Imperial & Metric Headaches

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Mulga
.222 Remington
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Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Mulga »

I have been doing some reasearch into seating depths or more specifically seating distance off the lands for my .17 Remington. I understand this is critical to accuracy. I normally use a bit of guess work in this area and haven't really thought of it too much (a quater turn here or there on the seating plug). Talk of 10 - 40 thousanths of an inch didn't mean much to me as im in my mid 30's and was schooled in the metric system, that's until I got my vernier out.

The Mitutoyo non-digital unit I use has metric (0.02) and Imperial (0.001). Now I find the metric easy to read, but imperial to 0.001 is a real challenge. So I went and got my feeler guages out :shock:

10 thousandths inch = 0.25 mm
20 thousandths inch = 0.51 mm
30 thousandths inch = 0.76 mm
40 thousandths inch = 1.02 mm

These are small numbers and I have realised I have proably been seating some of mine in allot deeper, though still achieving good results.

And here is my vent: :auto:
Inches, yards, feet per second, minutes of angle are just a pain in the arse to use, millimetres, centimetres, metres, metres per second and mill radians to name a few are easily divisable by 10 and are much easier to use IMHO :bang: I hope the imperial/statute system dies off soon, but I won't hold my breath.

Regards

Dan
xa-coupe
.17 HMR
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by xa-coupe »

I was born in 67 and even though technically imperial was phased out, I was raised half half. Some things like shooting are all over the place.. thousands and mm are kind of interchangeable depending on the situation.... but with my cars, it's all imperial.
We will all need to be gone before it has a chance of really standardising.
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The Raven
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by The Raven »

Like xa-coupe I was raised with both systems. I am a firm believer in metric, so it was quite a shock when I spent a few years in the US and had to us imperial/US measurements. Try changing from all metric draughting (as in drawing boards) to weird imperials scales. :x

Having said that I like metric, there are some plain old imperial measurements that just seem to fit the real world better. I like HP, I like torque in ft/lbs, and a 1/4 mile is a quarter mile.
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stinkitup
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by stinkitup »

Being 30 I am imperially challenged as well, although I can understand 0.1/0.01/0.001 of an inch as technically its units of 10 again :lol:

I laugh though we measure baby's born in cm's and kg but everyone wants to know how many lb's they are :lol:

One good thing about going back to UNI for engineering last year is I am now pretty good and conversions :lol:

Haha no cars should be metric too who cares 350 cubic inches is but I know how many buckets hole 5.7 litres :lol:

KW, NM and a quarter mile is 402m :mrgreen:

I do feel sorry Raven, my draughting I did do a little bit on other systems and yeah they get funky!

Ryan
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chappo555
.220 Swift
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Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by chappo555 »

Mate most of the shooting info comes from the good old US so we are stuck with imperial. I like measuring load/chamber stuff in the thou and target groups by MOA and I'm only 39!
If u have an iPhone just get multi convert app and your set.
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Mulga
.222 Remington
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Mulga »

I persevere, just somtimes gives me the shits. I think from now on im goint to try to communicate in metric. However its pretty hard not use both for one thing or another. Old habbits die hard.

As a last note I love how property owners like to talk in Acres rather than Hectares. I think it makes them feel they have more dirt. :lol:
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Dr G
300 Win Mag
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Dr G »

I am with you Raven and xa, I was raised with both systems (being a child of the early seventies). My brain is a mish mash. I am six feet tall but I am 140kg :roll: With petrol cars I cant think of them as anything other than cubic inches, 250, 253, 308, 327, 350, 351 etc but shift to diesel and it becomes metric. When I shoot all of my ranging and distance measurement is given in metres but group size, reloading and case prep measurements are all in imperial despite the fact that I think about linear measurements in mostly metric. I fish in imperial but I weigh my fish and what I shoot in kg.

Some days I feel very confused

Dr G
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malcolm
.204 Ruger
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by malcolm »

I wouldn't get too carried away----------- our world still works with both systems. Go and buy a door for your house--820mm standard. Go and buy a tyre for your car-- 13 inch or 15 inch. All young girls still want -- 6 foot two,--eyes of blue. Try and tell a surfer to buy a board 1500 mm's instead of a 5 ft 6 inches.
My mate owns a timber yard and to this day he still gets-------- " I want a piece of hardwood, 4inch by 2 inch -- 6 meters long."
We Aussies are so adaptable.
Cheers Malcolm
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Camel
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Camel »

malcolm wrote:" I want a piece of hardwood, 4inch by 2 inch -- 6 meters long."
We Aussies are so adaptable.
Cheers Malcolm

Yeah but try fitting the "new" 4 x 2 into a house built in the 1920's with old 4 x 2. :lol: :lol:
chris.tyne
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by chris.tyne »

I am a 1970 model and it was all metric at school but I have learnt imperial as well,It just sounds right with firearms related stuff,thou's,inches,pounds and ounces :wink: .





Regards Chris.
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The Raven
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by The Raven »

Metric, imperial, and any other measurement systems all have their place. When it comes to firearms I'm still trying to wrap my head around grains, drams and other measurements. Yes, metric is a good leveller but some stuff just needs to be left with it's historic measurements. Just be glad we're not sailors having to learn all sorts of arcane terms and measurements that few others use.
sbn
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by sbn »

G'day Mulga,
you reckon firearms are bad,try chainsaws. Made in Europe, used in America there is a horrid mish-mash of inches (fractions), inches (decimals) and metric.
Keeps my students confused for days!
Cheers Dugald
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Mulga
.222 Remington
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Mulga »

sbn wrote:G'day Mulga,
you reckon firearms are bad,try chainsaws. Made in Europe, used in America there is a horrid mish-mash of inches (fractions), inches (decimals) and metric.
Keeps my students confused for days!
Cheers Dugald
No doubt it keeps them on their toes :lol:
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trevort
Spud Gun
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by trevort »

every single life insurance application needs height and weight. Almost invariably its 5'10" and 94 kgs. No one is metric height
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Mulga
.222 Remington
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Re: Imperial & Metric Headaches

Post by Mulga »

My Qld drivers licence has height in Centimetres.
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