Taped Go-Gauge / No-Go

[6MMsteve]

Hello All,
I just finished rebarreling my Savage with a Barlein Pre-Fit.
When headspacing the rifle, I used a single piece of Blue Painters tape on the rear of my Forester Go-Guage trimmed around the edge.
I removed the ejector plunger but left in the extractor.

Nice smooth close on the go and with the tape the bolt stops 1/4 way down from open position.

Opinions??
I Now open the floor.

your good to go

 

[Uncle Ed]

The problem with setting the headspace tighter than the GO gauge is the resized case can end up longer than the chamber. Or a factory loaded round will be snug or not chamber. The problem with tight headspace is your locking lugs must be lubed to prevent wear and galling.

A little wiggle room between the rear of the case and the bolt face .001 to .003 will not hurt anything on a bolt action.

 

[carlsbad]

Oh my. Lot of variety in the responses. Tapes vary but they are all thinner than the difference between the go and no-go gauges.

I'll add some more confusion: Are you shooting factory loads? If you are reloading, and set up you die to give you proper shoulder bump, then the length of the chamber doesn't really matter except the first firing of the brass which is basically "fire forming".

 

[jelenko]

there is no need for nogo

I am uncomfortable not checking go and no go after tightening the barrel nut. Easy for something to move.

 

[6MMsteve]

I am uncomfortable not checking go and no go after tightening the barrel nut. Easy for something to move.

I have great case life with minimal case movement. I only reload and buy new brass lapua or Petersooon no factory stuff will I shoot only wildcats..except 223 and 300 winmag which I head space on the shoulder

 

[riflewoman]

Wait. In reading the OP, doesn't it says the bolt closes ~ 1/4 the way with a go gauge? => the chamber would be shorter than '0'. Which seems odd given that the go gauge had the tape on the bottom as the barrel was being headspaced.

Please read it again...he said it closes freely on the go and closes 1/4 the way on the gauge WITH the tape. (Emphasis added).

 

[6MMsteve]

I am uncomfortable not checking go and no go after tightening the barrel nut. Easy for something to move.

that's why I put just a little on the go but then again I just snug my barrels, no need for super tight..like I have seen on mil spec ar's and the damage is done

 

[gman47564]

If you jam the bullet on the first firing I see now reason for the case to get thinner at the .200’’ location. I fire form 6br to 6brx .100’’ the shoulder moves a lot. Sounds like your saying all wildcat cartridges would make a defective case.

im saying any time you blow the shoulder forward very much that case is thining ... and the first place it starts thining is at the 200 line... then when you try to size said case and bump your shoulder back 1 or 2 thousandths the base of the case doesnt get up in the die as far as it should cause the case is a little longer than it should be.... then you have chambering issues and have to end up getting a small base die to size farther down on the case or a custom die made for your fired cases... for me i want my new cases growing no more than a couple thousandths... that way my regular dies does their job like they should and my bolt closes like they should and my cases last a long time... makes me no difference how you set your headspace ... this is how i set mine...

 

[jelenko]

Please read it again...he said it closes freely on the go and closes 1/4 the way on the gauge WITH the tape. (Emphasis added).

But, it says "......a single piece of Blue Painters tape on the rear of my Forester Go-Guage......"

There's no NO there.

 

[Mikemci]

But, it says "......a single piece of Blue Painters tape on the rear of my Forester Go-Guage......"

There's no NO there.

Read it again.

 

[jelenko]

Here's the entire post: "I just finished rebarreling my Savage with a Barlein Pre-Fit.
When headspacing the rifle, I used a single piece of Blue Painters tape on the rear of my Forester Go-Guage trimmed around the edge.
I removed the ejector plunger but left in the extractor.

Nice smooth close on the go and with the tape the bolt stops 1/4 way down from open position.
Opinions??
I Now open the floor."

Are you assuming he meant that he used the go gauge with the painters tape as a 'no go gauge'?

 

[Mikemci]

Winner winner, chicken dinner!
Not assuming it, reading it in his last paragraph.

 

[Uncle Ed]

The painter's tape put on the back of the GO gauge is .0054 in thickness. This makes the home made gauge a NO-NO-GO gauge and .0025 thicker than a real NO-GO gauge.

ScotchBlue Original Painter's Tape
https://www.scotchblue.com/3M/en_US...inal-Painter-s-Tape/?N=4336+3294340635&rt=rud
Overall Thickness (Imperial) 5.4 mil

5.4 Mils =0.0054 Inch

 

[jelenko]

Winner winner, chicken dinner!
Not assuming it, reading it in his last paragraph.

Honestly, I didn't know what he meant. He states what happens but didn't say he was using the tape on the bottom of the go gauge as a no go one.
From the context, it could appear that's what he meant. But, without stating what his question was, I wasn't sure what he meant.

 

[INTJ]

The painter's tape put on the back of the GO gauge is .0054 in thickness. This makes the home made gauge a NO-NO-GO gauge and .0025 thicker than a real NO-GO gauge.

ScotchBlue Original Painter's Tape
https://www.scotchblue.com/3M/en_US...inal-Painter-s-Tape/?N=4336+3294340635&rt=rud
Overall Thickness (Imperial) 5.4 mil

5.4 Mils =0.0054 Inch

The no go gauges I have are .004 to .005" longer than the go gauge. I thought that was typical. When I can get the bolt 1/4 of the way down on a cellophane taped go gauge, the bolt won't even start on a real no go gauge.

That said I don't have many no go gauges as I like to chamber my rifles so the bolt closes easily on a go gauge but won't start (or barely start) on a cellophane taped go gauge.

 

[Uncle Ed]

The no go gauges I have are .004 to .005" longer than the go gauge. I thought that was typical. When I can get the bolt 1/4 of the way down on a cellophane taped go gauge, the bolt won't even start on a real no go gauge.

That said I don't have many no go gauges as I like to chamber my rifles so the bolt closes easily on a go gauge but won't start (or barely start) on a cellophane taped go gauge.

The NO-GO gauge length is a voluntary measurement and can vary between gauge manufactures and countries. In Europe, two oiled proof cartridges are fired and the headspace checked for bolt lug setback. In the U.S one dry proof cartridge is fired and it is up to the manufacture if the headspace is checked after proofing.

The Forster GO and NO-GO gauges for the .243 and .308 are 1.630 and 1.634. And the GO and NO-GO gauges for the .223 are 1.640 and 1.467. And I do not have any gauges that are longer than .004 from the GO gauge. That does not mean longer NO-GO gauges do not exist, "BUT" masking tape can vary in thickness. And in my opinion soft blue masking tape at .0054 thickness is excessive to add to a GO gauge.

Bottom line, I would "NOT" use "SOFT" masking tape on the back of a GO gauge. And my preference is to set headspace closer to the GO gauge. That being said the SAAMI lists headspace as min and max with .010 between the two gauges for the average cartridge.

 

[WVRJ]

I just finished installing a Shilen deep chambered barrel on one of my Remington 700's.It's a 280 Ackley Improved.I used a Go gauge and got it to where it would close smoothly on the Go gauge and then I used a piece of .002 shim stock stuck to the head of the gauge with a dab of grease.The bolt would barely start to close.I used a piece of .001 shim stock and the bolt could probably close,but it wouldn't be smooth,in other words,I would have to force it.Clean everything off,and the bolt closes smoothly.I'm probably on the tight side,but I've found better accuracy does seem to go along with the headspace dimension kept towards the minimum.I've used this method on the last three barrels I've installed,and they all shoot very good.The first 30 rounds for the 280 AI that I fireformed from 280 Rem brass have been trimmed once after fire forming,and they haven't needed trimmed since,and the rifle is more accurate than I can shoot,especially in the bad mirage conditions that the past several days have had.90 plus degrees,and the target is dancing around,and I'm like a cat after a laser dot trying to stay on it.I have a hard time keeping it under half an inch at 100 yards.I've done quite a bit of very informal research on the whole headspace/shoulder bump/resizing thing,and have learned that tight headspace shoots the best in my experience.I also mostly neck size,and have compared dozens of groups from some of my better shooting rifles,and with the exception of one rifle,neck sizing is more accurate.I've used the Redding shell holder set to make sure the shoulder is bumped minimally and consistently.I also use neck sizing to give me a better idea of how close to the edge I am as far as pressure goes.If I have to full length resize after three firings of neck sized brass or less,I know that I am at the limit.Sorry for the long winded post,just wanted to share my experience.

 

[jelenko]

Does headspace matter if you resize your cases to fit the chamber?

 

[varget204]

Scotch tape or a piece of yellow page .002, or brass shim stock .002, on back of go gage for No Go Gage ,gives minimal Headspace Saves $35-45,that's a box of bullets or a 1000 primers

 

[M-61]

Scotch tape or a piece of yellow page .002, or brass shim stock .002, on back of go gage for No Go Gage ,gives minimal Headspace Saves $35-45,that's a box of bullets or a 100 primers

And....should the NO/GO gauge be 'unavailable' /'out of stock' the tape gets you to the range.