Hondo gauge vs Case gauge

[RandyBaker]

I just recently bought a Hondo case gauge because I had 9mm case get stuck in my PCC. I thought that maybe a bad round slipped through. I usually only check a few with my Dillion case gauge. What I have found is that the Hondo case gauge must be a little tighter tolerance because when one doesn’t fit in the Hondo gauge it usually fits fine with a single case gauge. Do other people have this problem?

[bigedp51]

Case gauges vary in diameter and may be larger than your chamber.

 

I do not have any pistol case gauge photos but below is a Dillon and JP Enterprise .308 gauges.

Below a fired case in the Dillon .308 gauge.

 

 

And below the same fired case in the JP Enterprise gauge that is smaller diameter.

 

 

Bottom line, there is a reason why they tell you your barrel is your best gauge.

 

Most problems are caused by varying case length with the longer cases bulging below the crimp.

 

The Lee factory crimp die with the carbide ring in its base is nothing more than a cheat for people who do not trim their cases. (I know, who trims pistol cases)

But the longer cases that bulge below the crimp have the bulge sized back down by the carbide ring in the FCD. This vary same die is used for the Lee Bulge Buster kits.

Edited August 14, 2019 by bigedp51

[MemphisMechanic]

The hundo is tight.

 

In time you learn how badly they have to fail the hundo in order to actually cause a problem.

 

just like any other case gauge... a failure to gauge means I wouldn’t bring that round to Nationals. But 95% of gauge-sticking rounds go through your gun just fine in practice.

[RandyBaker]

Thank you for the replies, it makes more sense now.

[hceuterpe]

Dillon case gauges, at least for 9mm is crazy loose.  So much that it would pass fired cases out of a gen 4 Glock.  Can't recommend them to anyone after seeing this.

[rowdyb]

Don't think of it as a problem so much as extra insurance. I couldn't dream of gauging ammo without mine.

[Joe4d]

only case gauge worth a fart in the wind is your barrel chamber.

[rowdyb]

11 hours ago, Joe4d said:

only case gauge worth a fart in the wind is your barrel chamber.

Not when you do it in lots of 500.....

[Sarge]

32 minutes ago, rowdyb said:

Not when you do it in lots of 500.....

Or 1000.  The key is to know what gauge failures still work in chamber and what won’t. I test for max oal using barrel initially but that’s it.

[echotango]

29 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Or 1000.  The key is to know what gauge failures still work in chamber and what won’t. I test for max oal using barrel initially but that’s it.

or 5000 

Edited August 15, 2019 by echotango

[Joe4d]

if your loading is good you only need to do a few, when you set your press, Practice with some if you arnt getting problems  you are good. Maybe for a major check your match loads, Why case gauge all 5000 ?. 
So I need to know which failures work and dont work ? sounds kinda backwards when the barrel will TELL you, no guess work required.
I think I have a couple case gauges floating around, maybe I should list em for sale.

[rooster]

When a loaded round doesn’t fit the gauge check it in your barrel, if it fits you know you can get away with that failure in the gauge. Keep doing that until you get an idea with what works in your barrel but not in the gauge. The tightest gauge I have found are the  ones made by EGW, if your rounds fit in one of those you can be pretty certain it will fit your barrel.

[Sarge]

55 minutes ago, Joe4d said:

if your loading is good you only need to do a few, when you set your press, Practice with some if you arnt getting problems  you are good. Maybe for a major check your match loads, Why case gauge all 5000 ?. 
So I need to know which failures work and dont work ? sounds kinda backwards when the barrel will TELL you, no guess work required.
I think I have a couple case gauges floating around, maybe I should list em for sale.

I gauge every round I load. But I use a Hundo because I ain’t ever gauging one at a time ever again.

  Hundo is great at finding split cases

[Joe4d]

have to look up what I Hundo is I guess, Ones I have are the one at a time deals.
But just wondering, once you have every thing adjust and have run a couple hundred live fire how many failures do you get that wont shoot, that you wouldnt catch from visual inspection while you fill ammo boxes ?

Edited August 16, 2019 by Joe4d

[echotango]

3 hours ago, Joe4d said:

if your loading is good you only need to do a few, when you set your press, Practice with some if you arnt getting problems  you are good. Maybe for a major check your match loads, Why case gauge all 5000 ?. 
So I need to know which failures work and dont work ? sounds kinda backwards when the barrel will TELL you, no guess work required.
I think I have a couple case gauges floating around, maybe I should list em for sale.

No additional time really. All my ammo goes in 100 rnd boxes and the hundo flips right into them. To me it is worth it as a malfunction even in a local match is too much. 

 

[echotango]

1 hour ago, Joe4d said:

have to look up what I Hundo is I guess, Ones I have are the one at a time deals.
But just wondering, once you have every thing adjust and have run a couple hundred live fire how many failures do you get that wont shoot, that you wouldnt catch from visual inspection while you fill ammo boxes ?

If you load 5000 at a time, or any amount,  you can't catch every split case or jacked up case that looks good to the eye but does not gauge.

 

I load on a M7 and all the rounds drop down a chute. 

 

Just finished loading 3000 and 9 did not gauge properly. 4 were split cases. 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by echotango

[nso123]

Not trying to sound smart, but how is dropping 100 of them in the Hundo much faster than plunking them?  It just seems like the same amount of motion to me. 

[Joe4d]

4 I woulda caught,,, the other 5 would they have fit your barrel ?
Tried to watch a video but I live in BFE,, so internet too slow ,, 
Guess I never worried to much. Problems were usually adjustment issues. Once ironed out my ammo worked.  Id just use my barrel for match ammo. Didnt take long. Although maybe you guys shoot way more matches than I ever did.

[echotango]

33 minutes ago, nso123 said:

Not trying to sound smart, but how is dropping 100 of them in the Hundo much faster than plunking them?  It just seems like the same amount of motion to me. 

Dropping them into a hundo takes the same amount of time as putting them 100 end boxes. Then just flip them into the 100 rnd boxes. 

 

[echotango]

29 minutes ago, Joe4d said:

4 I woulda caught,,, the other 5 would they have fit your barrel ?
 

I honestly don't bother checking. The time I have checked, they did fit. But really not worth it when talking about a handful from 3k-5k loaded. 

Pull the bullet, toss the brass. 

[Yondering]

I've never had a good reason to gauge my practice ammo. 

 

I do check match ammo. Since I don't store my ammo in 100 round boxes, a Hundo is the same amount of work as just using the barrel that the ammo will be used in. With that choice, I'd far rather use the barrel, especially since I'm shooting coated bullets which need to be oversized for accuracy. 

 

If someone made an automated system to drop the ammo in a Hundo or some other case gauge, that might be a different story. But dropping them in a 100 hole gauge by hand is no more efficient than dropping them in a single hole, and it costs another hundred bucks... 

[Balakay]

6 hours ago, Yondering said:

 

...dropping them in a 100 hole gauge by hand is no more efficient than dropping them in a single hole, and it costs another hundred bucks... 

Trust me, it is a lot faster.  Especially if you are putting them into ammo boxes. You can pick up multiple rounds at a time and drop  in the Hundo

[rowdyb]

7 hours ago, Yondering said:

is no more efficient than dropping them in a single hole

Yes it is. I pick up two rounds in each hand so in the same time I place 1 round in a barrel I'm placing 4 in the gauge. Both hands are working, both with multiple rounds. You absolutely are more efficient than holding a barrel in one hand and one round in the other.  My visual assessment is faster as well because I now can do a group sort rather than 100 individual ones, especially since any offender is more easily seen against the good ones.

 

I also now think of it in the inverse I guess, I now thing of it as "You don't case gauge to find 500 good rounds, you case gauge to find 3 bad ones."

[Sarge]

11 minutes ago, rowdyb said:

Yes it is. I pick up two rounds in each hand so in the same time I place 1 round in a barrel I'm placing 4 in the gauge. Both hands are working, both with multiple rounds. You absolutely are more efficient than holding a barrel in one hand and one round in the other.  My visual assessment is faster as well because I now can do a group sort rather than 100 individual ones, especially since any offender is more easily seen against the good ones.

 

I also now think of it in the inverse I guess, I now thing of it as "You don't case gauge to find 500 good rounds, you case gauge to find 3 bad ones."

Plus one! Hundo is much faster once you get a good system down.

[echotango]

15 minutes ago, rowdyb said:

 

 

I also now think of it in the inverse I guess, I now thing of it as "You don't case gauge to find 500 good rounds, you case gauge to find 3 bad ones."

This. that 1(or 3) bad one can ruin your match.