Pet peeves regarding surplus arms

[Gil Martin]

Headspace has to be pretty bad to seriously affect a rifle and may not put it out of action. The local gunsmith showed me a shotgun that had 38/1000s headspace and was used several times a month in cowboy action shoots. While I suspect that most surplus military arms are checked by tyeing a rifle down and pulling the trigger with a string. The same headspace concerns may be said of lever action deer rifles that seem to develop excessive headspace and continue to be pressed into use year after year. Looking a empty cases will often disclose how bad headspace may be.

Finally, if a rifle was checked decades ago, that reading may not be valid today. All the best...
Gil