SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL Sinclair Chamber Length Gage

Other than the top (flat surface) being unnecessarily too thick, this item was helpful determining the chamber length. If the excessive length were reduced, less case neck would need to be trimmed. If Sinclair pays attention to these reviews, this problem could easily be resolved.

James's review is correct. Instructions with gauge are incorrect. They say to take .1" off cartridge case to allow for the gauge head that is .135" long - duh ! When you take enough case off so the gauge will fit in the chamber there is less than .040" of case neck to hold the gauge and not enough to work. I used .223 Rem/5.56 mm. Sinclair, I thought you guys were better than this.

My reason for one star is because there's no zero star. When placing this guage into a sized unprimed
casing it slips into the shell case with no drag to hold it for any measurement no matter how much neck you remove. Big waste of money..

I bought the 6.5/264 tool to gauge the length of a .260REM chamber. As per instructions, I removed ~0.1" length from the neck of a once fired, sized, Lapua case and inserted the gauge to measure the chamber. The bolt wouldn't close. Another cut brought total removed to ~0.15" leaving ~0.1". Bolt closed. I would remove a little less (0.12-0.13") from the neck if I did this caliber again, but the tool is very tight in the neck so there is plenty of grip @ 0.1" neck length. Works great! The chamber of my Shilen Match Prefit Barrel for Savage measures 2.06".

The chamber length gauge for .223 calibers works, but the shoulder is much too thick. Without modification, you need to remove almost all of the neck of a case to allow enough space for the gauge to not bottom out. Problem with this is that there isn't enough neck left to keep the gauge in line with the bore. I had to turn down the .224" diameter part to about 1/3 of the thickness that it is manufactured at so that it would work properly. Other calibers worked outstanding, but this one needs some modification to work.

Everything was exactly as described. The only thing I wish had been included was better instructions on turning down a case neck, or even selling a modified case to use with these already turned down to the right dimensions. It was no issue doing so, but a little more clear instructions would have been nice.

Since this was the 8th one I've bought, I thought I knew what to expect . The other 7 are shiny and well machined. This one looks like it was cast (black & not very smooth). The first one I was sent (this time), had a smaller size diameter close to the head then down by the tip. It would push in with the appropriate tension until it got to the undersized section ,then just flop in and out about .0685". The replacement I was sent (thank you) had a uniform shank.It, however still looked like an unfinished tool. I started the "tool" in my shortened case ,chambered it in my gun, and discovered I couldn't close the bolt all the way. I took another .01 off the case--still no luck.I measured the case and "tool" length and found it to be 2.075" . That's .03" longer then my Sierra manual lists the chamber should be. I couldn't take anymore off the case ,and still have a neck , so I took another look at the "tool". The other 7 (that all work perfectly)have a head on them that runs from .085" on the .204 to about .098" on the .30cal. . This G-243 has a head that measures .1405". After chucking it up and facing it down to .09" , I could finally measure the rifle's chamber (2.065").I thought [$] was cheaper then setting up a machine and making my own. Not in this case! I don't have any of this fancy leaded steel , and I think [$] is a pretty high price for this size piece for me to machine. So, if and when I need a 9th caliber gage, I have some brass round stock that will probably turn down just fine.

Every one that loads rifle ammunition should have one of these in each caliber that they load.Most chambers are much longer than new brass,and even longer than the recommended trim length in most manuals.This simple tool tells you exactly how long your chambers are,so you can trim only the minimum amout of brass from the necks.I usually trim only about 90% coverage of the neck,after the first firing.