Ok you guys knew this one was coming. I went ahead and bought the RCBS precision mic to try and pin down the correct seating depth for my bullets. Unfortunatley I am having a really hard time getting a consistent measurement. Im sure I am doing something wrong.

The extractor does not seem to want to catch on the rim of the freebore tool when I go to eject it. I have tried hooking the tool on the ejector as I chamber it but when I extract it the base pulls loose from the tip and nylon connector. I then have to use the cleaning rod to push them out. I seemed to have the set screw pretty tight.

Does the tool need to be hooked under the extractor as it is chambered to obtain an accurate measurement?

How tight do I need to adjust the set screw on the freebore tool?

Should I just go ahead and send it back to Cabelas and try a different guage?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks. Mike

Sorry I don't know but I have a feeling your going to hear from Hot Core.

Yes I broke down and bought a thingy. However I did try the split case method last night and obtained a different measurement. I wonder if the the bullet was pulled slightly from the split case as I extracted it. Mike

I love the Case Mic to set my FL die and to keep seated bullets at a given point of contact. But, the dummy bullet device for getting seating to the lands sux. Forget it and use the "cleaning rod" method of measureing from the bolt face to the lands to get the OAL for a specific bullet. Take THE BULLET you used with the rod and seat it to the same OAL your rod showed for land contact. Then use the Case Mic's bullet nut to find where the ogive contact is and work your seating depths backwards from there.

I usually start my seating experiments .040" back from lands contact and move forward .005" at a time until I get best accuracy. Rarely is that at the point of contact itself. Once it was .060", so experments are good!

Don't worry about getting your seating consistancy too tight, within 4-5 thousants is plenty close. Your bullets will vary and the throat will soon wear enough to invalidate any measurements tighter than that.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike27:
Ok you guys knew this one was coming. I went ahead and bought the RCBS precision mic (EDIT IN: Another Thingy)
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks. Mike

Order a Case of Super Extra Strength Tylenol and chase a handful with straight Bourbon two hours before trying to use the Thingy.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike27:
Ok you guys knew this one was coming. I went ahead and bought the RCBS precision mic (EDIT IN: Another Thingy)
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks. Mike

Order a Case of Super Extra Strength Tylenol and chase a handful with straight Bourbon two hours before trying to use the Thingy.

Yep, I gotta agree with HC. I bought one in 30-06 when they 1st came out and never did like it. It still sits some where in my junk collection. They are OK for checking headspace but to get a base to ogive measurment they suck IMO. Get the Stoney Point or Sinclair, I think you`ll be happier.
(I know HC, ya don`t like these either)

Mike check your E-mail.......

Ol Joe I did not see an email for me.

I went ahead and tried the cleaning rod method and the split case (used supper glue and waited 60 seconds before ejecting) methods again and this time came up with 2 very close measurements. According to my uneducated eye my catridge should have a COL of 3.239 to be just off the lands. I did follow-up testing with the split case and a magic marker. I will test some loads starting at that measurement and reduce them down in length and see where I end up with the most accurate load. Thanks for the assistance on this. Mike

Hey Mike, There are a lot of the guys out there that use the Thingies and do just fine. I suspect they have a lot more "patience" than I have. They are apparently able to make it through the learning curve without turning the Thingies into scrap.

I've just done the Cleaning Rod Method so long that I can have the Kiss-the-Lands distance figured out and written down before I could get the Thingy hooked onto the Caliper.

Once you are confident in your measurement, see how close you can get with the Thingy. Some things just take awhile.

I have good luck with the Stoney Point OAL gauge and modified cases.....the RCBS works for setting dies and checking the loaded rounds consistancy of seating depth.....the dummy case setup of RCBS precison mic is not up to RCBS usual good products to me.....hth..good luck and good shooting-loading!!