Hornady OAL Gauge

[rick smith]

I have used the Sinclair tool and don't consider it to be as easy to use as the Hornady tool. Things to check:

modified case will chamber and allow the bolt to close
modified case is screwed all the way onto the rod
if you are pushing the bullet into the lands with the rod, you hold the back of the tool as you do so to prevent pushing the case out of the chamber
modified case is fully seated in the chamber before moving the bullet
rod is in contact with bullet and locked in position before removing case/bullet
the blade of your caliper is in the recess of the rod and flat with the recess as you measure
the caliber specific comparator is fully seated in it's holder.Rick.

 

[Guest]

I've been following along on this thread, and I'm not sure I can add much to what Rick has said. It seems like, and I mean absolutely no offense, there's something amiss with your technique with this tool. I've used a variety of methods to measure distance to the lands in a variety of different makes of rifle, and it just doesn't seem like this is going according to expectations. I think Rick is right on with his posts about checking the tool insertion and maintaining pressure on the case while seating the bullet. I'll add that you can 'test' this method in the manner that Chet has written about (by smoking a bullet and seating it barely in a sized case (no powder!)) to get confirmation of length. It may be, as Antelope Sniper has mentioned, that your rifle has a long throat. I can't speak to the .224cal stuff in Remingtons. I can say that every other Remmy I've ever worked with, in 7mmRemMag, 30-06, 270Win, 7mm-08, 243Win, and 8x57, have had very short throats.

Where do you live, CritterSkinner? Perhaps one of us is close enough to catch up and evaluate this together.