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dksac2 · June 10, 2010, 10:37 AM

In gunsmithing school, we were told to never close a break open on a headspace guage.

True or not, I took the info to heart. I think the instructor was just trying to be on the safe side. We had students who could break a ball bearing with a rubber mallet.

I found it was better to put a dummy round in the chamber and put tape on the top of the dummy round.

I would then close the action, open and check the tape.
If more there was needed, I added another piece until I saw an impression.
Knowing the approx thickness of the tape, it gave me a pretty good idea of what I was dealing with. Not really exact, but it worked for me for many years without ruining a weapon worth more than I made in 3 years.

l'd also just use my eyes and common sence.
You can get a pretty good idea of where you are at.
It would make me more than a little worried to close a 100K plus shotgun or double rifle on a guage.
This is the way that I have always done it and it has worked fine for me.

A piece of clay and a depth guage could be used if you were very careful for a more exact measurement.

John K

June 10, 2010, 10:37 AM	#19
dksac2 Member Join Date: May 17, 2010 Posts: 62	In gunsmithing school, we were told to never close a break open on a headspace guage. True or not, I took the info to heart. I think the instructor was just trying to be on the safe side. We had students who could break a ball bearing with a rubber mallet. I found it was better to put a dummy round in the chamber and put tape on the top of the dummy round. I would then close the action, open and check the tape. If more there was needed, I added another piece until I saw an impression. Knowing the approx thickness of the tape, it gave me a pretty good idea of what I was dealing with. Not really exact, but it worked for me for many years without ruining a weapon worth more than I made in 3 years. l'd also just use my eyes and common sence. You can get a pretty good idea of where you are at. It would make me more than a little worried to close a 100K plus shotgun or double rifle on a guage. This is the way that I have always done it and it has worked fine for me. A piece of clay and a depth guage could be used if you were very careful for a more exact measurement. John K Last edited by dksac2; June 10, 2010 at 10:51 AM.