I just had my local gunsmith put on a new old stock barrel on my 1903a3 for $125 (which is irrevelant). When I got it back it had a note on it that it "barely headspaced" and when I asked the gunshop owner (not the gunsmith) she took one of the two test fired rounds and set it on the glass countertop and let it wobble around until it stood straight up and then said, "yep that is good". So I left puzzled and should have asked to speak to the gunsmith. After looking at some of the forum posts it looks like some reaming or shim work could have been required.

I will be reloading for this rifle and wanted to get the longest life from my brass, which I guess I should just neck size anyway. But how do I know this guy just didn't do a quick shoddy job?
Is there a way to check the headspacing without specialized tools? Would I just have to measure the length of an unfired case, load it up and fire it and then measure it again to see how much it lengthened?

Thanks for any input.
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