Wilson vs Dillon case gages

[NC Shooter]

Does anyone have any data on comparative tolerence differences between Dillon and Wilson case gages? The only thing I have heard is that the Dillon gages are stainless steel and The Wilson gages are possibly chromium steel.

TIA for any information,

Ken

[Flexmoney]

I don't know that I have any of the Wilsons. I do have some of the Midway brand. They rust a bit, but they run tighter than the Dillon.

What load are you looking at? What gun is it going into?

[lcs]

I have had Dillon and Wilson (40 and 9 both) side by side (never spec'd em though) and had rounds pass the Dillon and not pass Wilson. The rounds that passed Dillon would sometimes fail the barrel test. If my rounds passed Wilson, they would always drop in my barrels.

[Throwin Lead]

I have a Wilson in 40 and my son has an EGW in 40 - the Wilson is tighter.

Rounds that didn't gague in the Wilson passed in the EGW.

If you don't keep a thin film of oil on the exterior of the Wilson it will rust. I suspect that the Wilson is made from a machined mild steel round bar.

[RangerJoe]

I have had the same experience with the Dillon (38 sup, 40S&W, & 45acp). They would pass the Dillon but would sometimes fail the barrel test.

I always barrel test rounds now that will be used for big matches.

[NC Shooter]

Flex,

I have a Colt Gold Cup with a Kart comp barrel that is a lot pickier than my other .45 Cal pistols. I just got a Dillon case gage and so far all of my completed cartridges are passing in the Dillon gage. I guess I will need to barrel test them too. I do have the origional Colt barrel from the gun before I installed the Kart. It might be interresting to see if my completed ammo all will fit in it as well. That would beat buying another case gage that still might not be as tight as the comp barrel.

I might just take the gun to my smith and have him dress the Kart chamber a bit. I spoke with BE this afternoon on another matter and I posed this question to him as well. His response was that he had his smith open up the chambers a bit on all of his new barrels.

My only hesitation is that this gun will be used a lot at 50 yards and I think a tighter chamber promotes just a little more accuracy.

Ken

Edited May 22, 2008 by NC Shooter

[CenTX]

I have two Dillon 38 Super, one is tighter than the other.

[warpspeed]

in 223, the Wilson seems a little tighter than the Dillon.

[HighVelocity]

Rounds that fail in my Wilson 9mm gauge will pass in my EGW gauge about half the time. The Wilson gauge is very tight. I've never had a round that passed the wilson gauge cause a malfunction.

[SLM]

Buy a Wilson, be happy.

[Charles Bond]

OK I just have to ask. Have any of you guys who have had rounds pass a Dillon or EGW but fail the Wilson had any of the rounds that failed the non Wilson guage then actually fail to feed in your weapon?

[dillon]

Dillon case gages are cut to SAAMI minimum chamber specs. Some other gages are cut to SAAMI maximum cartridge specs, which is tighter.

[Mark K]

OK I just have to ask. Have any of you guys who have had rounds pass a Dillon or EGW but fail the Wilson had any of the rounds that failed the non Wilson guage then actually fail to feed in your weapon?

Hi Charles,

As a pretty new shooter, and even newer reloader, that was my dilema. My reloads were fitting just fine in the Dillon gauge, but then jamming in my SVI. Until this thread, I knew nothing about the Wilson guage (and any pointers on where to get one would be appreciated). I had moved to checking 100% of my relaods in the barrel.

Our mutual friend Joe in Columbus suggests that if having a gun built, have the gunsmith make a gase gauge with the same chamber/finishing reamer.

Mark K

[warpspeed]

Dillon case gages are cut to SAAMI minimum chamber specs. Some other gages are cut to SAAMI maximum cartridge specs, which is tighter.

That makes sense.

[lcs]

OK I just have to ask. Have any of you guys who have had rounds pass a Dillon or EGW but fail the Wilson had any of the rounds that failed the non Wilson guage then actually fail to feed in your weapon?

My experince with 9 Major and 40 passing the Wilson is "no failures in my guns". I do not even barrel test anymore if they drop in the Wilson. Just my experience.

[D. Manley]

Dillon case gages are cut to SAAMI minimum chamber specs. Some other gages are cut to SAAMI maximum cartridge specs, which is tighter.

That makes sense.

And also answers a question that has bugged me for some time. Thanks for the clarity, dillon.

[adweisbe]

Dillon case gages are cut to SAAMI minimum chamber specs. Some other gages are cut to SAAMI maximum cartridge specs, which is tighter.

Very useful to know. Thanks for the detail.

If a cartridge falls freely in and out of a Dillon case gauge should it feed reliably (as reliably as a tighter round) in a minimum SAAMI spec chamber? Are these reliability issues due to chambers tighter then SAAMI spec?

[Duane Thomas]

Have you ever considered having the chamber on your gun opened up slightly? If rounds will pass the Dillon gauge but not chamber in your gun, I'd actually be looking at the barrel as the culprit, not the gauge.

[zhunter]

Have you ever considered having the chamber on your gun opened up slightly? If rounds will pass the Dillon gauge but not chamber in your gun, I'd actually be looking at the barrel as the culprit, not the gauge.

Duane

Could that not possibly have a negative effect upon accuracy?

:popcorn:

Edited May 22, 2008 by zhunter

[Duane Thomas]

I would say no. Really, I've never seen a decent pistolsmith who knows the gun is for self-defense or match use, anything in which the gun has to work, who didn't open up the chamber a bit. Just for the purposes of discussion, let's say that opening up the chamber slightly, to the point the gun will work when dirty or feeding slightly out-of-spec rounds, would have a minute effect on accuracy - and I'm not saying it would - a tiny gain in accuracy is a poor trade for the reliability of the gun.

[zhunter]

a tiny gain in accuracy is a poor trade for the reliability of the gun.

I totally agree!!!

:popcorn:

[ninefan]

It's an interesting thought to keep in mind. I haven't had any issues with my Dillon 9mm case gauge and my Glock so far, but I could see something like my Shuemann barrel with a tighter chamber possibly having issues. I use the barrel as a gauge for the open gun though.

[DWPatriot]

I had a .40 round fail to feed at a match this past weekend. It had passed the Dillon case gauge. My .45 cal Wilson gauge has never caused any problems. I guess I will be looking for a Wilson in .40 cal.

Edited May 28, 2008 by DWPatriot

[wide45]

I would say no. Really, I've never seen a decent pistolsmith who knows the gun is for self-defense or match use, anything in which the gun has to work, who didn't open up the chamber a bit. Just for the purposes of discussion, let's say that opening up the chamber slightly, to the point the gun will work when dirty or feeding slightly out-of-spec rounds, would have a minute effect on accuracy - and I'm not saying it would - a tiny gain in accuracy is a poor trade for the reliability of the gun.

Tight chambers are reliable, with good ammo. Detuning the gun, so you can get away with crappy/dirty ammo might be smart in a carry situation. I don't run crappy ammo in my competition guns.

If any of your reloads fail the barrel test, your reloading process is sub par. Time spend fixing your reloading problems, is a better investment than perfecting your post reload defect detection.

[toymaker]

I have both. Wilson has a larger selection. What I can't get in Dillon I buy in Wilson like .30 carbine. Both work well and I keep them in my garage in humid Florida and I haven't noticed any rust yet.