Head Space?
 

My mother-in-law gave me an old .303 that belonged to my now-deceased father-in-law. It's an old No. 1 Mk III built by Cogswell & Harrison that has been more recently sporterized. I'm told the gun is WW I vintage and that C&H are high quality manufacturers.

Anyway, I wasn't sure about the condition of the rifle and whether I should shoot it or not so took it down to Pro Line Shooters to have it checked out. The gunsmith wasn't there but one of the fellows behind the counter took a look at it. He was very kind and spent a fair amount of time on it, gratis. He said the headspace was marginal. He could get the bolt closed but just barely when he put in that "thingie" (my words, not his) in the chamber to check space. He thought it would be OK to put a few rounds through if I wanted, but advised against shooting it a lot. He did mention that the inside of the barrel looked in great shape. I do think the safety may need a bit of work.

So now what? How can one fix headspace? I do not want to spend a lot on the repair of a gun I'm probably not going to use much. $100? fine. $500 or more? No way. Sell it? Who would want it? Give it away? If it's unsafe perhaps I should dispose of it. Advice?

I would double check with the gunsmith. It all depends on whether the "thingie" was a go or a no go gauge. I assume it was the no go but it's just an assumption. The most likely cause in this particular rifle of excessive head space would be lug set back due to an improperly hardened receiver. To properly remedy the problem the headspace needs to be corrected and the action properly heat treated. Not worth it. If on the other hand the action is fine I would guess under a hundred bucks should get you in business.

im not a gunsmith ,,,but here is a link to help u understand it i learned a thing or 2 from this also ....
http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearm...for-303-s.html

Thanks for reminding me. It was a "no go" gauge. I guess the idea is that he should not have been able to close the bolt if the headspace was correct?

Later Lee Enfields use an interchangeable bolt face to adjust for head space and I think the #1 MkIII has the same thing.
Have a gunsmith check this out before you do anything else. It's a cheap and easy fix if all they have to do is replace the bolt face to the next thicker one. It screws off and the new one screws on, check the head space and your good to go in most cases.

That is correct. If the bolt closes on a no go guage then there is too much headspace and it isn't safe to fire..

bellm
 

Check out bellm website. He has an excellent article on head space and adjustment, even if it does apply to TC breakdowns. Head space is head space.