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AussieShooter View Drop Down
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    Posted: January 06 2022 at 9:06am
Above is a link to a European source for button style head space gauges.  They sell a three set of Go, No-Go, and Field (0.074"), and it was reasonably prices at the time of this post.

Also, Forster Products based in Illinois, USA, also manufactures a Field Gauge at 0.074".  Email "Scott" at tech support and he is very responsive.  





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That I didn't know.
I knew they made a SAAMI spec one, but not a 0.074" one!
Useful piece of little-known info thanks again.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Points: 211 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Apprentice Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 06 2022 at 3:33pm
Originally posted by AussieShooter AussieShooter wrote:

Above is a link to a European source for button style head space gauges.  They sell a three set of Go, No-Go, and Field (0.074"), and it was reasonably prices at the time of this post.

Also, Forster Products based in Illinois, USA, also manufactures a Field Gauge at 0.074".  Email "Scott" at tech support and he is very responsive.  


Thank you for posting Geoff I appreciate it 
I am saving up for some brass and a bayonet from one of our forum members then I plan on getting these gauges to verify that my headspace is correct since my bolt is not serial numbered to my rifle
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just to be annoying i made my own a while back. Didnt get too carried away with heat treating but did use a high tensile bolt. wont be doing industrial numbers of rifles so will work for me well.
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AussieShooter View Drop Down
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They say timing is everything.   One year ago I received my No-Go/Field Guage 0.074" and yesterday I spoke with Forsters - they have the Go Gauge back in stock!  So I suggest you get 'em while they're hot!

Bloke at Forsters said they could make 223 gauges all day everyday and still not keep up with demand.  Go figure, the .303 is not that popular????
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So are all of the recently made Forsters Field gauges .074? I can get one, but they don't say the actual measurement for it.
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Points: 343 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AussieShooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 9:28am
Probably best to call and ask.   The gauges they just made were the Go Gauges.  I purchased my Field Gauge 1 year ago.  Don't know if they still have the Field in stock.

Also, before anyone yells at me, I understand the Enfield specs never mentioned a Field Gauge - and what we call a Field gauge is actually the Enfield No Go specs.  In general we have defaulted to the SAAMI Go/No Go specs.  Clear as mud?
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Sadly, gone are the days of armorers having drawers full of bolt heads.  The two common gages that were used in competition were 0.064 GO and 0.070 NO-GO; and keeping headspace on the tight side by selecting a bolt head that had the highest bolt handle position but still closed on the GO gage.  

I've not seen any appreciable headspace increase after shooting about 10,000 rounds thru my Long Branch which has a #1 bolt head.  I suspect that the problem that some of us have has more to do with mismatching bolts, or bolt heads that have been swapped around by previous owners. 

I suppose if the rifle is not cleaned properly, and dirt gets on the locking lug surfaces, it would gradually grind away on the hardened surface and increase headspace.  These surfaces should be periodically cleaned and lightly greased.   

 
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INSTRUCTION MANUAL PN 08.103
3
V4
HEADSPACE GAUGES
The headspace gauges for .303 British / Lee-Enfield come in three sizes based on
published “mil-spec” values*:
• GO* – 0.064 inch
• NO GO – 0.068 inch
• FIELD* – 0.074 inch
The listed values are nominal. Minimal tolerances for manufacturing purposes apply.
As Lee-Enfield rifles are historic firearms which were in production for over 50 years
including production constraints imposed by two major wars and whose production
ended more than 65 years ago it is important to consider and use our product in this
context.
When getting involved in historic firearms knowledge of the background and manuals
is recommended but especially when consulting a gunsmith he/she shall be familiar
with the firearm and the technical specifications, procedures and manuals.
HISTORIC CONTEXT:
The thickness values of the GO and FIELD gauges correspond to the official British
Army publications e.g. “Instruction for Armourers”, The War Office 1931 and “Small
Arms and Machine Guns, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Regulations”, Army
Council 1951.
The gauges are not produced acc. to CIP or SAAMI, but acc. to „military-
specification“ for Lee-Enfield rifles in the calibre .303 British.
These rifles were checked and if so required overhauled by armourers acc. to the
instruction manuals of the British Army using gauges of the GO und FIELD thickness.
An example of the procedure:
“4. Action: Bolt and bolt-head.
(i) Test the distance of the bolt from the end of the chamber with gauges .064-inch
No. 1 and .074-inch No. 1; the bolt should close over the .064, but not over the .074;
when using the latter gauge, light thumb-pressure only should be applied to the knob.
Also test to see that the wing of the bolt-head does not lift off the rib of the body.”
(Instruction for Armourers 1931, PART II Small Arms, Section 3.-- Examination / The War Office, 1931)
The NO GO gauge was made popular by companies such as OKIE and adopted by
TECTAL to have – as common nowadays – an additional incremental step to better
evaluate the headspace. Secondary sources also report values for NO GO gauges
with 0.067“ as SAAMI / Australian resp. 0.070“ as CDN Militar
shoot em if you got em
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Points: 1786 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shiloh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 11:33am
An excerpt from Petter L`s treatise on fitting a new bolt

For all of you that want a 'tight' headspace on your No4 or 5 or 'T', by
making sure the bolt JUST closes down on the 'GO' gauge using the
tightest bolthead. Remember this. You aren't making the cartridge seat
tighter in the chamber, all you are doing is crushing the rim tighter
between the barrel and the bolt face. This is the reason why all (?) the .
303" weapons were .064 GO and .074 NO-GO
shoot em if you got em
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Points: 5108 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 11:51am
Headspace on the "tighter" side (but > 0.064) reduces the amount of strain of the brass case in the web area.  0.074 is perfectly safe, but you won't get many reloads with headspace this large...

Military armorers did not concern themselves with how many times a cartridge case can be reloaded.  

I see in this article it mentions the Canadian 0.070 spec for rejection; that's the gage I have.  
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Points: 7696 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Goosic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 12:00pm
Originally posted by shiloh shiloh wrote:

An excerpt for Petter L`s treatise on fitting a new bolt

For all of you that want a 'tight' headspace on your No4 or 5 or 'T', by
making sure the bolt JUST closes down on the 'GO' gauge using the
tightest bolthead. Remember this. You aren't making the cartridge seat
tighter in the chamber, all you are doing is crushing the rim tighter
between the barrel and the bolt face. This is the reason why all (?) the .
303" weapons were .064 GO and .074 NO-GO
^^^^^^^^^^
I have the .070" Forster FIELD gauge. I also have a #1 bolthead installed.  The bolt handle is in the 3 o clock position when viewed from behind. I use the PPU cases as well. Every case has been fire formed to the chamber which has eliminated all but the rarest of case ruptures. 
Alot of first timers out there have assumed that when the bolt does not close, the cartridge has FILLED in the chamber area, when in fact all it has done is to make sure the rim has fully engaged the barrel and the bolt face. Mr. Laidler has also mentioned in another post that it is best to just set the headspace accordingly and then leave it alone for the simple reason being that the cartridge is a rimmed item and is not sensitive to case wall fit like a rebated or rimless cartridge. 
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Points: 1786 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote shiloh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 3:06pm
I listen to what Ex amourers have to say about these old rifles and follow their advise. its not overly complicated, head space was checked to endure that the rifles would safely fire military issued ammo.
So if your rifle closes on .074" its out of spec., don`t shoot it that way.
Not all ammo is created equal as we all know, from commercial to military the head/rim thicknesses all vary.
When talking to my smithy about these factors and knowing any one of my Enfields have proper CHS, he said to pay attention to the primer position  on the fired brass, if they, of any given brand, appear to be overly proud of the head, change to a type which has a thicker rim to maintain the rifles proper head space. The amount of primer protrusion roughly equals the space between the bolt head face and the cartridge head.
I experience this with my 1915smle using Winchester brass, but not with the PPU I have, so that rifle is only fed PPU.
There tends to be a lot of hype about head space, some check religiously and others don`t seem to care, but be aware that excessive head space can be detrimental to both rifle and shooter. 
shoot em if you got em
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Good advice.
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Points: 5108 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 5:09pm
We are fortunate that the LE is quite forgiving of case ruptures.  That hole on the left side of the front of the action body does really work in venting gas.  I have had a number of case head separations, not because of excessive headspace, but from excessive number of reloads. I’ve learned to recognize the “white line of death” and cull those cases before they fail. 

Most definitely, everyone should have checked headspace at least once, when they got the rifle, and don’t shoot it if it is over 0.074.  If you shoot a lot and want to maximize case life, find a bolt head that gives you 0.064 or just slightly longer. 

It’s very unlikely you will encounter case rims that are over 0.063.  Not in commercial brass…
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Points: 15960 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 26 2022 at 8:16pm
Again ^^^^ THIS.
The number of stills & Videos I've seen where you can see plumes exiting from the port is astounding. Many of then shooters have no idea the case has ruptured.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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