Go gauge for shouldered prefit?

[Rob01]

Unless you go through 5 barrels a year or more, are they really any cheaper when you figure in buying gauges, barrel vices and action wrenches? My local guy does barrel threading, chamber, and crown for $250+ blank. And everything is cut for the best fit.

Prefits are cheaper than that. Also when you add in being able to have multiple calibers on one action, stock and optic you are saving a ton more.

 

[Rob01]

I will add that I only buy actions (or rifles) that take prefits now. Impact for competition and Tikka for hunting plus RimX for competition 22.

I use barrel nut prefits for my "old" Defiance and Stiller actions.

Same here. I have Zermatt TL3s and an Origin. My only other is my 700 action that I have had for 30 years and been through 9 .308 barrels so I keep it for fun.

You can have a smith measure your other actions and allows you to just order prefits and no nut. I did that with my surgeon.

 

[Hydra6]

Unless you go through 5 barrels a year or more, are they really any cheaper when you figure in buying gauges, barrel vices and action wrenches? My local guy does barrel threading, chamber, and crown for $250+ blank. And everything is cut for the best fit.

You are fortunate to have a gunsmith you trust close by and charging only $250. That assumes he has the correct reamer on hand and is timnely on his turnaround. The gunsmiths I trust are not local and are booked.

My Proof prefits are probably cheaper than your $250 plus blank cost.

 

[LuvDog]

If I had a local high quality smith who did barrels for $250, then I would use them too and custom chambered barrels and timed engravings. But that's definitely not the norm

 

[82nd Bill]

Curious what the hive mind thinks about checking headspace when installing a shouldered prefit?

I've rebarreled Savage actions with barrel nuts 5 or 6 times, and always use a go gauge to set the headspace, then applied a piece of painters tape to the go gauge to function as a no-go, and have had 100% success achieving a consistent minimum headspace.

I now have a Pure Precision Summit Ti and a Preferred Barrel Blanks shouldered prefit on the way, and wondered if it's really necessary to shell out another $50 bucks on a go-gauge for installation.

I'm debating just using a piece of virgin ADG brass, and applying tape layers until it "no-gos" to determine how much brass growth I'll get on first firing. If it's sub 0.010" I figure I'm good to go with the brass I have. It would be nice to know where I sit in "SAAMI space", but the odds of ever feeding the rifle factory ammo or someone else's reloads is pretty minimal.

Since it's a shouldered prefit, I can't adjust the headspace like I could on a barrel nut rifle anyway, so I figure what's the point of messing with go/no. Determine if it's safe to fire the brass I have, and run with it.

What say the peanut gallery?

P.S. If anyone has a 7mm PRC go gauge handy, and the Hornady Comparator with the #13-41 (or #11-37) insert, could you measure the base to shoulder dimension and report it here? That would be very helpful as a reference, so I'd have a better idea where my virgin brass is currently sitting...

Curious what the hive mind thinks about checking headspace when installing a shouldered prefit?

I've rebarreled Savage actions with barrel nuts 5 or 6 times, and always use a go gauge to set the headspace, then applied a piece of painters tape to the go gauge to function as a no-go, and have had 100% success achieving a consistent minimum headspace.

I now have a Pure Precision Summit Ti and a Preferred Barrel Blanks shouldered prefit on the way, and wondered if it's really necessary to shell out another $50 bucks on a go-gauge for installation.

I'm debating just using a piece of virgin ADG brass, and applying tape layers until it "no-gos" to determine how much brass growth I'll get on first firing. If it's sub 0.010" I figure I'm good to go with the brass I have. It would be nice to know where I sit in "SAAMI space", but the odds of ever feeding the rifle factory ammo or someone else's reloads is pretty minimal.

Since it's a shouldered prefit, I can't adjust the headspace like I could on a barrel nut rifle anyway, so I figure what's the point of messing with go/no. Determine if it's safe to fire the brass I have, and run with it.

What say the peanut gallery?

P.S. If anyone has a 7mm PRC go gauge handy, and the Hornady Comparator with the #13-41 (or #11-37) insert, could you measure the base to shoulder dimension and report it here? That would be very helpful as a reference, so I'd have a better idea where my virgin brass is currently sitting...

You spent 800 + on a new barrel and don't want to use the proper gauges to be sure it is SAFE. Head space is not something to guess at, bad things can happen. I have been reloading and bulting rifles for over 40 years and suggest you do it the right way, or let your smith do it

 

[Taj]

I've wondered this before too... It will tell you if the barrel is in spec or not, but there will be nothing you can "do" about it. Other than replacement if it isn't in spec

Barrel can be set back, but it will require a lathe. I have used virgin brass before when there was not a headspace gauge to be found, but it is not the best way. If the brass fits, add a piece or two of scotch tape to the base and try it. ( No-go) The tape usually runs about .0025-.003. Problem is, I have seen "match" brass vary as much as .002 to .003 in the same box. Measure the tape if you use it, I have seen some of it run almost .005.

 

[Hard Head]

Curious what the hive mind thinks about checking headspace when installing a shouldered prefit?

I've rebarreled Savage actions with barrel nuts 5 or 6 times, and always use a go gauge to set the headspace, then applied a piece of painters tape to the go gauge to function as a no-go, and have had 100% success achieving a consistent minimum headspace.

I now have a Pure Precision Summit Ti and a Preferred Barrel Blanks shouldered prefit on the way, and wondered if it's really necessary to shell out another $50 bucks on a go-gauge for installation.

I'm debating just using a piece of virgin ADG brass, and applying tape layers until it "no-gos" to determine how much brass growth I'll get on first firing. If it's sub 0.010" I figure I'm good to go with the brass I have. It would be nice to know where I sit in "SAAMI space", but the odds of ever feeding the rifle factory ammo or someone else's reloads is pretty minimal.

Since it's a shouldered prefit, I can't adjust the headspace like I could on a barrel nut rifle anyway, so I figure what's the point of messing with go/no. Determine if it's safe to fire the brass I have, and run with it.

What say the peanut gallery?

P.S. If anyone has a 7mm PRC go gauge handy, and the Hornady Comparator with the #13-41 (or #11-37) insert, could you measure the base to shoulder dimension and report it here? That would be very helpful as a reference, so I'd have a better idea where my virgin brass is currently sitting...

Mine reads 1.898 and no pressure to close bolt,1.900 and slight pressure to close 7mm prc Peterson brass, Pete

 

[Hard Head]

Curious what the hive mind thinks about checking headspace when installing a shouldered prefit?

I've rebarreled Savage actions with barrel nuts 5 or 6 times, and always use a go gauge to set the headspace, then applied a piece of painters tape to the go gauge to function as a no-go, and have had 100% success achieving a consistent minimum headspace.

I now have a Pure Precision Summit Ti and a Preferred Barrel Blanks shouldered prefit on the way, and wondered if it's really necessary to shell out another $50 bucks on a go-gauge for installation.

I'm debating just using a piece of virgin ADG brass, and applying tape layers until it "no-gos" to determine how much brass growth I'll get on first firing. If it's sub 0.010" I figure I'm good to go with the brass I have. It would be nice to know where I sit in "SAAMI space", but the odds of ever feeding the rifle factory ammo or someone else's reloads is pretty minimal.

Since it's a shouldered prefit, I can't adjust the headspace like I could on a barrel nut rifle anyway, so I figure what's the point of messing with go/no. Determine if it's safe to fire the brass I have, and run with it.

What say the peanut gallery?

P.S. If anyone has a 7mm PRC go gauge handy, and the Hornady Comparator with the #13-41 (or #11-37) insert, could you measure the base to shoulder dimension and report it here? That would be very helpful as a reference, so I'd have a better idea where my virgin brass is currently sitting...

Mine is 1.898 no pressure to slose,1.900 slight pressure to close,7mm PRC Peterson Brass

 

[Wedgy]

, then applied a piece of painters tape to the go gauge to function as a no-go, and have had 100% success achieving a consistent minimum headspace.

I thought you are supposed to use scotch tape as it is right at 0.002"

 

[Hard Head]

If its not broken don't fix it, Pete

 

[hesse]

I am a the right tool for the job I buy the go- no go gauges I don't want to second guess. This is something that can kill you which is bad but worse would be the wife ,kids or grandkids and living with that because I didn't want to spend an extra $ 50 . I will spend it for peace of mind

 

[Ckleeves]

You can use a piece of virgin brass and tape the head of it if you wanna check on the cheap. Your chances of getting an out of spec prefit from a reputable manufacture are low. Take a virgin piece of brass, chamber it and start adding layers of tape until it won’t close. You will be able to feel when the shoulder makes contact probably gonna be at about 2-3 layers depending on how undersized your virgin brass is.

 

[pavementends]

For educational purposes only, If your go gauge lists a length on the side as mine do, measure it with your calipers and comparator. This allows at least an indication of the comparator and caliper. Also may show why numbers from my comparator may not agree with yours. They are quite useful to compare the difference between your go gauge and no go gauge or taped go gauge. At some point we have to decide who we trust. I do prefer to have a at least a go gauge.

 

[Triggered Precision]

Oh man, ALWAYS check the headspace on a pre-fit. No exaggeration, I get probably a dozen calls a month regarding pre-fit problems. I usually end up seeing half of those land in the shop to check out and fix. Problems ranging from poor accuracy, case head separation, wild velocity swings, you name it. I'm obviously biased because I turn barrels for a living and put everything I have into each rifle that goes out, but pre-fits will never replace a gunsmith fit barrel. Yes, it does save you money, but not much. Some end up losing money after they decide to have a smith barrel fit up properly. The last one I fixed a week ago had excessive headspace by about .002 - .003 over SAAMI max. While this isn't necessarily unsafe to shoot, you are going to over work your brass, and for the guys shooting factory ammo, accuracy suffers. Fixing excessive HS is a fairly simply task, but it is not cheap. It involves chucking the barrel in the lathe and dialing it in to be concentric with the bore in the same fashion a smith would use to chamber a rifle. If this step is skipped, the shoulder won't be square to the bore and you might as well just light your money on fire. On the other hand, if the headspace is below SAAMI min., your sunk. The only way to fix this is dial in the barrel and bump the shoulder forward a bit and run a fresh chamber reamer in because of the reamer / chamber differences. At that point, you may as well start out with a fresh blank because you're relying on the manufacturer of the pre-fit to have cut a concentric chamber, since the new reamer will follow the existing chamber in. I won't touch these because there is no way to guarantee the outcome, and the price is the same as having a fresh barrel chambered.

After chambering hundreds of barrels for every major action manufacturer out there, there is only one action I will make a pre-fit for... I'll leave that mystery up to you guys.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!

-Shawn

Triggered Precision Machine LLC