Anybody have a Hornady overall length gauge for 6.5CM?

Howdy, everyone. I'm starting load development for my 6.5, and I'm hoping that someone here can help me out. I'm hoping to use one of these overall length gauges to measure my max case head to ogive measurement, and it just doesn't make sense for me to purchase one as it'll pretty much be a one-time use thing.

Is there anyone around Kerrville that is willing to let me borrow theirs for a few minutes?

Make it from a brass case. Cut the neck longitudinal, twice 180° from each other. Seat a bullet long, write down the measurement, chamber it, write down the new measurement. Pull the bullet. Adjust the seating stem to get near the post chambered length, but still longer, seat a bullet, repeat the process until you have the die creating the same measurements before chambering and after chambering. When you have the bullet "even" with the lands you will have very faint rifling scratches all the way around the bullet.

I cut necks on a mill, but a Dremel will also work. I have pieces of brass with cut necks for every cartridge I have loaded for, be them mine or for friends. I save them as tools for the next time a get a rifle that I need to find the rifling.

At $5.99 per modified case you might as well buy one. Unless you plan on only shooting and taking measurements on 1 specific bullet. In that case hope the rifle loves em

I can't help you with that but I've got a 6.5 Creedmoor load that I shoot that works very well in my rifle. PM me if you want it! Good Luck!

I use the old Stoney Point (now Hornady) tool that uses a threaded case. I just bought the correct tap for those threads (they are an oddball thread), and I drill and tap all my own cases on the lathe. I take a case fired in my chamber and chuck it in the lathe. Drill it and tap it. Works like a dream. The tap was like $20, but I have tapped a whole bunch of cases for me and friends of mine.

This is really interesting, and I might have to give it a shot if I don't just go ahead and buy the case gauge. Thanks for the tip!

That's a good point. It might be worth it just to get it so I can use it if I decide to change bullets.

It will only cost you time. I'be probably got ten different pieces if brass for ten different chamberings. At $6 a piece, plus $4-ish in shipping, that's a hundred dolla bill I did not spend.

I use mine all the time. Whenever I try new bullets, or to check my throat erosion if accuracy starts falling off and I need to adjust seat depth to compensate, whatever. Whichever method you chose to use, JG's or mine (they both work equally well IMO), I would have a case on hand to check it if I were you.

I have tried this exactly based on fjg's recommendation and it worked. The only this I will add is cut the neck shorter so it don't hold the bullet so tightly.

Do you need the comparator, the modified case, or both?

I'm going to give JG's method a shot when I get home from work today, so I may not need anything at all.

I always look through cabelas bargain bin for these. I have found a few for 1-2$. I found the whole gauge for 5$ once so now have the straight and curved ones.

I sacrificed a piece of once shot brass that I had already cleaned and resized within my first batch of brass. And yes, to get the most consistent measurement you'll need a bullet comparator. Otherwise u can use of overall length but that leaves room for error in the assumption that all the bullets of one specific type have the same length from the ogive to tip. Measuring from bullet til to bottom of the case is an indirect way of measuring the ogive to bottom of case, which is the number u really want to know. In addition to taking out the assumption of ogive to tip length being the same for a specific bullet, measuring from the bottom of case to ogive gives u a value that is universal to every bullet of that caliber, regardless of weight and model.

Gibsons didn't have one?? buy it you will need it in the future