meter is running.

If the round won't go "plunk" in the barrel then change something. That something is usually the OAL , the case mouth is still too large, or your sizing die is not sizing the case completely . Once you pass the plunk test then load your ammo.

If you change anything then repeat the plunk test.

The ritual I have is to use the barrel to check all pistol ammo even if the die setup has not changed. Sometimes find at least one show stopper in the lot.

Bullets that go plunk in one barrel may not go plunk in another.

The problem with using the barrel for a case gauge is the barrel does NOT completely encircle the case all the way to the edge of the rim the same way a case gauge does. A damaged rim or bulged case MAY just happen to line up with some portion of the barrel other than under the barrel hood and appear to be OK, but when it counts, Mr. Murphy will put that bulge directly under the barrel hood and lock up the gun.

Dropping the bullet in the barrel rim first will eliminate the problem of a damaged case rim causing a jam.

You must first know your OAL is not allowing your bullets to hit the lands when chambered before assuming that dropping in rim first will catch any problem ammo. I always did the rim first check after loading and then with the bullet first the night before any major match.

I have checked ammo after loading and then later found cracked cases after it had been loaded for a while. The cracking seemed to be a problem only with some cast bullets that were 205 grain .401" bullets loaded in brass that was sized in a U die. Old brittle brass was probably the root cause of that problem.

Check ammo bullet first.

Check it rim first.

Put all ammo in 100 round boxes and verify you have no high primers.....and that you actually have primers.

Shoot it.

That may work on .40 S&W, but it won't work on cases like the .38 Super, plus you now have to handle the round twice to do what a good case gauge will do in one.

[himurax13]

Shockbottle actually makes 3 versions for the .40. None of them come anodized.

.40 - Basically for FMJ

.40L - Can be used for lead/coated or FMJ

.40 XL - used mostly for lead/coated rounds that are going to be loaded past SAAMI specs.

Edited September 18, 2015 by himurax13

[RPatton]

Save your money, time, and lot of effort by just using the barrel to check your ammo.

I don't know why they call it a "chamber" gauge since it is rarely a duplicate of the chamber and the error of assuming that it is will leave you standing there clearing a "fat bullet" jam while the meter is running.

If the round won't go "plunk" in the barrel then change something. That something is usually the OAL , the case mouth is still too large, or your sizing die is not sizing the case completely . Once you pass the plunk test then load your ammo.

If you change anything then repeat the plunk test.

The ritual I have is to use the barrel to check all pistol ammo even if the die setup has not changed. Sometimes find at least one show stopper in the lot.

Bullets that go plunk in one barrel may not go plunk in another.

The problem with using the barrel for a case gauge is the barrel does NOT completely encircle the case all the way to the edge of the rim the same way a case gauge does. A damaged rim or bulged case MAY just happen to line up with some portion of the barrel other than under the barrel hood and appear to be OK, but when it counts, Mr. Murphy will put that bulge directly under the barrel hood and lock up the gun.

Dropping the bullet in the barrel rim first will eliminate the problem of a damaged case rim causing a jam.

You must first know your OAL is not allowing your bullets to hit the lands when chambered before assuming that dropping in rim first will catch any problem ammo. I always did the rim first check after loading and then with the bullet first the night before any major match.

I have checked ammo after loading and then later found cracked cases after it had been loaded for a while. The cracking seemed to be a problem only with some cast bullets that were 205 grain .401" bullets loaded in brass that was sized in a U die. Old brittle brass was probably the root cause of that problem.

Check ammo bullet first.

Check it rim first.

Put all ammo in 100 round boxes and verify you have no high primers.....and that you actually have primers.

Shoot it.

That may work on .40 S&W, but it won't work on cases like the .38 Super, plus you now have to handle the round twice to do what a good case gauge will do in one.

Ming you are correct about the 38 Super.

I guess that somewhere along the line we went from discussing a rimless 40 to discussing a rimmed 38 Super and I missed that turn in this road. If you use the rim first technique on 38 Super you will have a 100% reject rate.

Edited October 2, 2015 by RPatton

[zzt]

I use the EGW gauge. They ream them with chamber reamers, and they are tight. I know from experience that if a finished round drops all the way in, there is no possibility of a misfeed in my Tactical Sport. I use any that do not for practice. Mostly they do feed, but it's luck of the draw. They could hang up one way, but feed fine if rotated a half turn.

[himurax13]

I sold my EGW guage because it would only work on FMJ or deeply seated bear creek bullets. For hardcast lead, it was a no go.

[Slotbike]

My Dillon .9mm case gauge is also too big and was causing FTF in many of my guns. I bought a shockbottle and that cleared everything up. I contacted Dillon about it and they kinda blew me off. I was surprised. I have 4 presses, all Dillon: 2-1050's, a 650 and a 550. They treated me like I was a browser who wasn't buying anything.