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)