I'm about to begin reloading and in the middle of figuring out the gadgets which I need! Damn! This video is a pure gold for me! I can't tell how much I appreciated this video! If I could give thousand likes I would!!!

One of the best educational and safety videos on KZfaq. Excellent! Thanks!

Love your video's bud you are a wealth of knowledge..I have got alot of very useful information from you that I use all the time. I also pass this on to friends and coworkers who are new to reloading. Thanks and keep the vids coming.

That was utterly one of the best explanations of headspace and how the coinciding tools are used in relation to one other that I have ever found on KZfaq great job appreciate it keep them coming

Once again you have given so much to the reloading community,I am having fun and learning everyday,here's to you the GODFATHER of reloading!!!...

Just getting into reloading again, and your videos are GREAT! Well explained and your info has helped tremendously.

I have never commented on any video, but my sincere thanks goes out to you for your informative and thoughtful videos. Powder coating and casting are favorites of mine, and much of the knowledge to pursue these disciplines came for you. Please keep producing your high quality educational videos.

Outstanding video, much thanks. Just purchased the full Hornady bullet and head space comparator kits and anvil. I wish I would have bought them a long time ago. Excellent tutorial, one to keep for sure. Thanks again for taking the time to make it.

Very good info! I have yet to use a full length die for my 308, I used the lee collet die for the first time and achieved 2 thousandths inch of neck tension easily. This video will help me make the best possible reloads with full length resizing. Thank You!!!

I had to go through an official training and even needed to pass an exam to be allowed to do buy powder and to do handloading here in Germany. In the whole thing over a few days, there was not a single word told about calibrating brass according to specific headspace measurements. They did mention headspace once but nothing about the details I have been learning in the KZfaq videos in the last couple of years. Today I know how to do more precise loads thanks to videos like this here. Thank you and take care!

Just ordered the rcbs mic im used to doing precsision work with mic so this is why i bought the rcbs unit very good information thank you

I have never completely understood headspace discussions before ever I completely understood everything you said and have a much better understanding and for that I thank you very much

Thank you! Your video just explained what the compensators that I have are used for. I bough out a friends reloading stuff and he did not know why he had purchased them. I have asked around at the shooting range but it was just a bag of aluminum looking parts. i have been using a case gauge to make sure the rounds where sammi. Any cases that didn't fit i put in the scrap pile. Now I know ! Thanks for making things safer.

Man, in a reloading world of chaos and confusion, you are a guiding light. Thank you for this video!

Thank you for the video I just started reloading again! Boy things have changed. I'm learning all kinds of good stuff!

if the FL DIE makes body contact with the shell holder, you can turn it another 1 2 3 4 5 turns in, it will not change, neither the shell holder nore the DIE will give in. What might affect your headspace, is different shell holders from different makers, which might give you variance with dies of other makes!

FC I agree full size dies are the best way insure the best result. I have shown other reloaders that some of their cases are not always resized properly only by measuring the cases at various points did I prove that the lower portion of the cases were out of spec. Thanks for making this video now I can just refer people to this link. You rock..

That 1/3 or 1/4 turn of the die is so you get cam over on your press. That is how we know all the slack is taken out and confirms the case is actually bottomed out in the die bumping the shoulders back to within SAAMI. We now also have "small base" dies made which resize to minimum specs for reliable feeding in the plethora of AR style rifles manufactured today.

Loved your video, very high quality. Thanks!

Thank you for the video I just started reloading again! Boy things have changed.

This video reminds me of one of my Chemical and Mechanical Engineering classes, this video was so thoroughly done sir. Thanks!!!

Very good information, I've always FL resized everything just because I've got it on all dies.

I've been reloading for a little over 6 years and I've never known how important measuring headspace is and the reason your told to add a 1/4 to 1/3 turn when setting up the die. I'm always doing research on new reloading techniques and practices and this is the first time I've heard it explained properly. Thanks for providing a very useful and important piece of information.

Also Redding competition shell holders that add or subtract .002 makes controlling headspace when resizing a lot easier than screwing the die back and forth 1/4 turns. Also when you set your die put on a hornady die lock ring.

Once you screw the die down to the shell holder, that's it. It hits and any further turns inward will result in the die hitting the shell holder. No change once you're bottomed out. I think extra 1/8 turn is just to make sure you have good contact ??? Love the video's, thank you !

That was absolutely fantastic info FC! Now I'm really nervous to get into bottle neck reloading!

so much valuable knowledge. thanks for passing down your wisdom

This is great info i must admit i dont pay enough attention to this ... Thank you so much for pointing it out !!!

FC, i had the same problem many moons ago with a 243m77, on warm days it would chamber just fine, but if it got down to 10-20 degrees you couldn't get the bolt to close, and i didn't have all these fancy tools like now a days, but what i did was cut a case down to see if it was the head or the neck! anyway i ended up shaving about .005 off the bottom of the die to push the shoulder back a little more, and it worked fine after that! but now there's access to every tool you could ever think of! a few clicks and it's at your door, excellent vid FC thanks

Great video mate very easy to understand .Steve from Australia

A very informative video, the Hornady comparator looks to be an essential tool for anyone that shoots rimless cartridges, I am very glad that of all my many rifles/handguns, no one single one uses rimless, when you headspace off a rim, you have no such problems. The S.A.M.M.I and CIP standards are a fine system, however, they are only as good as the manufacturers that use them ! I have recently bought 50-110 Winchester brass that is .010" undersize with a rim dia that is .08" undersize, a friend has a Ruger No1 in 303 which has a groove size of .316" ! when it should be .312", and most guns in Colt 45 are groove size .452" when SAMMI spec is .454/6", so no one would appear to be following standards.

Awesome info. I'm starting out reloading. Thank you. Subscribed

Eye opener! I'm listening.

If you look at SAAMI Specs for many cartridges, there is a .010” range from min to max spec. If you have a chamber cut to the minimum spec, many people don’t realize that even factory new brass will be above the minimum spec. This is also the reason why some of these “match spec” guns are problematic if you try to shoot factory ammo. In a bolt action, this can be felt by effort to cam over the bolt when chambering a round. In a semi auto (AR) or even some lever actions (browning BLR), a minimum spec chamber can result in the bolt not closing with brass that is above minimum spec. Some people still advocate neck sizing only. Having designed ammunition and shot competition from service rifle to f-class for over 25 years, I only full length resize. Reason is that during a match, my gun will get dirty and that extra grime that is building up can lead to issues chambering. Bench rest is fine for neck sizing only, but remember they religiously clean after 5 to 10 shots, not the 50-100 shots before I can or will clean. In fact, I purposely fire 10-20 rounds before a match and start with that fouling so I don’t have irregular shots as the barrel goes from sparkling clean to fouled. Has full length resizing impacted brass life? No, I normally will take 500 pieces of brass and Load it 4-6 times and retire the brass at the same time I replace a barrel (2000-3000 rounds depending on the cartridge). Has full length resizing made my rifles less accurate? No, I went all the way to high master using nothing but full length resizing using mostly Redding competition dies. It’s also asked if I neck turn as well. No again because I design my chamber to use the brass I use without neck turning. For my competition bolt actions, I use only Lapua. However, when shooting service rifle or cartridges I design for hunting, I use Winchester as my baseline and allow enough clearance that the brass can be formed with thicker brass (Federal) without clearance issues. Since these designs are shooting sub 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards with hunting bullets on both Winchester and Federal brass, clearly the extra chamber clearance is not impacting accuracy.

Excellent FC45LC, thank you!!

Awesome video! Amazing info! I went through a lot of work(whole notebook) to get my 308 dialed in, but if you take the time, you can shoot the hasp off of a master lock at 250yds. And it's the little things that make the difference! But eventually you have to start over in precision shooting. Let's face it, you have to clean the bore every now and then. Hey! That might be a coffee chat video! Thanks Steve FC45!

You're a star mate. Cheers. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼

You paid for my education, thank you!

Wow, I got the comparator kit in the mail midway through watching this video, that story struck close to home you told about the 308 brass, excpet.. I began working on a new caliber a few weeks ago. I was checking the cbto measurement, and at a length well below my measurement, my dummy round wouldn't chamber. Come to find out, I'm an idiot and didnt have my fl sizing die screwed in far enough. Man, I hadn't considered it being a headspace issue. I have always done like the instructions say, touch the shell holder and go another 1/3 turn. That's funny, I'm glad I watched this and glad I ordered the comparator. Other than feeling foolish, I'm excited to resize my brass again. Thanks for the videos fortune cookie.

Videos like this is why you are called the "Godfather of Reloading"!

don't matter how far you screw die down, when shell holder touches bottom of die, that's it, shell does not go further into die, you might not be able to cam over if you have it screwed down too far.

This video answered a lot of questions thank you sir

The Sinclair comparator allows for much faster, high volume, comparisons. I use both the RCBS Precision MIC to find a baseline case with the headspace I want, and then I use the same case to set up the Sinclair comparator. You can compare cases at one a second. Same goes for base to ogive and COAL comparisons.

Great video! Thank you

More succinct and clear than anything else I've reviewed on the matter. Call Hornady for your commission, you just made them a sale. Thank you as always, Mr. Cookie.

you are awesome my friend. thanks for the video.

Got the Wilson case guage,RCBS micrometer and Hornady comparator. In the end I take firing pin out(or set a 3 way safety for no pin cam) and use the feel method. I turn die out,and incrementally turn it inward until there is the least(if any ) amount of pressure when camming the bolt lugs. That bumps the shoulder just enough to minimize head space. Of course this requires cleaning off case lube and feeding sized case in chamber each time until you reach the desired die adjustment(depth) for head space. But good video thanks.

Measuring headspace with spent primers in your case is a huge error factor. Buy a Lee decapper tool and remove the primers before measuring any headspace measurement on fired brass...

Thank you for making this video.

a very good video sir ...well done

Great information - thanks.

I agree. For my bolt rifles I like to take a batch of fired brass, neck size about 10% of total and check the chamber fit. If tight, I FLR the entire batch, if not I neck size the entire batch. Next time the same brass is fired, I neck size about 10% of total, check chamber fit, if tight then I FLR (most likely depending on the rifle) the entire batch pushing the shoulder back 0.002" less than fired brass head space followed by trimming. Blindly FLR'ing each reloading shortens brass life unnecessarily. I don't mix loads across rifles.

Very nice video. Lots of info the think about.

In 1926, SAAMI was founded, the Great Depression was still over 3 years away. We were enjoying prosperity.

Great info as always,i have heard that competition shooters will adjust there headspace as you have shown to there rifles chamber to improve accuracy. I have had trouble with 3006 brass i have neck resizing only with brass shot from my own rifle and this is the cause, great info thanks

Awesome video! Thanks

great vid!! You should start a reloading school as youd be a very good teacher. Coherent and simple. I set my FL dies for a shoulder .002" smaller than chamber

very good video and thanks I am going get a set of these hornady tools today ,thank you very much

Never gets old

Great info... Thank you

I have found with the 308 lee dies I have to screw in the die further than it says in book.. If I do what the book says I cant get the bolt to close on the riflr.

Whoever said you can't teach old dogs new tricks was WRONG. I just learned the Answer to a problem I have had sever times in my over 50 years of reloading. Cases not going to battery on 2 of my bolt guns. Repeated measuring of CASE LENGTH never fixed the problem and when I began reloading, there were no such Head Space tools to my knowledge. I still do not have one, BUT I WILL IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO. That sort of Shoots Down the Neck Size Only people UNLESS They ALSO check Head Space. Thanks for Shining a Light on this old dog.

I have the 223 & 308 Rcbs precision mics to be honest I like them more then the Hornaday unit. I guess my question to this video is how do you get the proper head space. Because I also went into my 308 stash and it’s ALL exactly like what you just showed in this video. Some is at 0 some is +5 some is -4 it’s all of it is all over the place. I purchased this brass once fired I cleaned it de capped it and resized it in the Rcbs small base AR set thinking oh well it will be there when I need it. Boy I’m glad I watched this video before I possibly popped my $2500 AR10. Well looks like I have a ton of sorting,annealing possibly trimming again. At least the brass is clean now smh 🤦‍♂️ there’s so much to reloading. Fun but definitely a in-depth hobby that needs to be taken very seriously.

I'm just getting started in reloading. I don't own the headspace kit, yet. So, I plan on starting my resizing die out on the "long" headspace end of the spectrum. I'll see if the brass will easily chamber in my AR, then if it doesn't, I'll screw the die down a little at a time, until I get the headspace that I need. Is this a good approach? I've seen other people recommend this method. Especially with a bolt action rifle. I ordered the AR Series small base dies for my ar 15, so the last thing that I want is excessive headspace, on top of already loose tolerances in diameter(for reliability purposes).

Welp, that was perfectly stated and fun.

I measured my ruger hawkeye m77 predator 22-250 headspace of a fired piece of brass. I got -.001 with rcbs headspace mic is that normal?

It doesn't matter 1/3 of a turn or 1/4. You can add 5 extra turns and nothing will change. It still will be resized to the FS specs.

I suspect @Erik Cortina was influenced by this video. He as a great one he made last year which could be a "Part 2" to this one, where he advocates explicitly full length resizing to minus .002" compared to the fired case. Per @FortuneCookie45LC this is within his range, and could be considered a sweet spot. This full length resizing is critical, as when that is set as a repeatable baseline across the brass, then one may perform the ladder of rounds with 0.003" variation in seating depth. And I have bought in to the school of staying away from the lands. He starts his ladders 0.002" off "jam", and works increments of 0.003" to find, hopefully, two adjacent small group nodes, and that seating depth (see his video) is pretty much set for the life of the barrel. Not being a competition shooter, I doubt I will ever change barrels because of wear, so this is wonderful news/advice.

Sb dies are for people who do not understand headspace and die adjustments. I have never needed a small base die. Always measure a fired case before resizing for a new rifle. Always!! It took some time to fully understand headspace in the beginning but once I sat down and figured it out it is now second nature. Btw I use a fried 30 carbine to measure 223 and a .40 for 30 06

So I got a fired 260rem case that is reading 1.625 in the comparator. When I resize it it grows to 1.627. Shouldn't it go to 1.623 instead? The case also fits in a case gauge before resizing. My guess is the chamber is tight enough that the fl sizing die won't touch it so any brass from the body is being pushed into the shoulder area making it longer.

Invaluable information thank you ! One thing I don’t understand is when you hear guys saying they bump the shoulder back, what ever size, is this done on a normal full length die ? I’m using rcbs full length dies on my cases. Can anyone explain this 😊

Great video on the head space especially using Hornady com par a tor. I was debating on getting one, now its a definite must have. I have had problems with my 308 bolt gun chambering rounds occasionally, checked everything I could ...didn't understand why, this is definitely the problem. Question can i use my lee collet/neck size die to bump the shoulder... i would think no is the answer, only the full length die I expect

Using the RCBS precision mic, if I have fired brass that measures .002 LESS than the SAAMI spec, does that measurement reflect exactly what my chamber is or is that just a measurement that reflects what the brass bounces back to after fire forming? How much bounce back does brass usually measure?

now I'm a bit confused, I had all his RCBS Precision Mic figured out ten years ago. if I measure a factory Round in 30/06 it measures -.006, that's six lines under the zero. Now if I shoot that Round it will measure zero on the line, I then size it to push the shoulder back two lines below that zero line. So that's just two thou back from the zero mark. It seems your measurements are above the zero line and mine are below it. I'm I doing something wrong?

Drinking game rules: Drink every time he says, “Full length resize your brass”

Sorry, could you explain then how we modify the headspace? Would I turn the die down in the press more turns to increase the headspace and back it off to decrease until I get 2 thousandths?

Forster makes a tool that uses calipers called Datum Dial ammunition measurement kit. It can measure relative headspace as well as datum length. Like it better than the hornady comparator. I love the RCBS precision mic as I can make measurements faster and not worry about using calipers and having brass not sitting flat on the blade. Only wish RCBS made them for 6mmBr.

I have been reloading for 30+ years and have always used full length dies with the 1/4 turn and have always had good results. Just my experience.

this video is full of great info, I fully approved if it

Thanks. It was a little above my head but it was good.

Is there a simple way to measure a rifles chamber length to get an accurate measurement for setting the proper headspace? Fireforming isn't accurate because out of a box of shells the headspace dimension can be different from shell to shell when checked with the precision mic and not all cases stretch the same amount when fired. This has been my experience does anyone have an answer?

I wonder if you can help me with a problem I seem to be having resizing my 308 Starline brass. I see measuring for head space with the comparitor (sorry not sure the spelling) but my headspace is different from piece to piece of brass. What would cause it to not be the same either bad or good should it not be the same? I am using a RCBS single stage press with RCBS dies and the press is not sloppy but they just do not come up the same. Thank you for any ideas you can send my way/

Load your unprimed full length sized shell case into the chamber of the gun your using. Rack it and eject it. I always cycle some sized shell's first before loading to make sure they will cycle. Check trimmed case length to standards, Check to make sure the OAL after loading is not exceeded. I've never had a problem. Factory loads have given me grief. They are always striving for higher velocities for sales. Follow instructions. Good demo here. Thanks

i have seen two of your videos on this topic you are saying that 0.008 is too much but saami min is 1.627 and max is 1.634 unless i'm reading it wrong so you have a new lapua brass and it was 1.619 that's 8 thousands to short from min. would that make it unsafe hope you can clear this for me i will soon be reloading for 308 for the first time thanks.

If you have primers in unloaded cases for 35 years, are they still trustworthy?

I have a 6.5 Grendel II Chamber that is consistently 0.010" bigger than factory Hornady ammo. Once I shoot it I bump it back 0.003 to 0.004" by adjusting by hand the die. Is this a concern? If I FL resize my Grendel in Lee FL dies, it is a massive 0.017" bump! (I only did it to a few pieces of brass and would never think of shooting that brass now). Also, when I FL size 223 in my RCBS die, it is consistently 0.008" smaller than two AR15 chambers (PSA Barrels that are exactly the same headspace size). I quit FL sizing that brass and only bump back 4 or 5 thousandths now, but is that 0.008" undersized brass concerning? I have a pile of 200 or so pieces of brass that small. Also, some factory 556 NATO is 7 or 8 thousandths smaller than those chambers... Previously, I had understood that the reason SAAMI has a max tolerance of 0.017 was that was the max headspace bump before case head separation is likely. Is there any further info with factory ammo shooting at 8 or 10 thousandths smaller?

Thanks.

One could measure the chamber for each gun then size brass according to ojive of that specific gun.

Nice info…. These days I would resize them or pull the primers and reuse those. Too hard to find components.

Noob to reloading it would be nice to see a diagram with the terms on it. I just learn things better using pictures. Great video btw.Thanks.

Great video! My shooting buddy had a problem with full length sizing his 6.5 grendel. Following the instructions of his forster fl sizing die, it was bumping the shoulder .010" more than his chamber size. We measured this using fired brass and the hornady headspace comparator kit. We did this because he had a number of case head separations. Fortunately, there were injuries or damage, but it really should be something reloaders be aware of.

I have experienced the cartridge not wanting to chamber so I taken more care in resizing. Now, however, When I try to load directly into the chamber one cartridge at a time, not using the magazine, the bolt won’t function. Now if if load one using the magazine it will function just fine. Any ideas on what in doing wrong. I will definitely order me a RCBD mic. Thanks very much.

I was under the impression that sb dies were what was needed for semi auto cartridge? And fl was for bolt action?

I just got my rcbs press, I was going to order dies Tonite, just not sure what kind?

Measure it with out fired primer!

It doesn't matter because the shell holder stops on the bottom of the die. It literally cannot go any further, even if you give it an additional full turn.

It seems to me that if the die is adjusted so it touches the shell holder, it shouldn't matter how much you adjust it down from there, it's still going to be touching the shell holder, and it should (in theory) size the case the same. If the die is touching the shell holder, that's as far as the case can be sized. If I'm wrong, then it's because there is something that I'm missing here.

Your terminology would be a little confusing to a beginner. Excessive headspace is better understood as too great a distance from the shoulder to the part of the chamber in front of it. You were waving your hand around the area of the cartridge head when you were discussing this, which was misleading. Also, it would have been helpful, when you got a -.003" reading on the RCBS gauge to explain that the minus meant the shoulder was .003" further back (toward the bolt face) than the first one that you measured and set to .000".

Wow, that's long winded. Just couldn't fight through all of that...

Can we get one to measure nato specs.