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what is headspacing?

sr338
I am purchasing a breechblock with a firing pin as a spare for my Chinese Mak 90. The ad says the following:

"Note: This breechblock is a perfectly acceptable
replacement in Chinese semi-auto rifles. It is dimensionally identical to
the semi-auto breechblock. Since the breechblock is involved in
headspacing, headspacing should be checked by a competent
gunsmith after changing a breechblock."

Anyone know what this means? Thanks.



Bruce
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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • sr338
    I am just now getting into shooting a lot, and I keep hearing about headspacing. What exactly is it? How do I measure it? I am a recently married college student, and I don't have a whole lot of money. Can I fix poor headspacing myself? If so, how?
    any help would be awesome.


    john kerry, out to prove he's got nothing to prove.
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  • Tailgunner1954
    Technicly it's the distance between what stops the shell casing from moving forward (rim, mouth, shoulder, belt depending on chamber design) and what keeps it from moving backwards (bolt face). This is measured with Go/No-Go gauges and (usualy) takes a qualified gunsmith (and a lathe and reamer) to adjust.
    Practicly it's the amount of (front to rear) slop between the cartridge and the chamber.
    If your shooting a factory chamber and factory ammo you should be fine. If your shooting a weapon that's been assembled from parts (mismatched mil-surp) or poorly handloaded ammo than the clearance might be excessive.

    Whittemore
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
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  • nononsense
    Steve,

    First off, welcome to the board even though you have obviously been posting. I'm a bit behind these days, too busy! And congratulations on being in college and being a newlywed!

    Here is an article about headspace complete with illustrations.

    http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/headspace/index.asp

    Post any other questions that you come up with, it's an extremely well rounded board.

    Best.
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  • sr338
    thanks a lot guys.

    john kerry, out to prove he's got nothing to prove.
    0

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