M44 Headspace Question

[benEzra]

Last gun show I was at, a table was selling some Russian M44s with beat-up stocks for $39 each. If I see any again, I am sorely tempted to get one just for a knockaround plinker (I already have an M39 and can't afford $70-$100 for a nicer M44), but I was wondering about the headspace issue.

I am not planning on collecting a bunch of Mosins, so I can't justify shelling out more cash for a headspace gauge than the cost of the rifle. Is there a cheaper way to check headspace, like with a fired cartridge from my M39? If I shoot only steel-cased ammo, would slightly excessive headspace even be an issue?

bE

 

[foghornl]

I had mine (M-44) checked out by a local guy very familiar with the Mosins. The following is what he said, as I vaguely recall, not reputed to be hard scientific fact....

"The rimmed cartridges are a bit more forgiving on headspace than belted or rimless". Remember..that was his statement, not mine.

That being said, Brownell's has headspace guages for $30 each for go and no-go. From my limited knowledge of headspace guages, the bolt should fully close/lock on the "GO" guage, and SHOULD NOT CLOSE on the "NO-GO".

If you are going to buy more than 1 more Mosin-Nagant, $30 for at least the NO-GO would be a prudent investment. My local guy charged me $25 to run the headspace check, peek through the bore, test fire 2 rounds and section 1 fired case to look for swelling/stretching.

 

[Poodleshooter]

Get a fired and resized case from someone who reloads for 7.62x54. Use it to test headspace. Rim thickness determines headspace for this cartridge. Better to have slightly excessive headspace than insufficient headspace with these cartridges. My brother in law had to toss a good portion of a case of suplus ammo due to insufficient headspace/ thick rimmed ammo.

 

[Tropical Z]

You can always do the inexpensive test of putting the rifle on the OTHER side of a large tree and pulling the trigger with a string.Do this 5 times and check spent cases for bulges,splits and the like.Thats what i do!

 

[RON in PA]

I think that excess headspace in a rimmed cartridge that is not reloaded is not that big a deal. If you shoot rimless and reload(full length resize) you are looking for trouble. I find it interesting that the US military never serial numbered their bolts and have heard stories that it was common in the WW2 German army to field strip many K98s and throw their bolts into buckets of kerosine and reassemble without concern for matching serial numbers. Insufficient headspace is probably more of a problem as you would not be able to close the bolt.