Plug gauge?

[Ballshooter]

So should I get the plus or minus gauges...I would think the minus as those would be the go gauge. I am getting a 58 cal Cook & Brother so at some point I want to try some minies.

 

[ohio ramrod]

When i was working in a shop that used go/no go gauges we accepted that the gauges would go into a bore .0005 larger than the gauge and the no go would not go into a bore the same size.

 

[dave951]

So should I get the plus or minus gauges...I would think the minus as those would be the go gauge. I am getting a 58 cal Cook & Brother so at some point I want to try some minies.

If you are planning on playing around with minies, you can get individual "plug" or pin gauges on amazon. I'd get several because you can interpolate your way to a usable measurement. Size range- .575. .577, .579, .581. Example, a musket you're checking out will let the .575 slip down but .577 won't, the bore is .576. Example, a musket you're checking out will just let the .577 enter but .575 drops to the bottom and .579 won't start, bore is .577.

Just these 4 gauges will cover most of the bore sizes you're likely to encounter. That said, I've seen and heard of repops that were .584 and larger. I view those as candidates for Bobby Hoyt to do his magic on.