increasing headspace on newly installed factory original fixed shouldered barrel

[1pocket]

i used go and no gauges

the only trouble i had in all this was removing the ejector pin even after the locking piece was punched out. i spent more time just trying to get the ejector pin out than on the entire re-barrel and headspace process.

 

[1pocket]

If I'm understanding the op correctly on issue the most common correction method as a DIY would be to rent/buy a reamer and headspace guages. For auto loaders you can also get a pull-thru reamer that acts as its own headspace gauge.

i understand that this is the conventional wisdom on this operation but frankly it seem illogical to me to go through all that when shimming the barrel accomplishes the same thing as safely, faster and much cheaper.

example: you have an expensive aftermarket barrel with a barrel nut. you thread it into your action until it touches the go gauge with bolt closed, everything feels good so you back out your barrel the tiniest amount and torque in place your barrel nut. then recheck you go gauge and check your no go to verify all is good.

using a fixed shoulder factory barrel where go gauge sits perfectly well in the barrel with the bolt closed on the go gauge and you find you barrel is .005 to tight against the go gauge so you add an ss shim between the barrel and action and recheck as you did with the barrel nut barrel.

what is the difference between the 2 upon completion? where is the safety hazard if one even exists?

 

[MagnumManiac]

No way would I use a shim of .005" thickness between a barrel shoulder and action face…
You should have taken the rifle to a competent gunsmith and had the headspace adjusted accordingly. You can even remove .005" by hand turning a reamer into the barrel chamber yourself, just finish with 400 grit emery on a dowel in a battery drill.

Cheers.

 

[Lee7588]

Faster and cheaper is rarely a good answer. In an earlier post you noted your concern was the shim being consistent. An inconsistent shim can make it a not so good shooter. Why shortcut the project?

 

[Will.284]

Something doesn't sound right although I don't have any Howa rifles. I run a lot of savages and always use a custom barrel nut or a shouldered prefit but I'm not sure I'd want a shim in there . I'm definitely following this

 

[osok-1k]

I would check the bolt lug and receiver abutment contact with a sharpie or dykem if you have that. If the contact isn't flush, lap the bolt lugs until you have good contact and check headspace again. This is a standard accurizing procedure when truing a receiver which moves the bolt rearward a little, creating slightly more headspace. You said you didn't want to mess with the bolt face but truing the bolt face in the receiver will likely accomplish close to what you want to achieve and provide a more true to bore alignment with a potential for greater accuracy. Manson and PTG make a bolt face tool for this.

 

[RuninL8]

Gunsmith here, super easy fix. Do not use a shim! Go to 4D tool rentals and rent the correct chamber reamer, and a hand turning tool. .005 is nothing, be careful not to take to much at a time, clean the flutes on the reamer and use a cutting oil. Light turns as you will take more than you think. Use your go gauge with a piece of clear scotch tape to set your headspace. Should be perfect after you are done tightening.

 

[lyle2231]

No way would I use a shim of .005" thickness between a barrel shoulder and action face…
You should have taken the rifle to a competent gunsmith and had the headspace adjusted accordingly. You can even remove .005" by hand turning a reamer into the barrel chamber yourself, just finish with 400 grit emery on a dowel in a battery drill.

Cheers.

With respect: I got my calipers out and looked at what .005 is, thickness is, it ain't much.

 

[308plinkerVT]

I have yet to dive into the Howa details personally but what I have run into that I do not yet see mentioned here is you should also be verifying the bolt to breech face gap is in spec before increasing it. Assuming the spec was "correct" at proper torque you should be reaming instead. The amount you increased is "tiny" but high pressure gasses aren't something to be ignored in the event of a case rupture situation, esp if you're hand loading.

 

[Roughrice]

Nope... .005 isn't much.
Not much at all except if you have 2 or more rifles in the same chambering that you reload for.
Then is a constant problem with sizing adjustment.

I swapped factory barrels many times with Rem 700's and can usually get very close headspacing by searching Rem factory recoil lugs until you find the right thickness.
I've found them from .183" up to .193". I actually picked up a couple from members on here before.

 

[FEENIX]

i understand that this is the conventional wisdom on this operation but frankly it seem illogical to me to go through all that when shimming the barrel accomplishes the same thing as safely, faster and much cheaper.

example: you have an expensive aftermarket barrel with a barrel nut. you thread it into your action until it touches the go gauge with bolt closed, everything feels good so you back out your barrel the tiniest amount and torque in place your barrel nut. then recheck you go gauge and check your no go to verify all is good.

using a fixed shoulder factory barrel where go gauge sits perfectly well in the barrel with the bolt closed on the go gauge and you find you barrel is .005 to tight against the go gauge so you add an ss shim between the barrel and action and recheck as you did with the barrel nut barrel.

what is the difference between the 2 upon completion? where is the safety hazard if one even exists?

It's your time, money, and decision to make. If you are willing to accept it as-is and fix it as you see fit, go for it.

No way would I use a shim of .005" thickness between a barrel shoulder and action face…
You should have taken the rifle to a competent gunsmith and had the headspace adjusted accordingly. You can even remove .005" by hand turning a reamer into the barrel chamber yourself, just finish with 400 grit emery on a dowel in a battery drill.

Cheers.

This!

 

[MagnumManiac]

With respect: I got my calipers out and looked at what .005 is, thickness is, it ain't much.

So, what's stopping the shim from crushing?? Is it still .005" after the barrel is tightened onto it??
We need answers, not opinions…

Cheers.

 

[Poor_choices]

Renting a reamer and correcting the headspace by hand reaming seems like an inexpensive and better way to address this.

 

[parshal]

I have yet to dive into the Howa details personally but what I have run into that I do not yet see mentioned here is you should also be verifying the bolt to breech face gap is in spec before increasing it.

This isn't being discussed at all. .005" can be just enough excess bolt nose clearance to have the web of the case outside the chamber. I've had separations when I had .015" clearance. I learned the hard way.