Chamber checker question.

[ckyoursix]

When looking at the discription on lyman chamber checker it states that it is cut to saami min. length. Now is that just for the cartridge, or for a fully loaded round. The saami dimensions for a loaded .357 round is 1.405-1.590. That is a very wide tolerance, and if you drop a round in the checker, and it is not flush (a loaded round) and your length is 1.580 uhoh. But if it is just for the cartridge, fine trim to fit. Could someone please set me straight.

 

[OHOIAN]

Because the same hole is used to check 38spl and 357mag it could not possibly check the length of either the brass case or the loaded cartridge. Basically it checks for bulges in the cases.

 

[ckcollins2003]

Drop the loaded round into the chamber. Does it fit? If yes, you are good. If no, you are not.

 

[straight-shooter]

Drop the loaded round into the chamber. Does it fit? If yes, you are good. If no, you are not.

Good advice and I would like to add something.

I'll use the 9mm as a example. Several of my 9mm chambers vary in how tight they are and my H&K VP9 has the tightest tolerance of all so I use that barrel to check with.

It's really up to the individual which way to go here and either way is fine. In fact I finally ponied up and bought 3 pistol caliber and 4 rifle caliber Wilson Chamber checks because I wanted to eliminate disassembly of a gun every time I needed to setup.

Once my dies are set I could speculate the next time their the same but my OCD won't let me do that and I have to check every time before starting a reload session and you should.

 

[ckyoursix]

Ok did some further study at the university of youtube. I get it now.

 

[noylj]

1) the barrel is what counts
2) COL is determined by the length where the bullet's ogive hits the lede/rifling--that is max effective COL fore that barrel and bullet.
There is no hard-and-fast minimum COL, but you will almost always get better accuracy with a longer COL.
So, COL is determined by the EXACT bullet you use, the chamber dimensions of your gun (and not someone else's test gun), and geometry of the magazine and how it sets up the cartridge to go up the feed ramp.

Does the gage come with instructions? Minimum head space is 0.060 (from breech face to chamber area that stops the rim from moving forward for .357 Mag), but I would expect the gage to worry about exceeding max head space.
Never found any use for a gage myself.

 

[BE Mike]

I have both the Lyman and EGW chamber checkers. You drop your loaded round into them before you box your ammo. If you go to the range and your ammo doesn't fully chamber (don't ask me how I know this), you'll wish you'd had checked your ammo with one of these as a last step in your reloading process.

 

[Fullmag]

Don't know how it well it work for 38/357 round with .125 difference in length between the different cases. Found the case gauge is easier and more accurate measure when setting up a reliable crimp for semi-autos.

 

[BE Mike]

Ok, I am talking about a chamber checker and not a case gauge. This is what I'm talking about: https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/4...man-_-452669&gclid=CJKH_qff_NICFZaCaQod3bECpg I've loaded many thousands of rounds of pistol ammo without any case gauge. For semi-autos, the pistol barrel can be removed and used as a "plunk" tester. I don't know of many folks who trim straight walled pistol cases. Bottle necked rifle brass tends to stretch upon firing. Straight walled pistol cases tend to shrink in length, but not enough to matter.

 

[Broom_jm]

The link you listed above is a 6-hole Lyman case length gauge, not a "chamber checker". Instead of the single-cartridge Wilson gauge, these allow you to check half a dozen different cartridges with one tool. That's handy...but it still does not check your chamber, in any way.

Do you have the Hornady LNL Overall length gauge? (Formerly called a Stoney Point tool?)

 

[BE Mike]

If you are referring to my post. Well yes, it is a chamber checker for checking loaded rounds. From the website: "These Ammo Checkers are gauges that allow a reloader to quickly confirm that their ammunition will fit in their chamber."

 

[Broom_jm]

If you are referring to my post. Well yes, it is a chamber checker for checking loaded rounds. From the website: "These Ammo Checkers are gauges that allow a reloader to quickly confirm that their ammunition will fit in their chamber."

I know it might seem like nit-picking, but they actually capitalized the words "Ammo Checkers". It really tells you nothing at all about your chamber, only that the ammo you loaded "should" fit into a SAAMI spec chamber. It doesn't check your chamber.

 

[BE Mike]

I know it might seem like nit-picking, but they actually capitalized the words "Ammo Checkers". It really tells you nothing at all about your chamber, only that the ammo you loaded "should" fit into a SAAMI spec chamber. It doesn't check your chamber.

I agree with you. You are nit picking! Actually the chamber checkers I have, the EGW and Lyman, have proven to me that if the loaded rounds fit in them, they function in my guns.

 

[Broom_jm]

This might be called a "chamber checker"...

Hornady Lock-N-Load Overall Length Ga Bolt Action

And some might call this a "chamber checker"...

Lyman Borecam 20 Digital Borescope Monitor

While THIS...is an "ammo checker"...

L.E. Wilson Case Length Ga 30 Carbine

I've been reloading for 30 years and do not own a single "ammo checker", because every single one of my firearms comes with one, built-in...it's called "the chamber", and it works perfectly. YMMV

 

[red_zr24x4]

This might be called a "chamber checker"...

Hornady Lock-N-Load Overall Length Ga Bolt Action

And some might call this a "chamber checker"...

Lyman Borecam 20 Digital Borescope Monitor

While THIS...is an "ammo checker"...

L.E. Wilson Case Length Ga 30 Carbine

I've been reloading for 30 years and do not own a single "ammo checker", because every single one of my firearms comes with one, built-in...it's called "the chamber", and it works perfectly. YMMV

Yep, barrel comes out of the auto's, open the cylinder on the pistols, or I remove the cylinder on the single actions

 

[BE Mike]

This might be called a "chamber checker"...

Hornady Lock-N-Load Overall Length Ga Bolt Action

And some might call this a "chamber checker"...

Lyman Borecam 20 Digital Borescope Monitor

While THIS...is an "ammo checker"...

L.E. Wilson Case Length Ga 30 Carbine

I've been reloading for 30 years and do not own a single "ammo checker", because every single one of my firearms comes with one, built-in...it's called "the chamber", and it works perfectly. YMMV

Actually, I used my barrel of my AR as a chamber checker, but it didn't prove adequate, so I bought the EGW chamber checker and it works perfectly. Since we are measuring things; I have been reloading since 1972, but I still have room to learn and am always learning, sometimes from younger folks. BTW, I never have used anything to check my pistol ammo and that has worked out pretty well.

 

[Broom_jm]

Actually, I used my barrel of my AR as a chamber checker, but it didn't prove adequate, so I bought the EGW chamber checker and it works perfectly. Since we are measuring things; I have been reloading since 1972, but I still have room to learn and am always learning, sometimes from younger folks. BTW, I never have used anything to check my pistol ammo and that has worked out pretty well.

With all due respect, if you've been reloading for 45 years, you ought to have known better'n to call a case length gauge a chamber checker.

Back when you and I started, I don't even know if they made case length gauges, because people knew how to read a manual and an analog caliper. I mean, seriously...what purpose do these things REALLY serve, if you're reloading diligently? I guess it's the proliferation of semi and full-auto guns that created the "need"?

I'll just stick with knowing what I'm doing when I pull the lever on a press...that's worked great for a good long while.

 

[BE Mike]

With all due respect, if you've been reloading for 45 years, you ought to have known better'n to call a case length gauge a chamber checker.

Back when you and I started, I don't even know if they made case length gauges, because people knew how to read a manual and an analog caliper. I mean, seriously...what purpose do these things REALLY serve, if you're reloading diligently? I guess it's the proliferation of semi and full-auto guns that created the "need"?

I'll just stick with knowing what I'm doing when I pull the lever on a press...that's worked great for a good long while.

I don't see where you call these case length gauges. They are used by dropping the loaded round into the hole. If the case head sticks out, the round won't fit in your chamber. I'm not perfect, so I've loaded rounds that wouldn't chamber in my AR at the range. That is very frustrating. The chamber checkers let me know if there is a problem before I get all packed up and spread out at the range. Since I don't understand your point, I suppose I'll just let this go.