Need advice.

[SUB VET II]

Request recommendations for head space gage for 1903. Will purchase from my favorite store whose name begins with a "B". Thanks in advance.

[John Beard]

Seasons' Greetings!

We use Clymer gages at the CMP. Unless you plan to re-barrel and do some serious target shooting, I recommend a GO and a FIELD gage. Otherwise, you'll be re-barreling when a barrel may still have some life left in it.

The Clymer GO gage, however, does have an issue. The gage has a sharp well-defined shoulder that fits snugly in the chamber. If the chamber has any trace of fouling or residue in the outer corner of the front shoulder (where fouling tends to collect), the GO gage won't go! I, therefore, had to carefully grind the outer corner off my gage's front shoulder to keep from having to scrub or ream virtually every chamber I gaged.

I recall seeing a gage that was made with a reduced-diameter shoulder which didn't have the residue sensitivity problem. But I don't recall who made it.

Hope this helps. Happy New Year!

J.B.

[chuckindenver]

for some reason Forester and Clymer arent the same..
i use all 3, but on used weapons, No-Go and Field Reject. a black action proving round is what i use to check chambers rather then a Go.
some advise,...avoid the action Dummy at gunshows....kinda freakes em out when you stick a round in a rifle...even if its black.

[PhillipM]

Does anyone bother checking with a field test bolt?

[John Beard]

Seasons' Greetings!

The CMP does not use a field test bolt. The headspace is either good, or it's not good. If it's good, it passes. If it's not good, it's either fixed with another bolt, or stripped for parts and sold as a barreled receiver. It's that simple. No need to make it complex.

Happy New Year!

J.B.