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I am curious to know how far you guys go in pursuit of accuracy. What do you use to measure your cases etc.
I am currently using Mitutoyo digital calipers as well as a mechanical set that measures in thousands of an inch. I use a set of digital vernier gauges.
I own a Hornady cartridge over all length measuring tool with the drilled and tapped cases. I also have a set of Hornady head space gauges.
I have recently being spending a lot more time measuring and adjusting stuff as part of my re loading and I am finding it quite interesting. I have delved into the art of shoulder bumping. I was finding it hard to get consistent readings. To make life a little easier I decided to invest in some new kit. I acquired a couple of Redding body dies in the calibers Im interested in and sets of Redding competition shell holders.
But the measuring was hit and miss. So I contacted David (ovenpaa) at the shooting Shed and asked him if he would make me some super dooper cartridge over all length gauges and a couple of sets of shoulder bump gauges. He passed me onto his business manager (Christel) who took the details of my requirements and then I sat back and waited. It did not take long before they dropped through the letter box.

All I can say is WOW what a difference.

I have just used the head space gauge to check shoulder push back of a fired case and re measured after running it through a body die. I now know what the shoulder set back of my fired cases are accurately. I also know that the the redding body die pushes the shoulders back exactly 2 thousands of an inch. I can move onto the competition shell holders confident that if I need to use them I can accurately measure the amount they bump the shoulders back.
The shooting sheds cartridge over all length gauges measure to the bullet ogive and are equally as accurate.
So what are you guys using now a days what is your routine for reloading your accurate loads and how far do you go in pursuit of those one hole groups.

I have also started to record everything using a excel spread sheet its easier to build calculations into it saving me scribbling on bits of paper.

i have just done a comparison:
The redding body die pushes the shoulders back 2 thou.
The redding full length die pushes the shoulders back 5 thou.
A lee full length sizing die pushes the shoulder back 10 thou.
I was quite surprised at the difference.

Good to hear they arrived safely. I run systems reasonably similar to yours however I am always a couple of revisions ahead in some areas as I tend to test drive new products before release. You would probably enjoy a half hour or so looking at what is on my workshop desk right now :)

Sounds interesting. Yes the bits arrived safe and sound they have all ready been well used. Im busy building ammo for next Saturday Im looking forward to another day with the 6.5x55 at 100 yards. I need to zero the scope its shooting slightly high and to the right.
I am also in the process of measuring stuff and building ammo for a cracking little .222 Remington I recently acquired. Hopefully I will have it ready for Saturday.

I use a Starret 0 -1" micrometer and a Mitutoyo 0- 25m.m. micrometer. Both calibrated against tool room standards once a year. I have RCBS precision mics for rounds where it matters and a Mitutoyo DTI on my case concentricity gauge. For work that does not require much in the way of precision, where being within .005" or 0.1 m.m. is acceptable, I use a caliper purely for the speed and convenience.

I know that is going to upset some people who believe a caliper can be used to measure down to a resolution of a thousandth but just because it has a readout that goes to 4 decimal places, but they are being mislead. The issue with callipers is the mechanical "slop" intrinsic need to have a sliding jaw. There is a reason why a decent quality micrometer comes with a calibration certificate, are intended to measure a single feature over a limited range and cost what they do! Thinking you can measure precisely and repeatably down to a thou' or a hundredth of a millimetre with a £6.99 caliper from Aldi just because it has a digital readout is a mistake. I once had someone try to brag to me about a (very expensive) caliper he had scammed his employer into buying him. Apparently it could measure down to a thousandth of a millimetre (.000039 inches). I had him measure a steel ball with it, then again with the readout pointing away from him. There was a .02 discrepancy! I pointed out at least one of the measurements was wrong so what was the value in having a result to such high precision if the result was wrong?

For virtually all your measuring needs a calliper will do, but for anything requiring precision, such as measuring a chamber cast or a barrel slug only a micrometer will do. Ask what measuring equipment were used to make your gauges and then look at how much they cost. TOP TIP! Make sure you are sitting down when you do this. You will have an even greater respect for the tooling you have just bought.

My Mitutoyo stuff is calibrated. I get my stuff issued at work it needs to be accurate.

Andrew, I could not agree more. My two daily use micrometres that are currently in calibration and I test them daily across two known measurements (Slip and gauge) I check my other micrometers first time when they come out. A caliper is a reasonable method of measurement however it does take a reasonable instrument and a practised hand to get the best out of it.

So some of you own some nice equipment, but does it improve your scores at the range? When you are in control of your reloading process and your ammunition is predictable, only time spent on the range will offer significant improvements.

Ovenpaa wrote:Andrew, I could not agree more. My two daily use micrometres that are currently in calibration and I test them daily across two known measurements (Slip and gauge) I check my other micrometers first time when they come out. A caliper is a reasonable method of measurement however it does take a reasonable instrument and a practised hand to get the best out of it.

Have you ever had it measure out on either? None of the mics I've used at work which were calibrated ever measured out even if due calibration. My own personal Moore and Wright mics have never needed tweaking... i wouldn't even question their integrity or verify them they are that reliable. I certainly wouldn't do it every day

What are you using them to measure.