go/no-go

gotstolefrom

I searched here for info on go and no-go gauge practices.
I came up with one "making a no-go gauge" in 2004.

A milsurp is the go/nogo topic for me...particularly if it has been re-barreled (although I have never found an armory re-furb out of spec)

Gramps sez " a GO GAUGE is a loaded round carefully chambered".
His NO GO GAUGE used the 'tape theory', and his experience is probably what got him by. One alteration he did that was not discussed in the 2004 thread I found was for rim-spaced ammo like 7.62 x 51 and 7.62 x 54. He put a small square of tape on three locations of the shoulder and chambered it with his 'feel mo-jo'.

Given a NO-GO is relatively cheap, I buy. I was surprized at how many people were OK with home-made NO-GO's in the legal environment today.

What I'm after are you fellas thoughts on using a round as a GO GAGE ?

BTW - Gramps was a lucky old fella. He died at 94 years old when he bumped his head getting out from under a sink he was repairing. Died well before the medic came...

Old Fool

Loaded rounds should never be allowed in the shop. Using a loaded round as a gauge is extremely dangerous and should not be attempted. Go and no-go gages are simple and inexpensive.

11b6r

Ditto what Old Fool said- go to gunpartscorp.com, you can buy go/no go, or field guages for a lot of the milsurp calibers far cheaper than replacing the refrigertor/lathe/helper that stopped the bullet.

ern98

Ok, but how about if it isn't a hot round? How about if it is a full length sized dummy loaded case with bullet, no powder or primer? I've done this a number of times for a quick check. Faster to make one up at the reloading bench then send off to Brownells. Slap on some tape for a quick nogo and if the chamber in question fails then it is time to think about ordering up the real gauges.


I said for a "quick check". I own many sets of go/nogo gauges, but not for every cartridge.

perry shooter

ERN 98 because of different dies made by different companys and how much spring you have in your press I would never trust a chamber job to a sized case. Most ammo is on the short side of spec. if any thing Please go with a go no-go gage.

tobefree

My Dad preached, "There is a proper tool for everything".
When I was 11 he caught me using one of his screwdrivers for a pry-bar. When I could sit down again, it was gospel to me as well.
Buy the proper gauges !!!!!

JK

Loaded rounds have no place in a chamber unless the muzzle is pointing at something you want to shoot. Some take out the guts and firing pins when they do this, but I'm against this too. Go and no go are good but they only tell you if they are good or bad, NOTHING in between. Cut some small flat pcs of shimstock to mate the base of the cartride/gage and using some grease stick a few on/off until you tell just how much it is in .001's between the go and no go that the bolt closes on. Cheap home remedy. This will tell you EXACTLY where you are between the gages.
JK

CowboyEngr

I think almost everyone is tempted to rationalize the use of a factory cartridge for a headspace guage at some point in figuring things out. Truth is, a factory loaded cartridge tells you very little about the chamber of a rifle & barrel, and is pretty well regarded as a poor practice. If it's important, use the right tool. Otherwise, even if you think you know, you really don't know.

MIKE WISKEY

"and is pretty well regarded as a poor practice"...VERY TRUE, BUT DON'T FORGET THE 'FIELD' GAGE. MILE SPEC. GUNS ARE USUALY A 'LITTLE' LOOSER THAN COMMERCIAL GUNS.

gotstolefrom

Thanks to all for your responses, I got what I needed.
I should have said "size wise" thoughts, not live round thoughts.
That may have help avoid a few folks getting their blood pressure up over un-safe practices.

If you read my request before your blood pressure went up, I said
" Given a NO-GO is relatively cheap, I buy.... "
My GO-NO-GO box has a few sets I have never needed or used, but picked them up at sales and shows LNIB.

Thanks for the emails too. Some good, AND SAFE, ideas that can tell you things the go/no gage cannot...and may tip you to a casting so you can find out the complete story.

Thanks Again.

Tailgunner1954

GSF
On a rimmed or belted case, you can do the GO/NO-GO thing with a fired case and shims and acheive a decent amount of accuracy. This is only because you can measure the thickness of the rim/belt and add shims until the bolt will only close 1/2 way "by gravity alone" (this is why you should strip the bolt first). The total of the rim/belt and shims, can be compaired to the specifacatons for that cartridge.

Now, on a rimless case it dosn't work well at all, because your "referance line" is a imaginary point on the slope of the shoulder, and you have no easy way of measuring where that point is.

Remember, chambers are cut to 0.000 to +0.005 and cartridges are nominaly made to -0.001 to -0.006 (belted chambers and cartridges are even worse than this).