Machinist question

[Fyrtwuck]

Are there any gun friendly machinists in the Okc metro area? I want a case gauge for a .30 carbine. I have emailed every reloading tool company I can find and none make one for this caliber. The closest I’ve found is LE Wilson, but it just measures the length of the brass before trimming, not the OAL of the loaded round.

I have the gauges for the other calibers I load and use them instead of the “plunk test”.

Here is a short video of what I’m after.

 

[lasher]

OAL for rifle cases will vary from chamber to chamber based on bullet used etc. i load ladders of different charges and different OAL to find the right combination for accuracy and velocity. you are addressing the jump to the lands and that will vary from one chamber to another in most barrels. IMO and your mileage may vary. Hornady sells tools for figuring all that out, i've never seen a case OAL gauge for rifles. i use calipers and published data in the manuals for starting points

 

[Uncle TK]

It looks like Amazon is the only one that have them
https://www.amazon.com/30-Carbine-C...pID=41QttUgHZeL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

[swampratt]

You could make one yourself if you had some aluminum and could sacrifice a couple drill bits.
If you are ever near here Yukon .. drop one of the loaded rounds off to me and I will try to make something that works.

I have been thinking about this exact same thing but for my .223 to measure at the shoulder Ogive.
Of the unloaded case.
My bolt gun likes the ogive to be .004" longer.. as does just 1 of my AR15's but the wifes AR will not go all the way into battery unless the ogive is pushed back .004".
I have been measuring with a flare nut and calipers.. each and every case.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

OAL for rifle cases will vary from chamber to chamber based on bullet used etc. i load ladders of different charges and different OAL to find the right combination for accuracy and velocity. you are addressing the jump to the lands and that will vary from one chamber to another in most barrels. IMO and your mileage may vary. Hornady sells tools for figuring all that out, i've never seen a case OAL gauge for rifles. i use calipers and published data in the manuals for starting points

What you’re describing is a process that a match grade shooter would need. This Ammo is intended to be shot in an M1 Carbine. Maximum accuracy isn’t a concern. Im just looking for something in the “mil-spec dimensions. I know a lot of reloaders Use the “plunk test” for their reloaded rounds. It’s more time consuming in a rifle.

You could make one yourself if you had some aluminum and could sacrifice a couple drill bits.
If you are ever near here Yukon .. drop one of the loaded rounds off to me and I will try to make something that works.

I have been thinking about this exact same thing but for my .223 to measure at the shoulder Ogive.
Of the unloaded case.
My bolt gun likes the ogive to be .004" longer.. as does just 1 of my AR15's but the wifes AR will not go all the way into battery unless the ogive is pushed back .004".
I have been measuring with a flare nut and calipers.. each and every case.

I have some aluminum bar stock laying around taking up space. Pretty sure I’ve got a couple of issue rounds that could be used to measure from. What drill bits would be needed?

 

[Fyrtwuck]

It looks like Amazon is the only one that have them
https://www.amazon.com/30-Carbine-C...pID=41QttUgHZeL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Thanks for that link. I’m going to call them and see if it’s what I want.

 

[swampratt]

I do not know what drill bits you would need to measure the case.
I made a bullet mold from 2 aluminum blocks and used a drill bit that I ground to the size I wanted it to be.
Ground it on a bench grinder. then chucked it into the dripp press and took a sharpening stone to it to get the final last thousandths or 2 ground out of it.
I also changed the nose profile of the bit to mimic the bullet shape I wanted.

See where I am going.
That is what I would do in a nutshell.

You could even make one from teflon or very hard wood I would think.
You could use bullet tipped sanding rolls to get the final size.. or possibly cratex bullet points as they come in all kinds of shapes.

But if the one in the link is it that sure would be easier.

 

[lasher]

if loading for plinking then the manuals have the overall length for whichever bullet you use. load them to the stated length then tighten the seating die to that, load em up. i mic the cartridge until it's within spec, tighten everything and start pulling the lever...after having sized, trimmed, used headspace gauges. but i only load bottle neck cases and shoulder push back is the most critical part of that operation. good luck, hope you find what you need

 

[sumoj275]

You could make one yourself if you had some aluminum and could sacrifice a couple drill bits.
If you are ever near here Yukon .. drop one of the loaded rounds off to me and I will try to make something that works.

I have been thinking about this exact same thing but for my .223 to measure at the shoulder Ogive.
Of the unloaded case.
My bolt gun likes the ogive to be .004" longer.. as does just 1 of my AR15's but the wifes AR will not go all the way into battery unless the ogive is pushed back .004".
I have been measuring with a flare nut and calipers.. each and every case.

Talk about time consuming!

 

[swampratt]

Yea many things i do are time consuming. but if you think about it you probably have time ..especially if you turn off the tv and or computer and get after it.
Wife wanted an ice scrapper all mine were destroyed..I had been keeping a fire going to heat the house.
I made one from a cedar plank.
she did not care for it so I then made one from some 1/4" plexiglass i had laying around..She likes it .
If I have the parts to make something I would rather make it than buy it. even a 1 dollar ice scrapper.