Calipers?

[skypirate7]

Are calipers necessary for reloading? Or are there other ways of achieving the same check of proper length? I'm going to be reloading .308 Winchester.

Opinions / experience / wisdom / dissertations - please share.

 

[ATLDave]

Yes. You'll find all kinds of uses for them.

Besides, there are some pretty good ones that aren't expensive at all.

 

[mgmorden]

I'd say yes. You really need to be able to check accurate OAL. Heck if you're really desperate you can get plastic vernier calipers for less than $2 off ebay. A nice pair is less than $20 (I prefer vernier over digital or dial. they're cheaper, simpler, and take no batteries).

 

[Searcher4851]

Yes, calipers are a must. They come in handy for a variety of measurements, and some measurements really need to be made. You can find them reasonably priced.

 

[rcmodel]

Harbor Freight digital.

They are on sale for less then $10 bucks all the time.
And they are pretty darn good.



rc

 

[cfullgraf]

Are calipers necessary for reloading? Or are there other ways of achieving the same check of proper length? I'm going to be reloading .308 Winchester.

Opinions / experience / wisdom / dissertations - please share.

Yes they are are other ways a cartridge length could be measured, but adequate calipers are pretty reasonable in cost, do it quite efficiently, and have zillions of other uses.

Not a place to be "penny wise and pound foolish".

 

[skypirate7]

Thanks guys. I've got dial calipers on the way from Harbor Freight.

 

[Legion489]

Are they REALLY needed to load ammo? No. Are they darn handy when loading? Yes. Of course just because the book, manufacturer or what ever said to use whatever as a OAL does NOT mean that will work in your gun! A friend was having problems and measured the .223 ammo and it was the right length for that bullet, etc., it just wouldn't chamber. What was wrong?! I said either the case was not resized properly (he said it was), shoulder/neck crumpled from over crimping (he claimed it wasn't), OAL length wrong (in spec), then the ogive has hitting the rifling, set it a .01" deeper, if that didn't work, another .01" until it was right. Guess what? THAT worked.

Also they are just plain handy to have around and fun to use. So yes, get one. In fact as rcmodel pointed out (the first thing I thought of too) is Harbor Freight has them for $10 and they are perfectly good and well worth the money.

 

[arizona_cards_11]

Calipers are definitely a must.

And if you're Obsessive Compulsive like me, they give you a reason to be angry at your Redding Competition seating die for randomly seating +-0.003" off.

 

[chris in va]

I had some electronic calipers for a while. They have to be rezero'ed often and blanked out when the little metal contacts lost connection.

I much prefer the manual dial type as they are dead reliable and instant reading.

 

[rcmodel]

So, how hard is it to zero them?

I zero mine every time I turn them on.

The zero button is right next to the power button!!

rc

 

[chris in va]

RC, mine would lose zero during operation.

 

[rcmodel]

Hmmm?

That shouldn't happen.

Probably had something to do with the other problem with the battery contacts.

My Harbor Freights have been dead nuts reliable for about three years now.
And still on the first battery it came with in it.

rc

 

[PJSprog]

I have both the dial and digital calipers from Harbor Freight. I use the dial almost exclusively. Never needs a battery, and have only ever had to zero it once. I find them quite handy.

 

[JSmith]

I have a dial caliper from RCBS that works well.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yes, they are essential. I'd advise nice quality stainless steel analog calipers. I use mine all the time.

 

[edfardos]

I have the ones rc pictured. They come down in price when the chinese container ship makes port and billions of them hit the market. They lose zero more often as the battery dies. I remove the battery between loading sessions.

I like the caliper, but would like a more reliable/expensive one.

you need'm for measuring length and crimp.


edfardos

 

[dragon813gt]

I don't know what you guys are doing to the HF ones. Mine are four years old and are still working perfectly on the original battery. And it came with a spare They shut off automatically and rezeroing takes about one second to do. But I do realize its cheap Chinese electronics so there could be bad ones out there.

No matter what you need a way to measure OAL. Calipers are the easiest way to do it. I'd go as far to say that you should have a micrometer as well. If you cast your own bullets you definitely need a micrometer. But I find use for it during reloading of jacketed bullets as well.


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[Kevin Rohrer]

I got a steel set from Dillon and use them regularly.

 

[BYJO4]

Glad you ordered a caliper. You won't be sorry.

 

[Walkalong]

I have nice Mitutoyo and Brown and Sharp dial calipers, but since the old eyes are not what they used to be, I use the HF digital calipers for most reloading chores. They are very accurate as far as .001 goes, and we don't need .0001 accuracy for the vast majority of reloading.

 

[Hondo 60]

Is there another tool that'll measure to 1/1,000th of an inch?
(with an overall length somewhere between 1/2 inch to 3 inches or so)

If you have such a thing, then no a caliper isn't mandatory.

But they're not expensive unless you buy a Craftsman, Starrett, Snap-On or some such.
Any Lowes, Menards, Home Depot etc will have inexpensive ones.
Harbor Freight is the cheapest I've seen.

 

[joneb]

I use $10 HF calipers a lot, if I need a more accurate measurement I will use Starrett micrometers.

 

[dsm]

Pony up and get a good set made by Starret or Mitutoyo. Will save you some headaches and money in the long run. I have a set of Mitutoyo digital and they are rock solid. Never needs to be re-zeroed and are consistent every time.

 

[savanahsdad]

Pony up and get a good set made by Starret or Mitutoyo. Will save you some headaches and money in the long run. I have a set of Mitutoyo digital and they are rock solid. Never needs to be re-zeroed and are consistent every time.

+1 one ^^^^^^ but I ran a mill and a lathe for a living a life time ago, most of my stuff is over 24 years old , but I bet they out last me as there made for everyday use