Gauging Reloads

[dajarrel]

Hey guys,

An earlier post about keeping several thousand rounds of any given caliber on hand got me thinking about running your rounds through a gauge.

Maybe I have become anal about it but I gauge check every round I reload. My desire is to have "zero" ammo related problems on the range. I cause enough problems on my own

Thanks for your input.

dj

[Skywalker]

dj,

there must be something wrong with the poll, since my vote was the second entry (I guess), and I voted for option #2 (I gauge every match round), but the results shown are not consistent with my vote.

[DougBarnes101]

DJ,

I too guage every round. That way I don't have to worry about grabbing practice ammo on the way out the door instead of match ammo. It's all been checked and should run in a match. The operative word being should.

[John Dunn]

I stopped gauging after going to a "U" die and FCD, I check every once in a while, but haven't had any rejects in over 10,000 rds or so.

On the other hand, I gauge all of Sam's ammo!

[.40AET]

I run a full set of Lee dies with the FCD. The only reason that I gauge anything for matches is that it costs too much to go to blow it on one unchecked round. I'm more likely to find a high or upside down primer than a round that won't fit in the gauge. If I shot a match every weekend then I would probably relax the routine to only Major matches.

I have to work to keep it fun. If I gauged everything, I just wouldn't be shooting as much.

[D.Hayden]

I still gauge every Limited (MG 180 JHP) pistol round, but with the 40, it's so rare to find one that doesn't gauge (none in the last 4000) , I'll probably switch to just match rounds. For Production, I use plated bullets, those I'll still gauge.

For the rifle... every one, always.. (after painfully forgetting and not doing some)

Edited September 20, 2005 by BerKim

[DougCarden]

This year I only gauged the ammo that went to the BIG matches. I load on a 1050 with a Lee FCD in the last station. Only problems I had this year were primers and miltary brass, which I found before shooting them. I too used to gauge every round, but have found that if I take extra time to set up the press correctly and check the finished product several times, I dont need to check or gauge the ammo. I still do for the BIG matches, though. You cannot be too careful....

[John Heiter]

I'm with Dennis and Doug. I don't have a "practice load" or specific match ammo so I gauge every round I load. When I load, I either fill up Akro bins or some other storage container (empty bullet boxes) and then I'll case gauge later on before the rounds go into my ammo boxes. Nothing goes into a box without being gauged.

I too have the Lee factory crimp and an EGW undersizer but I'll still have rounds not fit the gauge. Maybe I am overusing my brass or picking up too much range brass because I hardly ever find oversize rounds but I'll frequently have ones that don't fully gauge because of defects/burs on the case head from extractor/ejector wear. Honestly, most of the rounds that don't gauge will probably still function just fine in my gun but they get dumped into my "practice" bin.

What's really bad is that when I go to practice I take my good gauged rounds with me. The only time I get ammo out of the "practice" bin is when I'm taking a friend to the range or teaching someone new how to shoot. Saves my good ammo and a jam could be a "valuable learning experience" for them where it's just a pain in my @$$.

[folsoml]

I shoot factory ammo at major matches, and reloads only in practice or local matches.

[G+16]

45 acp, gauge every round, dillion gage, haven't had a ammo problem yet,

magazines? now that's a different story

[George]

If it's a mettalic cartridge and goes into one of my guns, it's already gone through a drop gauge PERIOD

--

Regards

[LPatterson]

I am basically lazy so I only gauge the match ammo. For practice ammo it is usually load a couple 1000 and dump in a 50 cal ammo can, throw it in the truck so it is there for range visits. But the match ammo goes in cute little plastic boxes after I mark it with my Brass Master (Thanks to Nolan). I have had people return my brass at the end of the day from some stage where I didn't find it all. I used to use a Dillon brass bag until some people dumped sandy used brass in with the to be used ammo.

[Rob Boudrie]

I stopped gauging once I started using a Case Pro. I still hae to do a visual on each round, with attention to the case rim and primer.

[Intel6]

I don't guage my ammo. I do closely inspect the fired brass after cleaning, pay attention during the loading process and then do a very meticulious visual inspection of the loaded ammo before boxing it up. I also have the luxury of using once fired brass that is all the same headstamp from the same source (Border patrol). since I got my Edge I have fired 4,000+ rounds in pratice and local matches and have not had a malfunction or failure to fire yet.

Now when I load ammo for Area 2 I might use the barrel to check some random samples but will most likely just spend more time with the visual inspection.

Neal in AZ

Edited September 20, 2005 by Intel6

[JFD]

I quit gauging after I started using a FCD on all calibers I load. For sure it's been a huge waste of time to gauge .40 with the "U" die also being used.

[Stumpnav]

All the ammo comes off the 550 and goes into a big bucket. I don't guage it for practice. Before I go to match, I grab out the ammo I need for the match and run it through a gauge.

[dajarrel]

Several posters have mentioned looking at primers, rims and such. That is one of the things I do while gauging. I also "press" check every round after putting them in a plastic box to mark them. It's been a long time since I had one that the bullet pressed back into the brass but it scared the bejezuz out of me because it was so easy.

Anyway, thanks for the replies.

dj

[dajarrel]

dj,

there must be something wrong with the poll, since my vote was the second entry (I guess), and I voted for option #2 (I gauge every match round), but the results shown are not consistent with my vote. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't know why it would have messed up. I guess there is a glich in the software.

dj

[revchuck]

I rarely gauge ammo, and then use the barrel or cylinder in the gun I'm going to shoot.

[Nik Habicht]

I never gauge ammo since the 1050 and the Lee FCD ---- but for some reason decided to gauge all the ammo I took to Nationals. I had one failure to feed at the Nats ---- other than that nothing in the past year or so.....

[diehli]

FCD, no gauge for me (after checking the first 100±. I check case rims and primers after I've put 'em into the Dillon 100-round plastic ammo boxes that they get transported in. Real easy to see if there's anything wrong with the ammo then (you've got others to compare 'em to).

[Caspian_45]

I gauge every round of every caliber I load.

If the gun pukes I will know it ain't the ammo.

I have, and still do, use a lot of range brass. I'll get a few bad rounds from time to time.

+1 on the press check and primer inspection.

[Jeeper]

I guage every Big Match Round

[Precision40]

I won't shoot a match with ammo that hasn't been gauge checked. VERY small price to pay to insure my ammo is 100%. With both the LFC die and the "U" die, I get only 1 or 2 out of 500 that fails the gauge.

It simply amazes me how many people I see jacking bad rounds every single match. The gun is only as good as it's ammo.

Edited October 11, 2005 by Precision40

[GuildSF4]

I gauge it all, if it doesn't pass the gauge it goes in the practice ammo. (I also inspect the loaded rounds primer check, press, etc.) For a major match I may gauge and double check in the barrel of the gun I plan to use.