Agreed....but it is a sure way. If you have loaded ammo in the brass that you will use, you can just take the calipers and measure total diameter which will get close enough. If not, you can use neck concentricity gauges. Ball micrometer does a good job of measuring wall thickness though. I have Norma, Lapua, Nosler and Hornady brass. The Hornady brass sucks in comparison.You don't need a ball micrometer to determine which neck bushing you need.