I own a gun with excess headspace that I've never fixed.What's the worst that could happen?
True and an excellent point. Thanks for the reminder.The mosin fires a rimmed cartridge (54R). Its pretty forgiving on head spacing.
... and you'd be correct on this one as wellThere is really very little possibility that the headspace is off. Especially if it is a refurbished example. Most likely it went through an arsenal and sat in a crate for 30-40 years before coming to the states. There is almost no chance it has had enough owners to have been shot enough to change any of that. The only thing I'd be worried about would be if the bolt didn't match/ had a lot of issues when working the action/ or visually looked like something was wrong. I have personally owned well over 20 Mosins and fired way more than that and I've never had a problem.
Wow Josh, that's quite generous. I really appreciate the offer, but based on the field gauge I cobbled up last night, I'm very confident on the measurements.Hello,
If I find my set I'll send you the field gauge from it, but if it's been fired without any pressure signs (incipient case-head separation being one) I'd say you're good to go.
Always wear them anyway, that was pounded into my head at an early age.Gas handling in a Mosin is not the best, but it will vent out the bolt. You'll get a puff in your face, but likely no debris. That said, don't take chances and always wear shooting glasses.
You're absolutely right, there's a lot of metal holding that sucker closed. I wasn't so much worried about the receiver blowing apart or the bolt impaling my shoulder as I was just wanting to know it was 'right.'The action is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, out there. It locks on the bolt head, but that massive thing the bolt handle attaches to is the backup lug.
I need to find that yahoo's video, sounds entertainingThe result of overcharging? Well, a gunsmithing school found that the action will not let go under a compressed load of Bulleye! It stretched the action too far to make firing pin contact, true, but the shooter would have been safe.
One of the YouTube Yoohoos did the compressed pistol powder test, then managed to open the action. He then swept up mixed powder from the firing range floor and compressed that into a load. He lit that off and the action still held together -- in fact, if I recall correctly, it cold welded the bolt lugs to the action. I may be wrong on that last one, but such a charge would be strong enough to do it.
Tested, and it's nowhere near closing on a field gauge. I didn't make one, but based on how far I have left to go to close the bolt, I guarantee this one won't close on a no-go gauge either. On the other end, it chambers surplus ammo smooth as silk. I'm happy to know it's in spec.Of course, if you have doubts, test the headspace. Lord knows there are a bunch of Lee-Enfields out there that close on field gauges.
I have not ever, once, heard of a Mosin that did, though.