Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles digital calipers

I know that I am old school but heck I am old.....give me a set of Starrett or Brown & Sharp dial calipers and I am happy as a pig in slop. I do use digital calipers in my wood shop because of saw dust getting into the track of a dial caliper. I hate the digital ones as it seems like when ever I want to use them, the battery is always dead.

I have the same problem with Hornady digital's.

I've had the Frankford Arsenal ones for years; they've worked great and for $25:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101271926?pid=604242

The only thing I don't like is no auto off so as some mentioned, it's a PITA if you left them on and find out it's dead when you go to use it. I learned and just keep several batteries around.

My cousin got a patent on the Mitutoyo digital coolant proof calipers, so I bought them when they came out. I really like them. They turn off when not in use. Cheap digital that do not time out are not worth the trouble of always getting new batteries.

I have over 20 calipers from $20 Chinese to expensive Starrett.

I think the best a guy could do for calipers for cheap, is get the $20 Chinese 6" dial calipers and some pin gauges or gauge blocks for practice.
Practice wiping off the caliper jaws before measuring. Have the jaws perpendicular to the object being measured. Apply constant force. Keep measuring until you get the reading written on the gauge.

When you get good with a dial caliper, you can interpolate between the 0.001" marks, and get readings with 0.0002" resolution.

That one I linked has auto off and is many steps up from something like the Harbor Freight, which I consider a bit too crude for reloading, but, have and use as well. And is absolute origin. Works like a charm. This is the correct link.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00INL0BTS/ref=psdcmw_2476630011_t3_B001AQEZ2W?th=1&psc=1

I have digital calipers from Frankford Arsenal (my first set), iGaging Absolute Origin and an Mitutoyo ABS Dogmatic. They all work fine for general reloading needs where being a little off in measurements is acceptable. Just my opinion, the Mitutoyo calipers have a better feel and have more forgiving jaw for reloading especially when measuring OAL sp bullets. Based on comparisons using a certified gauge blocks and pins, the Mitutoyo also measures more consistently. I also have a couple of different analog calipers which also do not compare with the Mitutoyo. A friend who is a tool and die maker uses this model caliper and has for several years. I'd spend the extra bucks and get the Mitutoyo.

What does more forgiving jaw mean?

This ^^^^^^^^

Yup. I was scratching my head about losing zero until the word digital registered in my brain. My 40+ year old set of cheap Chinee dial calipers lost zero once by about .002" & was reset in about 20 seconds. I've used them almost daily. They've been dropped on wood as well as concrete floors, been frozen & above 100* for long periods, never had a battery go dead at the worst possible moment, & just keep on ticking. Zero is checked every use, & there are some standards around here somewhere if it really matters. A thousandth here or there on ammunition isn't of much concern for most of us. Calipers are for quick checks, micrometers are for more precise measurement.

A machinist I know suggested buying 2 or 3 cheap dial calipers for less than the price of a "good" set for daily use & not worry about throwing them away if they wear or break. There are still 2 spares in the cabinet. The more expensive measuring devices in my toolbox were also subject to almost the same use with a little more care, but could be a bigger loss to drop one of them on concrete.

look here...

I have three calipers and two micrometers. I probably use my good dial calipers the most. The cheap calipers - one is plastic with a dial the other is aluminum has a scale and is getting harder too read in my later years. But when precision is needed - micrometers.

It is my belief that digital calipers give a false sense of accuracy.

Whttail, what I meant by more forgiving jaws, is that the jaws of the Mitutoyo are better machined and it is easier to hold a measurement better without wandering a few thousandth's up and down. It is noticeably easier to measure COAL especially with spitzer type bullets using the Mitutoyo than with my other digital calipers. I do have a pair of analog calipers I like pretty well but it is no where as quick as the digital Mitutoyo.

When I went to the "College of Knowledge", that school and my old German boss reminded us ad nauseam, that Micrometers were called "ums" using an cymbal I can't draw on a keyboard pronounced "Mew".
That is your useless information for the day............