Is there a trick to using the Hornady headspace gauge? I can’t get consistent measurements from use to use and I’m not using the resizing die yet. I’ll put the cartridge in and zero the calipers, pull the cartridge out and when I reinsert it I could be off by 3 thous. There appears to be to much play in the bushing (I’m using the correct one). Sometimes it will zero out when I turn the cartridge, but that can’t be the process I use after I run it through the resizing die.
Ok. I got a lot better results once I took off the Hornady anvil base. Not sure if it wasn’t square or I torqued it to much or what. I finally got it to consistently read -.002 to -.0025 after I ran it through the full body resizing die.
One thing I noticed is that the die made the cartridge grow before it started to compress it. Is that normal? Maybe the body was compressing before I made good contact with the shoulder?