Is it worth getting a Wilson cartridge gauge for .303BR?

[Ki6vsm]

Hi all. I'm wondering if a Wilson case gauge is useful (can be used for benefit) for checking .303BR, which has a rim and is mostly neck sized when reloading. That is, until full or partial full length sizing is eventually needed again.

Note: I checked, and L.E. Wilson does indeed make a case gauge for .303BR.

https://lewilson.com/case-gage/

[MrElectric03]

If I shoot it, I have a case gauge for it. I have no problem spending such a small amount on something I will not only get a good amount of use out of but also holds its value very well. Some guys use the barrels but that doesn't always work. Not all barrels are fully supported nor the same size. For me I just don't like hiking upstairs to get a gun just to check on brass size.

In your case I would definitely buy one. That way you know when it's time to FL size your brass and when you can get away with only neck sizing.

[Ki6vsm]

Well I certainly like the idea of being able to check the brass. And the price for a Wilson gauge ("gage"??) is pretty reasonable. I just don't know yet how it works with rimmed cartridges, especially one as archaically shaped as .303BR. I guess I can buy one and find out.

I'm also wondering because Lee-Enfield chambers are all notoriously oversized. So... one firing and the won't fit the gauge any longer? LOL I dunno. I have never used one of these gauges before. Just neck-sized my .303 brass and felt the bolt get tighter and tighter. And due to this they don't take too many neck sizes before needed extra help.

[rsrocket1]

If you are sure you're only going to shoot your reloads in that one gun, then just use your gun to check the sizing of the case. Since it's a bolt gun you can even mark your cases after firing if the cases start to drag on the bolt handle as you operate it just as you are saying.

If you're shooting full power loads, I would not be surprised that you can only go 3-4 shots before needing a bump back on the shoulder. That's typical for many cartridges. I do a bump back after 3-4 on my .308 with full power loads. With cat sneeze loads and light bullets, I can go 10 shots and still not need anything more than a neck sizing.

With a big chamber I don't think the case gauge will tell you much more than "you have to resize" after every shot which is probably not necessary. If you test chamber your neck sized brass in your gun, you know it will either work or won't work.

[Ki6vsm]

Hmm. Yeah. That's pretty much what I have been doing. I have two LEs and I keep the brass segregated. Maybe dropping neck-sized brass into the chamber and trying to close the bolt on it will tell me all I really need to know. It it starts feeling "too hard" to close the bolt, it's time for a shoulder bump with a FS die.

I dropped one of these gauges into my Midway basket yesterday but thought I would ask around. They aren't that expensive, but spend waste $25 if I won't get very much out of it? I will stick with my decision to buy the .223 gauge though.

[fguffey]

Hi all. I'm wondering if a Wilson case gauge is useful (can be used for benefit) for checking .303BR,

Yes, the Wilson case gage is useful, the only limit is on the user as in his limited ability to understand how the Wilson case gage is used to measure the case.

Most reloaders used the Wilson case gage as a drop in gage, after dripping the case into the gage they used their thump nails when determining case head protrusion from the top of the gage or below the top of the gage. From the beginning Wilson suggested using a straight edge back in 1938 +/- a year. I suggested the reloader become familiar with the feeler gage with the straight edge. That would put the reloader to measuring in thousandths (.001")

Problem: Reloaders were anti-feeler gage, after that they polarized because most did not think they needed no 'stinking' feeler gage. AND NOW! Wilson makes a dial indicator tool that measure case head protrusion in thousandths. That only took 70+ years.

Remember, the rimmed cases head spaces on the rim; problem, manufacturers do not sell components to reloaders that know what they are doing. For me? I would like/prefer purchasing cases that off set the length of the chamber/head space. Meaning when purchasing rimmed cases I would like to have a choice of cases with thicker rims. But I have to ask; when was the last time and or the first time you read on a reloading forum of a reloader measuring the thickness of the rim; and then there is a 'because' there is nothing they can do about it because they are stuck with the cases they that are available.

Then there is that thing with the datum; the Wilson case gage is a datum based tool. Some reloaders off set the length of the chamber from the shoulder/datum to the bolt face with the length of the case from the datum to the case head. Because of that they ignore/disregard the thickness of the rim.

Is that a problem? Most reloaders do not know if the case stretched between the case head and case body, because they do not understand the concept of 'datums' they have no ideal what else can happen to the case when fired.

And then there is that thing with starting over by full length sizing after neck sizing 5 times. I have never been able to understand how a reloader can start over with a case that has been fired 5 times.

F. Guffey