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Short Headspace

Whomever that was is not a gunsmith. Sounds like one of those people who lounge behind the counter and want to charge $50 to mount a scope yet never check alignment and don't even have a torque driver. Kick that guy to the curb and find a qualified replacement.
If I were you I'd also get that barrel headspaced correctly. Sooner or later that's going to be a problem.
 
I did a Savage start to finish, set the head space with a piece of brass because I didn't want to wait 6 weeks for a head space gauge. I set it tight to the go gauge and a piece of tape wouldn't let the bolt close. One of the most accurate rifles I own, but I also knew I would not be selling it.
Shoot it then set your dies accordingly.
 
I use the "Scotch Magic Tape Trick" - I remove the ejector and firing pin, then using the GO gauge I set the headspace so that the bolt handle will fall freely, but just and I tighten the nut (holding the action in a bench vise and using the "short" NLS wrench, with one medium blow from a "soft" hammer. Then I check again that the bolt handle falls freely. Assuming it does, I then add one layer of Scotch Magic Tape (the kind that looks "frosted") to the base of the GO gauge and check it again - the bolt handle should close, but with a little effort, it won't fall closed. You are now at about GO + .0015". I do have a NOGO gauge also, but it is way to short in my opinion.
 
Webster said:
Does he have any qualifications to be a gunsmith? He is saving the cost of buying go/no go guages for every caliber he works on. You gave him the gauges and he still wouldn't use them. I hope he doesn't chamber barrels. For a 308 what head space would you get if he had a 130 gr bullet and you wanted to shoot a 150 gr. Does he ask you to provide a loaded cartridge? How about taking him to small claims court to recover what he charged you and what it would cost to fix it. You would have to convince the judge that using gauges was normal and mandatory practice, How about safety issues?
Click to expand...
Bullet has nothing to do with headspace
 
chop house said:
apparently neither was the OPs guy... hard to believe he did that shade tree job... unless he had measured 'coupon' rounds like i used to use before getting steel gauges
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The OP stated his bolt won't close on a GO gauge with the extractor removed so apparently the hack who installed the barrel has no business attempting to perform work like that. There's simply no excuse unless the OPs GO gauge is out of spec which is highly unlikely.
 
Personally I would reset that just barely snug on the go gauge so that it’s at the minimum saami specification for headspace.

No reason to do what smith did without prior discussion. You set him up with saami gauges which implies that the final chamber will be to saami specs. He did something else and set you up to possibly fail.

Whether or not there is a way to work around this unnecessary problem is kind of irrelevant.
 
If it were mine, I would shoot three rounds. Size them without bumping the shoulder. Shoot them again and compare them against the go gauge. You could be real close or .006" to short. I will just repeat what several have already said. I have measured Federal ammo that was .006 short as well as new Lapua that was the same. If it is way short , buy the barrel nut wrench. Less that a box of bullets. You don't need a barrel vise. Wood blocks will hold the barrel just fine. If you are going to swap more out later you can buy a vise for what one box of Berger 180 Hybrids cost.
 
Old Navy said:
If it were mine, I would shoot three rounds. Size them without bumping the shoulder. Shoot them again and compare them against the go gauge. You could be real close or .006" to short. I will just repeat what several have already said. I have measured Federal ammo that was .006 short as well as new Lapua that was the same. If it is way short , buy the barrel nut wrench. Less that a box of bullets. You don't need a barrel vise. Wood blocks will hold the barrel just fine. If you are going to swap more out later you can buy a vise for what one box of Berger 180 Hybrids cost.
Click to expand...
I think the point is he shouldn't have to deal with any of that. He paid for something he didn't get. Fraud. Plain and simple.

If it were mine I'd be having a hard time resisting the urge to see how many wacks it would take to wrap that barrel around that wanna-be's head.
 
Time to read the room here.

The OP has a factory stock rifle action, and he supplied the barrel, which I am assuming to be an after-market 308. He states he tried to do the barrel replacement in the past and quit due to vise issues.

He supplied parts and go/no go.

He wanted a SAAMI set up, and gave parts to do the same.

Instead he got a BUBBA.

He doesn't need to adjust dies, or measure bullets, or fire cartridges to reach his (apparent) objective...a SAAMI set up, safe, functional and within norms. He just needs a vise and some help putting together his "nut and barrel" set-up using the go/no go.

So, I agree with his stated intent: Buy a good vise, get some tutalage on using it to properly de-nut and re-nut (I couldn't resist) his Savage and he should be good to go.

He needs advice on a good vise. Any takers?
 
snert said:
Time to read the room here.

The OP has a factory stock rifle action, and he supplied the barrel, which I am assuming to be an after-market 308. He states he tried to do the barrel replacement in the past and quit due to vise issues.

He supplied parts and go/no go.

He wanted a SAAMI set up, and gave parts to do the same.

Instead he got a BUBBA.

He doesn't need to adjust dies, or measure bullets, or fire cartridges to reach his (apparent) objective...a SAAMI set up, safe, functional and within norms. He just needs a vise and some help putting together his "nut and barrel" set-up using the go/no go.

So, I agree with his stated intent: Buy a good vise, get some tutalage on using it to properly de-nut and re-nut (I couldn't resist) his Savage and he should be good to go.

He needs advice on a good vise. Any takers?
Click to expand...
He was defrauded. No reason he needs to be dealing with any of that. I'd be talking to the owner of the business. If the 'gunsmith' is the business owner I'd be suing him.

You may or may not agree with that but not holding people accountable for their actions is why a whole plethora of problems are prevalent right now. So ask yourself if you're OK with letting another go unopposed or not. (?)
 
snert said:
Time to read the room here.

The OP has a factory stock rifle action, and he supplied the barrel, which I am assuming to be an after-market 308. He states he tried to do the barrel replacement in the past and quit due to vise issues.

He supplied parts and go/no go.

He wanted a SAAMI set up, and gave parts to do the same.

Instead he got a BUBBA.

He doesn't need to adjust dies, or measure bullets, or fire cartridges to reach his (apparent) objective...a SAAMI set up, safe, functional and within norms. He just needs a vise and some help putting together his "nut and barrel" set-up using the go/no go.

So, I agree with his stated intent: Buy a good vise, get some tutalage on using it to properly de-nut and re-nut (I couldn't resist) his Savage and he should be good to go.

He needs advice on a good vise. Any takers?
Click to expand...
Not necessary to have a "good" vise for a Savage, you don't need to put the nut on that tight. The action in a bench vised is plenty.
 
snert said:
He needs advice on a good vise. Any takers?
Click to expand...
I use a Viper with a layer of masking tape on the barrel wrapped with a layer of shelving non-skid. The OP doesn't need it but if you have a barrel nut gun w/o a recoil lug stop you can weld a stop on a wheeler action wrench as shown in the second pic. I now only use this fixture clamped in a bench IMG_20230803_133102.jpgIMG_20230803_134314.jpgvise for barrel swaps.
 
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