Does your gun measure up?

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wingshooter
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Does your gun measure up?

#1 Post by wingshooter »

I have a barrel wall thickness gauge coming from Brownell's that will show up in time for me to bring it to Flatwater. If you have an old gun you've wondered about or just want to check for the heck of it, make sure to bring it.
Consistency is the currency of credibility.

MM

Colonel Brown
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#2 Post by Colonel Brown »

Have you ever used one before, Mike? If Tom Bryant's there, he can probably give a brief "class" in how to use one--in which I'd be very interested. But a lot of people, otherwise pretty sharp where doubles are concerned, stay away from wall thickness gauges because they are not the easiest tools in the world to use correctly.

sd/mt pga pro
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#3 Post by sd/mt pga pro »

OK, why in the world would you feel the need to own a barrel gauge? The guns you have, you have, so how many more are you looking for?

I could start you along the way with a collection if you wish. With Brown's help, we could make it a sizable one!
BC

wingshooter
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#4 Post by wingshooter »

Only looking for one more, Bob, and it isn't the Woodward I can't afford.

Larry, haven't used one before. That said, I make my living with tools, but tips from Tom will be welcome.

Many of us make assumptions every day. But hard information has great value, and you will see an example of the need to have barrels checked in about ten days.
Consistency is the currency of credibility.

MM

Brent XVI'er
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#5 Post by Brent XVI'er »

How deep in the barrel can you measure, Mike?
The joys of shooting a 16 bore are only realized when you do it.

steve voss
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#6 Post by steve voss »

Brent, that tool measures just over 15", so you can get a 30" barrel by going in from both ends.

HTH, sv
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Brent XVI'er
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#7 Post by Brent XVI'er »

Thanks, Stevie.
The joys of shooting a 16 bore are only realized when you do it.

Rufus Scout
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#8 Post by Rufus Scout »

Larry Brown wrote: But a lot of people, otherwise pretty sharp where doubles are concerned, stay away from wall thickness gauges because they are not the easiest tools in the world to use correctly.
Oh for Christ's sake, Larry. :roll: The tuning fork gauges can be inaccurate in the wrong hands, but my wife can operate the one I have (Galazan 3 post gauge). :roll: :roll: :roll:
"If you pick a Glock over a 1911 you are a commie." Bigtex

Stackbarrel16
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#9 Post by Stackbarrel16 »

If your work is done with a keyboard as opposed to tools and hands you can see the confusion a measuring device might cause.
Rand Paul 2016

Rufus Scout
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#10 Post by Rufus Scout »

Stackbarrel16 wrote:If your work is done with a keyboard as opposed to tools and hands you can see the confusion a measuring device might cause.
LOL, good point. But Larry used to work in a gas station when he was young. He could operate the tire pressure gauge, no?
"If you pick a Glock over a 1911 you are a commie." Bigtex

Colonel Brown
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#11 Post by Colonel Brown »

Well Rufe, all the electric sockets in my house are still intact and functioning, not a single victim of "friendly fire". :)

Let's just say that I've seen pros use wall thickness gauges, and I've seen amateurs use wall thickness gauges. Personally, I'll stick with my bore and choke gauge--even though it is a more complex tool than a tire pressure gauge.

Rufus Scout
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#12 Post by Rufus Scout »

Larry Brown wrote:Well Rufe, all the electric sockets in my house are still intact and functioning, not a single victim of "friendly fire". :)

Let's just say that I've seen pros use wall thickness gauges, and I've seen amateurs use wall thickness gauges. Personally, I'll stick with my bore and choke gauge--even though it is a more complex tool than a tire pressure gauge.


Well, let's see: the wall switch was not shot by me, so try again.

Are you still maintaining that you can determine the wall thickness of a barrel by measuring the bore and then measuring the OD and mathematically calculating the wall thickness? Because if you are, you're wrong. And if not and you think that ignoring OD or wall thickness in favor of depending on ID of the barrels is some kind of proper evaluative methodology, then............NOT.

I can show you how to properly manipulate a wall thickness gauge at the UP shoot if you promise to sign up for an NRA membership.
"If you pick a Glock over a 1911 you are a commie." Bigtex

Pancho McTavish
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#13 Post by Pancho McTavish »

I'd agree Ruf. The OD vs ID method will not detect a small area of heavy handedness by the striker's file.

Bluerock Brimley
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#14 Post by Bluerock Brimley »

Rufus Scout wrote:...I can show you how to properly manipulate a wall thickness gauge at the UP shoot if you promise to sign up for an NRA membership.
WHAT????? You mean Larry's NOT an NRA member?? After all the grief I gave Sera about not being a member, I hope that I didn't overlook Brown!
99.9999999%of robberies don't have the Mission Impossible theme song playing in the background. It's usually circus music.
...the blindness from subjectivity is indistinguishable from the darkness of ignorance.

Colonel Brown
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#15 Post by Colonel Brown »

Red herring alert, Rufe. I have NEVER maintained anything relative to mathematical computations involving OD/ID. From what I understand from the "experts"--which, when it comes to measuring BWT, I most certainly am not one--the Galazan tool you have is good to go, in capable hands. I've heard less glowing evaluations of the Brownell tool.

And of course if we're discussing a side by side, NO TOOL can measure wall thickness around the circumference of the entire barrel, for the simple reason that the ribs get in the way. I am a definite believer in doing the measurements, but there is that fly in the ointment.

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