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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Anything wrong with tight headspace?
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<blockquote data-quote="25WSM" data-source="post: 1777154" data-attributes="member: 38048"><p>All sound advice here to this point about headspace. Real headspace is a distance to a point on the neck from the bolt face. This number is set as a spec from Sammi. This ensures that a chamber is a set size from one to another of the same cartridge. Now factory ammo and reloading dies can be made to fit each and every time. Now that we start talking about reloading and brass fit it's really a setback number from the headspace.. 003 is a very safe place to be. So if you have a rifle with a minimum headspace chamber and have . 003 setback it's going to fit like a maximum headspace chamber if you use the same . 003 setback. So really the only difference between a long chamber or short chamber that is in spec is how close your factory brass/ammo fits. Because once you fire form your brass it will fit the same. One benefit to having a longer chamber that is in spec is reloading dies will work better. Some dies won't come down far enough to setback unless you grind off the bottom of the die or modify the shell holder. I've been building custom rifles for 30 yrs and 20 of those yrs I insisted that I had to have a zero spec chamber. Dead nuts on. I however don't do it that way anymore. I make all mine Max. Almost every die works now. And they size more in the body areas too. The 3 thou setback number I use is not a set in stone number. I use it because it gives me repeatable results. Unless your from the small neck size camp you know you don't want the brass to hit up against the shoulder. All brass will have some spring back to it. So if you use 3 thou and get all 3thou you are good. If spring back gets you a little your still at 2 thou and off the bolt face. Properly annealed and you will be hitting the same number almost every time. So sorry for the big ramble but this is day 16 in the hospital for me here and this site is keeping my mind off the hurt I'm taking in here. Big story short here is don't get all caught up on tight chambers. It's only as tight as the clearance of your brass. I make you a tight neck dia chamber and you turn your neck to thin it's now a loose fit. It's all relative.</p><p>Shep</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="25WSM, post: 1777154, member: 38048"] All sound advice here to this point about headspace. Real headspace is a distance to a point on the neck from the bolt face. This number is set as a spec from Sammi. This ensures that a chamber is a set size from one to another of the same cartridge. Now factory ammo and reloading dies can be made to fit each and every time. Now that we start talking about reloading and brass fit it's really a setback number from the headspace.. 003 is a very safe place to be. So if you have a rifle with a minimum headspace chamber and have . 003 setback it's going to fit like a maximum headspace chamber if you use the same . 003 setback. So really the only difference between a long chamber or short chamber that is in spec is how close your factory brass/ammo fits. Because once you fire form your brass it will fit the same. One benefit to having a longer chamber that is in spec is reloading dies will work better. Some dies won't come down far enough to setback unless you grind off the bottom of the die or modify the shell holder. I've been building custom rifles for 30 yrs and 20 of those yrs I insisted that I had to have a zero spec chamber. Dead nuts on. I however don't do it that way anymore. I make all mine Max. Almost every die works now. And they size more in the body areas too. The 3 thou setback number I use is not a set in stone number. I use it because it gives me repeatable results. Unless your from the small neck size camp you know you don't want the brass to hit up against the shoulder. All brass will have some spring back to it. So if you use 3 thou and get all 3thou you are good. If spring back gets you a little your still at 2 thou and off the bolt face. Properly annealed and you will be hitting the same number almost every time. So sorry for the big ramble but this is day 16 in the hospital for me here and this site is keeping my mind off the hurt I'm taking in here. Big story short here is don't get all caught up on tight chambers. It's only as tight as the clearance of your brass. I make you a tight neck dia chamber and you turn your neck to thin it's now a loose fit. It's all relative. Shep [/QUOTE]
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Anything wrong with tight headspace?
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