Understanding Headspace - Addendum 1 - Go/No-Go Gages

[@Th3Su8]

Great explanation of the gauges and their proper use. Thank you.

[@hornadyloader7574]

+Th3Su8 Thanks! And thanks for watching me ramble on about this stuff! LOL

[@bigyote]

Outstanding video. Thank you from a 1st time Aero Precision builder!

[@christopherbutler4619]

love your videos. Thank you for taking the time to do them.

[@TheCedarsGear]

Thank you, great video... Happy Easter

[@volcanowb]

thanks for taking your time to share valuable insights!

[@hornadyloader7574]

+Walter Boyd You're welcome Walter! Thanks for watching!

[@IEraiderfan]

Kevin a great video thanks I am enjoying my Reloader's Workshop.

[@hornadyloader7574]

+Lou Flores Thanks Lou! Good to hear from you again!

[@Jeff_Seely]

No sir! You teach the correct usage of these gauges and your way ensures safety. Now, my gauge uses are a bit controversial and DO go against the grain of the proper intended use of the go-gauge. But since I have begun re-barreling Savage rifles, I have only used go-gauges. These are minimum spec match-chambered barrels and with the bolt stripped, I simply set my headspace to barely chamber the Dave Manson go-gauge and torque down my barrel nut. I do this, fully knowing that the rifle will never receive factory ammo (although I have never had a fitment issue with factory ammo). The Savage rifle is one of the easiest systems to headspace and usually requires a gunsmith otherwise. Depending on my caliber, I will rent a no-go gauge after a round count of usually 300 or so, and make sure my rifle still passes the no-go length. With all that said, I do recommend proper gauge usage to avoid potential safety issues. Another thing; I was buying go-gauges from a very reputable company and stopped when I measured their gauges against a Wilson Micrometer Case Gauge and they were all -.002 of the intended length. So you aren't the only one if that's reassuring. Manson gauges are all excellent and exact though. Not to give Dave a marketing plug but he really does a good service to the accurate rifle. Thank you for your video sir.

[@isleofgreg]

This was really helpful, thank you. I am amazed at how little I can trust the Hornady headspace gauge and the RCBS precision mic. Now I will only view them as comparators until I can get a set of precision go-no-go gauges, which before now I wrote off as only being useful to gunsmiths. You really sold me on how useful a full set of 11 gauges would be. The question this brings up is after I know the exact headspace of my 308 rifle, is this info any more help in loading better ammo than simply bumping back the shoulders of the brass by a couple thousandths, etc? Also would like to hear more on these go-no-go spaces lol

[@hornadyloader7574]

+grinc333 Thanks! I knew the Hornady gauge would be off simply because I don't put a lot of faith in digital calipers, but I was disappointed when I discovered the RCBS "Precision" Micrometer wasn't as precise as I had hoped. Unless you build a lot of firearms, I'd save the money and not get the full set of gages. Once you know the headspace in the chamber of your rifle and have determined what you want to set your headspace to for your reloads, they're not going to be very useful. I've built a dozen or so AR-15's and haven't invested in a full set...I just can't justify the cost for the use I'd get out of them. Someday maybe. Oh, and BTW, Go/No-Go Spaces (patent pending) are my own invention based on years of R&D and at great cost to myself. As soon as I figure out what they do and how they work, I'll be sure to get a video out on them...LOL. Thanks for watching dude!

[@isleofgreg]

+HornadyLoader I did some searching and found a Forster Match 308 gauge that they say measures 1.631. I could not find any 1.630 by them on Brownells. This one is $29 so would it be worth getting this as a tool to see how far out of line my RCBS precision mic is?

[@hornadyloader7574]

+grinc333 That's Perfect! You can use that one gage to calibrate all your other tools. $29 is about as good a price as you're likely to find.

[@isleofgreg]

HornadyLoader Many thanks. By the way, I posted on your forum awhile back asking about how to get Reloaders Workshop working on my Mac from the guy who said he was running it on Crossover. I bought Crossover and started running QuickLoad 3.9 on it and it works fine. However, I am having problems even getting Reloaders Workshop to install, let alone run. I can provide more details on the forum

[@hornadyloader7574]

+grinc333 Ah, I remember that! Unfortunately, I have no way to test Mac issues. My last Apple product was an Apple II I had in 1981. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Apple, my career just went in the PC direction after that. I would be interested in hearing what problems you're having during the install and if I can provide any insight into the problem, I will definitely do whatever I can. Thanks!

[@RJ-sr5dv]

Great overview, thanks..!!

[@kitwalker520]

Damn strait - thx

[@williamjohnson2896]

SAAMI specs allow safety for a maximum chamber, almost closes on the field gage, and a minimum cartridge. This combination should be completely safe with factory loads. BUT, this accounts for one firing only. If you want to handload and have good brass life you need to have a minimum chamber and maximum cartridge so stretching is minimized. The whole thing is about manufacturing tolerances and safe operation with factory loads Beware the handloader.

[@legion2k988]

Thanks, good video.

[@robertamaty7453]

Excellent !!

[@hornadyloader7574]

+Robert Amaty Thanks Robert! And thanks for watching!

[@embalmed]

Everquest? what class do you play?

[@dg1234ify]

@ 3:45, you said they're machined to 15/10,000 thousands of an inch. Maybe you meant, 15/1000 or 0.00015.

[@mastalee1776]

great info

[@kayeszymanski6945]

another great video Mr. HL question, can RL W program be backed up on a thumb drive as well as any information you put into it thank you

[@hornadyloader7574]

+Kaye Szymanski Hi Kaye, yes, you can back up the RW data to any drive your computer can see, including thumb-drives. You can then use that backup to transfer the data to an RW running on another computer. RW has its own backup/restore functions so you don't have to do anything special with trying to find the data.

[@TechStreamline]

Hi how are you? Which model of this caliper? I do not say the analogical, the other seems to be digital and very accurate. Thanks and congratulations for the video.

[@micoyotehunter]

Kevin, this video isn't 'downloadable' like the others. Is this something you may be able to correct on your end? Thanks!

[@richardpetty1000]

Yes, having the same problem...

[@zgennaro]

Switched the barrel on my savage. Bolt closes on a go gauge but doesn't close on factory ammo. Puzzled. Forster gauge too short?

[@oldgoat1890]

Did you "strip the bolt"? I often use re-sized brass to do a barrel.

[@oldgoat1890]

I have been in machining and gun work for over 40 years. I never saw so many head space problems until the internet came along. This video sure is not helping. When I buy a barrel it usually looks like bar stock on the outside. Good luck getting a bolt to match that.

[@NoManIAmDaveMan]

guess i cant trust hornady or rcbs...