Possibly a dumb question, but I'm a brand spankin new handloader and don't have my reloading manuals at my side...

Can I assume a Lee case length gauge will be the same for .308 & .358 Win? Could this be why they don't offer a guage for .358? Would it also work for .260 & 7mm-08?

In similar fashion, can the .270 length gauge be used for a .30-06? And vice versa?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

In some cases yes, in others no. The 308 and 358 are the same lenght but the 708 is longer. The 270 and 30-06 are different lenghts also.

"Assuming" anything while handloading is like assuming while making bombs......not often a good idea. Purchase a loading manual ....all of them I have clearly state case max length and case min length (or trim to length).
In my opinion a 'case length guage' might possibly be the most useless piece of handloading equipment available. Purchase a vernier calipher....digital....and actually measure the length as opposed to "somehwere around" but less than this.

skb2706,

I have all of the things you mention above, including calipers, but like I mentioned in my original post, I'm not where I can look at my manuals for reference. I can look later, but at the time I was trying to put together an online order for reloading supplies.

your reloading manual should tell you the lengths.....don't guess or assume!

The Lee case length trim gauge is cartridge specfic and you will need to purchase for each different cartridge you reload. They work fine, but read your manuals and use a good caliper to verify measurements.

The mandrel on the case length gauge is made to fit tight in the neck after sizing and I don't think it will make as square a trim on the neck if it is not tight. Also the point on the case length gauge that goes into the primer hole is guided into the hole by the tight fit of the neck on the mandrel.

One time I had a loose fit and had to fish for the primer hole which I had not had to do before. Upon further investigation, I figured out that I had not sized the neck yet.

IMHO, you need one for each caliber. What do they cost, about $5.00 ea.?

It seems they stopped making the 358 awhile back.

I just recently acquired a box of old discontinued case length gauges. 358 was one of them.

http://www.cliffsgunsmithing.com/Catalog_Lee_CT.htm

Don't always trust your gauge, however. You still need to verify with a caliper that your length is within spec.

-Spencer

Funny thing with case lengths. We all panic if the cases may be a little too long.
A friend made me up one of those flat gauges with the gaps in to measure a case.
It was miles too long by book figures, but he said he'd measured his chamber reamer, and allowed a bit off. Seems there may be a fair bit of allowance in the published figures?

Thanks for good the info, folks. I'd actually prefer a gauge for each caliber, but saw that Lee didn't offer one in .358, thus the question. I also didn't know exactly how they worked, or that it had a part to fit inside the neck of the cartridge. Looking at the pic of the product online, I assumed (there I go again) it worked off the primer pocket. Thanks for the explanation, woods. What you said makes a great deal of sense, otherwise I couldn't figure out why you'd need other guages for same length cartridges such as the .25-06, .30-06, & the .35 Whelen and the .308/.358 and .7mm-08/.260. Now I understand. Thanks again.

Special thanks to Cliff for the link. I expect I'll get with you later on an order. Thats going to work out well, as I also need one for a .350 Rem Mag.