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    All this headspace information

    All this information about headspace issues and broken cases concerned me to the point where I was fearful to go to the range with my refinished (but unheadspaced)
    No4 Mk1. Well I went today and shot 15 rounds of Winchester ball and to my great relief the gun didn't explode and I came home with my face and fingers.
    I also was able to shoot my fathers IBM M1icon Carbine which has neither been headspaced nor shot since 1945.
    Both rifles performed flawslessly. The carbine patterned 5 inches high at 50 yards probably a 3-4 inch group. The Enfield patterned 6 inches high at 100 yards. I ain't talking about the grouping, I am, however, looking for a new aperture sight.
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    This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

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    Hey big daddy, you've got it right. DON'T worry about it. And another thing. There's only two gauges you need to headspace a Lee Enfield and that's a .064" GO and a .074" NO-GO. Borrow someone elses, check your rifle and give them back. And then use it on and off for the next five years or so and if you remember it in 2014, you could test it again!

    Just ask yourself how often the Russians check the CHS of their AK's. I'll tell you what....., they don't - because there's no formal figures out there by which you can make the gauges. There's lots of guesses...........

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    One Canadianicon military document for the #4 rifle described the proper headspace for a Lee-Enfield to be .074. If the .074 gauge was accepted the next shortest bolt head that was supposed to be used that would not accept the .074 gauge.

    Some of the discussion I have seen on Lee-Enfield forums have recommended setting up Lee-Enfields shorter than .074.

    I have purchased a lot of once fired brass over the last 35 years to be be reloaded. Of that brass .303 Britishicon is the only brass that I have ran into that has had incipient or partial head separations from being fired with factory ammo. I think it is worthwhile to pay attention to head space on these rifles. I have bought a rifle that did have excess headspace that was not a Lee-Enfield. It was/is a 1898/09 Argentineicon Mauser. From close examination it appears to have been arsenal overhauled and the worker did an exceptionally poor job. The rifle has about .030 head space over the length of a no-go gauge. The barrel has been replaced, reserialized and refinished and has seen a lot of handling
    since the overhaul but little shooting so the bore is still in very nice condition.
    Last edited by ireload2; 07-17-2009 at 03:50 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Laidlericon View Post
    Just ask yourself how often the Russians check the CHS of their AK's. I'll tell you what....., they don't - because there's no formal figures out there by which you can make the gauges. There's lots of guesses...........
    I don't know about the Russians but SAAMI has the 7.62X39 Standardized and the dimensions for both the cartridges and the chambers are on the internet.

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    Ask your self this is SAAMI the original designer or manufacturer or just a johnny come lately making alot of noise about something they know little about which is taken as gospel by others who even know less.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bindi2 View Post
    Ask your self this is SAAMI the original designer or manufacturer or just a johnny come lately making alot of noise about something they know little about which is taken as gospel by others who even know less.
    What is your point? You seem to be the newcomer here?

    When the Ruskies were mostly peasants and ruled by a Czar they had to go outside the country to buy rifles.







    BTW check out this 1895

    Last edited by ireload2; 07-18-2009 at 12:14 AM.

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    bigdaddy, ignore what ireload2 says just another techogeek trying to promote himself

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    A simple way to explain 7.62 headspace?

    I asked this question a few weeks ago and got this great reply from Alan de Enfield about 303 headspace, it gave me a good clear mental picture of it all.

    Now I'm asking the same question about 7.62 and my 1066 ishapore. This rifle seems very tight on the headspace, with the bolt requiring some force to close the handle. (Don't worry, it hasn't been fired like that. All else seems OK, so I suspect too tight headspace. ). With a cartridge chambered, what should the gap be between the cartridge and the bolt face?
    And B) who stocks a no go gauge for 7.62? I've been looking but apparently in the wrong places.
    And C)...is tighter better, as in zero gap? What would the penalty be?
    thanks in advance...R


    From the previous post;

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RJW NZicon View Post
    Hi all, I have a question, if there's a round chambered what is the ideal or allowable gap between the cartridge and the bolt head face? Just looking for a a simple way to explain all this stuff.
    Quoted headspace of 0.064" - 0.074" is without the cartridge, 303 cartridge rim thicknesses vary but are normally around the 0.059" - 0.060" so the 'gap' (as in your question) can be 0.003" - 0.014"
    Tighter is better (as they say)

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    Legacy Member ireload2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S-A-M3 View Post
    bigdaddy, ignore what ireload2 says just another techogeek trying to promote himself
    Why do you day that?

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    As for 7.62mm CHS gauges, in Britain, we had MANY variables. BUT, so far as this forum is concerned, we only had ONE set for bolt action rifles..., from the L8 series, right up to the L81 and that is 1.628 GO and 1.635 NO-GO. The other sizes relate to machine guns where heat, expansion and locking/unlocking methods all come into play.

    On the basis that these figures are correct for Britishicon made bolt action 7.62mm rifles, then I see no reason why these figures should not be absolutely correct for Indian made Enfield Riflesicon.

    The problem is anyone can make a 7.62mm gauge and call it, well, whatever they like! Ours are all calibrated from a diameter around the neck to the base. I can check the calibration of your SAAMI gauges against ours

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