Dillon .40 Case Gauge: Too generous (no Precision)

[Ground Loop]

I have a Para-Ordnance in .40S&W with a tight barrel, as is normal. I get some range brass in with my .40S&W, sometimes old Glock brass with the well-known bulge. This stuff will stick in the Para's throat something awful, so I chamber-check each round before a match.

Rather than yanking the barrel out of the Para, I bought one of Dillon's .40 S&W stainless case gauges.

To my surprise, it passes everything! Rounds that won't seat at all in the Para will "check" just fine in the gauge -- drop in, drop out. Out of 1000 rounds, it rejected exactly zero.

Stumped, I bought an EGW gauge, and it's much tighter. It rejects those same rounds that stick in the Para.. about 30 out of the 1000.

So what gives? What's the point of a case gauge that's too generously cut? Do they come in ".40S&W" and ".40 Glock"?

[RePete]

I have an STI and a Dillon gauge, and I too had problems with ammo passing the gauge but not chmbering, but it turned out to be not enough crimp.

Are you roll sizing or using a EGW/Lee undersize die?

[rk272]

I had the same problem with a Dillon case gauge and my XD now I just use the barrel.

1+ Roll sizing almost no rejects now

[CenTX]

As great as most of the Dillon products are, there seems to be a lot of variation in their case check gauges. I have two for 38 Super and one is definitely tighter than the other. Some rounds that one would pass will not fit in the other.

[Joseph796]

As great as most of the Dillon products are, there seems to be a lot of variation in their case check gauges. I have two for 38 Super and one is definitely tighter than the other. Some rounds that one would pass will not fit in the other.

What brand(s) of case guages are tighter that Dillon's case guages?

[norbs007]

Good info guys as I have mostly Dillon case gauges.

[Enthusiast]

My personal experience with the Dillon gauges has been satisfactory. I'm loading 40's and 9's for a Beretta 96 and an XD-9. I find that my gauges are tighter than the barrels.

Gotta concur with the crimp comment too. That was an early source of grief for me that's since been fixed.

[Graham Smith]

Try L.E. Wilson. They have a great selection of products. In specific, check out the Pistol Max Gages.

[moose76]

Try L.E. Wilson. They have a great selection of products. In specific, check out the Pistol Max Gages.

Second the Wilson gauge, very tight.

[larry cazes]

I pull the barrel out of the gun that the ammo is intended to feed and use it to chamber check. Is it really that much trouble to pull the barrel?

[D.Hayden]

Larry.. you need to branch out.. what you only have one 40? lol

I'd rather have one tight gauge.. that will ensure the cartridge works in any of mine...

[larry cazes]

Larry.. you need to branch out.. what you only have one 40? lol

I'd rather have one tight gauge.. that will ensure the cartridge works in any of mine...

Actually way too many. 2 glock 35s, 1 Para, and 2 SV limited guns

Unfortunately that will never happen. Only way to be sure is to use the actual barrel from the gun. I reaaly only check them before major matches, not locals.

Edited September 5, 2008 by larry cazes

[Ground Loop]

Good info here!

Regarding crimp: I am crimping with the regular Dillon die set, not the Lee FCD. Not too aggressive, since they're plated bullets. I bought an FCD and will try that next, to see if it rolls some of the bulges out.

I did try the EGW "U" die in .40 and wasn't too happy with it. It does resize the brass nicely, but it has too little of a 'funnel' on the mouth end, and the brass frequently crunches rather than feeds in. The Dillon size die can cover a lot more brass per hour.. never catches on the lip of the brass.

So, it's a toss-up.. either I use the U die and carefully tuck each piece of brass in to get it fed, or I run through with the Dillon die and then chamber-check each match round. I've opted for that.

But yeah, my Dillon gauge is far more generous than the EGW gauge or the barrel itself. I don't really mind pulling the barrel, of course, but I was surprised a proper gauge would be so loose.

[RePete]

There is another option.

Do a chamber cast with Cerrosafe and have a custom chamber gauge made.

[Graham Smith]

I did try the EGW "U" die in .40 and wasn't too happy with it. It does resize the brass nicely, but it has too little of a 'funnel' on the mouth end, and the brass frequently crunches rather than feeds in. The Dillon size die can cover a lot more brass per hour.. never catches on the lip of the brass.

FWIW, as part of my brass cleaning and inspection, I run all the brass through the "U" die in a single stage press. Any problem brass can be found and eliminated right there. It also makes the progressive press operate smoother since the brass is already deprimed and sized.

[G-ManBart]

I did try the EGW "U" die in .40 and wasn't too happy with it. It does resize the brass nicely, but it has too little of a 'funnel' on the mouth end, and the brass frequently crunches rather than feeds in. The Dillon size die can cover a lot more brass per hour.. never catches on the lip of the brass.

FWIW, as part of my brass cleaning and inspection, I run all the brass through the "U" die in a single stage press. Any problem brass can be found and eliminated right there. It also makes the progressive press operate smoother since the brass is already deprimed and sized.

That or depending on what press you're using, use a standard resize die in station 1 and the U-die in station 2....press works easier and you don't worry about crunching cases. R,

[Ground Loop]

Thanks for the pointer to the Wilson case gauge! It's the best yet. Just a little tighter than the barrel. Nicely made.

So in order of tolerance: Dillon (useless), EGW (just right), Wilson (conservative).

Now I have to revisit this Dillon .223 gauge. I've always suspected it was generous..

[shootin-blanks]

I use the barrel from the gun, I'm shooting in the match..seems to ALWAYS workout good.

[kevin c]

Per Dillon:

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

[raz-0]

Ok, I had a tight chambered barrel. I bought a dillon case gauge. (.40)

It didn't reject a single piece of ammo the barrel chocked on.

Then I got an EGW gauge and a wilson gauge. The wilson is the tightest of them all, but has the proble that the actualy bullets wouldn't fit into the part of the gauge past where the case mouth seats. It was still passing about 40% of the rounds the barrel wouldn't deal with.

So the barrel went back to the manufacturer to have the chamber recut. The EGW gauge is about perfect approximation, and is the best bang for the buck.

Dillons are a waste of money.

I don't know if the folks making the LE wilson gauges are having issues recently as someone I shoot with regularly got one for his .38 super gun, and is having the same issues as I am with loaded ammo actually fitting all the way in the gauge. Another guy i shoot with has had his for YEARS, and shoots the same brand bullets using mixed brass and an EGW U-die jsut like I do and no problems with the cartridge actually fitting in his.