Case Length Gage Tight In Resized Cases

Tight Case Length Gage in Resized Cases

Rifle cases that have been resized, and deprimed, have had the neck reduced in diameter by forcing it into the die, and then by pulling the case out of the die the expander has opened the case mouth to a size usually .001” smaller than your bullet diameter.

With Pistol cartridges case neck wall thickness makes the difference. Sizing the case from the outside squeezes the case down. If the case wall is .002” thicker than nominal, that makes the inside diameter of the case mouth .004” smaller, making the gage tight.

The gage should be that same .001”- .002” smaller than the neck diameter. If it fits tight in your cases, you can simply reduce your gauge diameter.

Remove the gauge from the cutter. Clamp the gauge in a drill chuck and spin it. Take some 320 grit emery cloth and sand down the large end until it fits into your case. This is only a thousandth of an inch or two, so it does not take much to remove it.

If you are having trouble getting the gage into the cutter, take a hand drill and lock the gage into the chuck. This is just to give you something to hold it with. Now screw the cutter on. They are made tight so they won’t work loose.