The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Black Powder and Cowboy Action Shooting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old January 29, 2009, 09:52 PM   #1
Rick H.
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2008
Location: Muskego, Wisconsin
Posts: 4
Headspace Issue

Hi All: I have an 1873 Uberti lever gun in .357 caliber. Whenever I fire .357 ammo thru it the little tab on the bottom of the bolt face breaks off. I have sent it to the gunsmith I bought it from a couple of times now and he replaces the bolt and sends it back to me. I take it to the range and put one or two .357 rounds thru it and off goes the little tab. Tonight I decided to take a closer look at the rifle and it sure seemed to have a lot of headspace. Now I am not a gunsmith by any stretch, but I winged it on this one. I can take a .035" feeler gauge and get it between the closed bolt face and the back of the cartridge head. I can only assume this is way too much headspace correct? If so, does anyone know how to correct this problem? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer...........Rick H.
Rick H. is offline  
Old January 30, 2009, 12:06 AM   #2
Fingers McGee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 19, 2008
Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks
Posts: 2,113
Headspace isnt causing the tab to break off. Timing is. The carrier is coming up before the bolt has retracted all the way and the case rim is hitting the bolt, breaking the tab. A little filing on the top of the carrier lifting lever so it will come up later, will solve the problem. I don't know what the proper distance between the case and bolt face should be; but if you are not have any problem with cartridges not firing when you pull the trigger, or with the extractor not grabbing the case rim after firing; then I'd say you don't have a head space problem.
__________________
Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters
Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce
Fingers McGee is offline  
Old February 1, 2009, 11:10 AM   #3
Rick H.
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2008
Location: Muskego, Wisconsin
Posts: 4
Thanks for the reply Fingers. I looked at the timing issue and I don't think that is the problem. The carrier misses the bolt by quite a bit when working the action. My guess is that when a magnum round detonates it first goes forward by the firing pin and then gets smacked back .035" when pressures build. I think this backwards movement due to what I believe is excessive headspace, causes the shell rim to break the tab off the bottom of the bolt face. I was okay shooting .38 Specials thru the gun because the pressure levels weren't near what a magnum is and therefore the force generated by a Special didn't have the poop to break the tab. This is all just hypothetical right now because I don't have a new bolt to put in and try, but I need to know how headspace is set on these toggle link action rifles so I make sure it is right when I get a new bolt. Rick
Rick H. is offline  
Old February 1, 2009, 12:06 PM   #4
Fingers McGee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 19, 2008
Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks
Posts: 2,113
Headspace is adjusted by the length of the toggles.
__________________
Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters
Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce
Fingers McGee is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.03894 seconds with 8 queries