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headspace question

464 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Winn R 
#1 ·
What exactly is headspacing and i hear people talk about if its right but i havent seen anything about what to do if its out
 
#2 ·
if you do a search you will find many threads on reseting head space.

head space is the distance from a pretetrmined point in the camber to the bolt face. in the case of the AK it in the neck of the chamber. In order for the bolt to close on around there needs to be enough clearance or the round to fit and the bolt to close. if that clearance is to much then the round willfit to loose in the chamber and the case can solit or blow out as the chamber is not supporting the case. the differnce form to tight were the bolt will not close on a round aand to loose were its considerd out of spec is about .006" they make specal guages that mimic a round that are used to set and check head space. won guage is called the GO guage . you install it in the barrel and if the bolt will close then it passes the go test. Then a longer guage is installed called the NO GO guage if the bolt closes on it the the clearance is to much. Head spaace needs to be set between the two guages perferable were its slightly snug on the go guage. if your gun fails this test the barrel or the bolt needs to be adjusted one way or the other to fix it.
 
#6 ·
In general concept, when the bolt is locked in place there should be room for a cartridge. Snugged tight would be minimal headspace, in theory a go gage.

When the bolt is locked up and alot of room exists between the cartridge and the bolt face (well not alot -- less than .009" for the ones I know of) before the bullet gets out of the barrel the case can split. This lets the 30-40k lbs genie out.

Away from the muzzle end this is about the only way to get hurt. The AK is very wrapped up tight where all this happens, providing more protection than most but a dust cover blown off in the face can still hurt. Plus there's the silly look on a builder's face when his gun blows apart. Something most of us try to avoid.
 
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