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Number 4 Mk2 Headspace
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doggo View Drop Down
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    Posted: September 23 2021 at 1:08am
How tight can a head space be, can the bolt close tight on the rim with no space between rim face and bolt face and be safe to fire or do i need a gap between rim face and bolt face  (the rim thickness is all the same measurements and new barrel)
Cheers Gary
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Zed View Drop Down
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The bolt should close on the 0.064" gauge. 
Headspace for a new barrel would be set at around 0.067"
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Shamu View Drop Down
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As long as it will close fully & lock on an 0.064"  GO gauge (measures the minimum acceptable headspace. This size is most often used when re-barreling or re-chambering a firearm.)
It's good.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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britrifles View Drop Down
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I like to set headspace such that the bolt just fully locks with very light finger pressure on the GO gage.  Minimizes brass stretching. And, most rims measure a few thou under 0.064, commercial brass will have even thinner rims. 
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doggo View Drop Down
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Thanks for the reply's
My bolt will close on 0.062 inch with slight one finger pressure for the last quarter inch of bolt travel to lock up ( there is no gap between bolt face and 0.062 gauge  there is a slight gap 0.002 inch on PPU case rims which measure 0.060 inch and bolt closes very easy on them 
My Rifle is No 4 mk2 with a new (un fired) sportco barrel with a tight chamber set up as a sporter 
Main question do i need a gap between bolt face and rim face to fire it safely ( making sure all my case rims are the same measurements eg if case rims measured 0.062 inch 
also have a No 4 Mk2 full wood with new Lothar Walther barrel on it  shooting 1 MOA if the nut behind the butt is on I have had this rifle since i was about 14 yrs shooting it at Trentham Range and have gone through a number of barrels on it 
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Not really. The range between GO & Field is the acceptable tolerance so anything in there is good.
A little is good because the action & bolt heat up during long strings so there is some expansion of the metal.
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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britrifles View Drop Down
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doggo, sounds like headspace on your rifle may be slightly less than GO gage. As long as the rim thickness is less than headspace, no issues at all.  Just watch for the possibility of an occasional thick rim and resistance to close the bolt, that puts additional load on the locking lugs.  Add to that an oily or wet chamber, and you have potential to overly strain the action.  
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Thank you all for your replies Doggo
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Originally posted by Zed Zed wrote:

The bolt should close on the 0.064" gauge. 
Headspace for a new barrel would be set at around 0.067"
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