Every Forward Point tray is sized on the base of your case, not the calibre stamped on the barrel. Get that one idea straight and choosing the right size takes about ten seconds.
It is the single most common question we get, and the single most common ordering mistake. Someone with a .50 Beowulf reaches for the biggest tray we make. Someone with a .458 SOCOM does the same. Both end up with the wrong one — and both are being perfectly logical, because the numbers on the box suggest exactly that.
Here is why they are wrong, and how to get it right first time.
Calibre is the bullet. We care about the base.
Calibre describes the projectile — the bit that leaves the barrel. But a projectile sitting in a loading block is up in the air. The part actually sitting in the pocket is the case head: the flat base of the cartridge, where the primer lives.
That base is the measurement that matters, and it does not track calibre at all. A .243 Winchester and a .30-06 Springfield fire wildly different projectiles, yet both sit on a case head of 12.01 mm. Same base, same tray.
Meanwhile a .50 Beowulf throws a half-inch projectile but sits on a rebated rim of just 13.6 mm — smaller than the case body above it. It takes our 14 mm tray, not the 16 mm one its calibre implies.
The rule: measure the widest part of the base — the rim, the head, or on a belted magnum the belt — and choose the next tray size up.
How to measure in thirty seconds
Grab a set of digital callipers and one empty case.
- Sit the case flat and measure across the base at its widest point.
- On a rimmed case — .30-30, .303 British, .45-70 — that is the rim, which overhangs the body.
- On a belted magnum — .300 Win Mag, 7 mm Rem Mag — that is the belt just forward of the base, not the base itself.
- On a rimless case — .223, .308 — the rim and body are the same diameter, so anywhere on the base works.
- Take that number to the table below and pick the next size up.
No callipers? Tell us the cartridge and we will confirm it for you.
The four sizes
The same four bore sizes run right across the Forward Point range — loading blocks and Packout inserts alike — so once you know your size, you know it for everything we make.
| Size | Base up to | Common cartridges |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mm | 10.6 mm | .17 Rem, .204 Ruger, .222 Rem, .223 Rem / 5.56, .300 Blackout, .22 Hornet |
| 12 mm | 12.6 mm | .22-250, .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×55, .25-06, .270 Win, 7 mm-08, .308 Win, .30-06, 7.62×39, 9.3×62 |
| 14 mm | 14.6 mm | .300 Win Mag, 7 mm Rem Mag, .338 Win Mag, the PRCs, the WSMs, .303 British, .30-30, .44 Mag, .50 Beowulf |
| 16 mm | 16.6 mm | .45-70 Govt, .348 Win, .505 Gibbs, black powder cartridge rifle |
Most Australian hunters land on 12 mm. If you shoot one rifle and it is a .308, a .243, a 6.5 Creedmoor or a .30-06, that is your size.
Three traps worth knowing
Belted magnums all share one size. From .264 Win Mag through to .458 Win Mag, every standard belted magnum measures 13.51 mm across the belt. They all take the 14 mm tray, regardless of what they fire.
Rebated rims run smaller than they look. .458 SOCOM takes the 12 mm. .50 Beowulf takes the 14 mm. Both have rims narrower than their case bodies, which catches people out constantly.
Length matters as well as width. On the Packout inserts the organiser lid has to close over the rounds, so there is a ceiling on cartridge length as well as base diameter. A few long cartridges — .375 H&H, .338 Lapua, .416 Rigby — clear the bore on width but will not fit under the lid. Our full compatibility guide lists these explicitly.
What about rimfire?
A .22 LR rim measures about 7 mm. Drop one into a 10.6 mm pocket and it will go in, but it will sit loose and tip over the moment the tray moves.
Rimfire is better served by our Sleeve Case range, which is cut to calibre rather than to a family of case heads. Right tool, right job.
Still not sure?
Send us the cartridge — or the base measurement if you have it — and we will tell you which size you need before you order. It takes us a minute and it saves you a return.
forwardpointindustries@gmail.com
Manufactured in Australia · Built for performance. Made to last. · Forward. Always.