Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Digital caliper rec?

.0001" accuracy from a digital caliper ? Really ?

That's what the dial indicates. I will admit the last calibration was a few years ago. 0.0000, no idea if it is that accurate, no way for me to test it. I suspect it is. Not like the cheap ones that are 0.0, or 0.00.

Mitutoyo 500-196-30

Batteries last almost forever.

Digitals are the only way to go , dials have an open track and gear system that only takes a small piece of dirt to make useless, I think Brown and Sharp make the best for the cost but all are sealed and practically fool proof.

And if pushing that reset button is over your head, then likely golf will suit you better anyways.

This.

I use a dial caliper virtually every day and have no use for a digital.

Thank you very much for the insight. I likely will do just that

Lyman and Hornady especially; they've been selling a lot of reloading gear that is just rebranded cheap chinese stuff. Some of it is nice that they've made it more readily available, but other stuff can be bought for significantly less elsewhere for the same product.

While the cheaper calipers can work OK, if you like nice tools it's hard to go wrong with a digital Mitutoyo. I have calipers all over the shop and reloading area, both digital and dial, but for machining and any other work that calls for a better tool, my "good" caliper is one of Mitutoyo's newer "Absolute" series and is a real pleasure to use.

As to caliper accuracy - lots of digital calipers read to .0000, but that doesn't mean they are that accurate (generally speaking, they are not). Most just give half-thou (.0000 or .0005 only) measurements on that last digit, and even that is questionable. If you really think you need to measure ten thousandths (four digits - .0001), you need a micrometer not a caliper. For handloading and most gunsmithing work though, the standard one-thousandths (.001") caliper capability is accurate enough.

I might have to eat a bit of crow based on my earlier response. I still like dial calipers for "most" reloading functions. I like the fact that they are straight on, with very little drifting and what you measure and see on the dial is pretty accurate. But, after responding to the OP, I pulled out my older digital calipers and set them up with both my Hornady bullet comparator kit and headspace comparator kit and, they were, in fact, a bit easier to set up use than to my dial calipers. Both work and there is nothing wrong with digital calipers. I may have to look at a new (better) set of digital calipers just for using my comparator kits.