Whats your favorite boolit gauge/comparator

[Ron Padilla]

there are few different ones out there Hornady as well as some independent mfgs but wich one do you own use and like and based on what info?  Thanks

[Omega]

I have Hornady's but am not entirely happy with it due to the way it mounts to the caliper. I looked at the Sinclair nut comparator but decided against it because I would need two to get the calibers I needed. I have since bought another caliper to dedicate to the comparator but I think the Sinclair is a great tool and would select it if I didn't already have one.

[Ron Padilla]

thanks for the response, but suredly there must be others out there that some of the ones on the market and have more opins.

[enfield]

I've never heard of the device and have been reloading for over 30 years.  I guess I don't need one.  :D

[Dolomite_supafly]

Are you wanting to compare just the bullets are the complete cartridges?

 

For the bullets only I used two Hornady bullet comparators, one on each arm of my micrometer. Then I remove one to measure OAL.

 

If you are comparing loaded cartridges to get consistent OAL then you need to be measuring the bullets themselves for consistent bearing length. Out of the same lot bullet's bearing length can vary as much as .015". With different lots they can vary as much as .03"-.04" if my memory still works right. The longer the bearing length of the bullet the higher the pressure which results in a higher velocity while the shorter bearing length reduces the velocity. Once I started measuring the bearing length of bullets my vertical stringing went away. It all helps and adds up, I had a factory gun that would consistently shoot .3's at 100 yards with enough .2's to know those were not flukes. Then, one day, I realized I was spending way more time getting anal about what I was shooting than shooting itself and I quit all the prep work. I will say there are a few things that I still do with ALL my brass because it resulted in such a dramatic effect on accuracy. One is to uniform and chamfer the flash hole. That one thing resulted in a significant reduction in group sizes that I still do it today no matter the caliber or its purpose.

 

Here are some links that were invaluable to me when I used to chase groups.

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/43879-hand-loading-long-range-1-brass-case-prep.html

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/44049-hand-loading-long-range-2-bullet-sort-prep.html

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/44357-hand-loading-long-range-3-finding-start-oal.html

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/44763-hand-loading-long-range-4-powderin.html

http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/45258-hand-loading-long-range-5-inspect-tips.html

[Ron Padilla]

Thanks G, that was very informative.

[leroy]

The best comparator is a dial indicating caliper and a good reloading manual... If ya load ammo for semiautos (...rifle or pistol...) buy a cartridge gage like these for every cartridge ya load:  http://www.brownells.com/reloading/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/case-length-headspace-gage-6-8mm-rem-special-sku749003958-33287-67650.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-shopping-_-Wilson%20Case%20Gage&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c187_a_7c1021_a_7c749003958_d_749003931_d_20537

 

It saves plenty of headaches....

 

leroy

[Ron Padilla]

In fact I just ordered one from them for 300 blk the only thing that was a killer is their shipping rate they realy get you on that.

[jphillips63]

I use one exactly like this that I bought from a machine shop for about 1/3 price as new.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R896BO/ref=s9_simh_gw_p469_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=04CX71EC0NH09SN3QMS8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200482&pf_rd_i=507846

[Ron Padilla]

JP that is going to the extreme unless you are (pushing my leg) :)

[jphillips63]

I use it for more than just checking bearing surface I use to check my concentricity of my loaded rounds. I use it to check my reamers. It serves many purposes and is a very vital piece of equipment I'm my bench rest shooting. Sent from my Droid RAZR Maxx HD using Tapatalk Pro