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10/13/2008 3:13:23 PM EDT
I have 2 case guages for 223 and have a problem. One is a Lyman guage and the other a Wilson. About 25% of the cases I test with the Lyman guage are outside the tolerance. With the Wilson they are fine. Is the Lyman guage messed up or do they just have a tighter tolerance? Thanks!
10/13/2008 3:20:40 PM EDT
[#1]
Double check that the lyman you have is not for loaded rounds, in which case you will be out of spec because the mouth of the case will be flared from your resizing operation.

Did you try a sample of loaded factory rounds in each gauge?
10/13/2008 4:03:08 PM EDT
[#2]
Yes, I've tried factory loads. Went through a few boxes of black hills and about 3 out of every 50 didn't fit. Not as bad as my sized cases but still... I have some other factory loads, I'll check them when the time comes to tear the boxes open.
10/13/2008 4:35:02 PM EDT
[#3]

Quoted:
I have 2 case guages for 223 and have a problem. One is a Lyman guage and the other a Wilson. About 25% of the cases I test with the Lyman guage are outside the tolerance. With the Wilson they are fine. Is the Lyman guage messed up or do they just have a tighter tolerance? Thanks!


What spec do the 25% fail on.
10/13/2008 5:20:48 PM EDT
[#4]
The head won't go into the guage properly. I'm thinking the Lyman guage is messed up. I've loaded a few of the cases and they all chamber without a problem.
10/13/2008 5:55:12 PM EDT
[#5]

Quoted:
The head won't go into the guage properly. I'm thinking the Lyman guage is messed up. I've loaded a few of the cases and they all chamber without a problem.


Do you mean the neck won't fit through the hole or do you mean that the shoulders won't go in?

It would be interesting to see the caliper measurements of that part of the case that won't fit.

You might have to give lyman a buzz and see what they have to say bout it.


10/13/2008 6:04:42 PM EDT
[#6]
Did you deburr after trimming? I have found that with my Lyman 223 case gage that alot of times the necks wont fit properly if they havent been deburred first.
10/13/2008 8:22:07 PM EDT
[#7]
IIRC, Wilson gauges are designed solely to measure overall length and datum point to base length.  Other dimensions in the gauge are deliberately left large to avoid false headspace readings.

I suspect the Lyman gauge is simply made with a chambering reamer.  Thus all dimensions are tight.

If I’m guessing correctly, the Wilson is best for setting headspace, while the Lyman is best to guarantee that completed rounds will chamber correctly.

I do know that my Lyman .40 S&W gauge won’t accept lots of loaded rounds that fit perfectly in my pistols.  I’ve gotten to the point where I generally don’t even bother with it.

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