Stag 10 / AR 10 style rifle headspacing question...

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lmcc

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I've got a Stag 10 receiver set heading my way and am collecting parts for a rifle.

All the Internet advice I've seen about headspacing basically says: "Check it with go and no-go gauges." then "Continue with your build."

Has anyone ever had a bolt-barrel set eat a no-go or choke on go gauge? How often do barrel and bolt combinations fail?

I have the gauges from other projects, so I'm definitely not skipping that step. What is the recourse on a headspace test failure? (Buy a different bolt and try again?)

Thanks for any advice.
 
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lmcc said:
All the Internet advice I've seen about headspacing basically says: "Check it with go and no-go gauges." then "Continue with your build."
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This makes me wonder what corners of the internet you hang out in. Of the various (credible) comments I see, I think this one would be the rarest.

Whenever I see the topic come up, it's usually even numbers of people saying "check with a no-go (or field) gauge", and "don't bother". Then maybe one person in ten saying "check with go and no-go".

Saying to check it all is kind of a cover your butt statement. They almost never fail and if they do there is nothing you can about it but change out the barrel, or bolt, or both. There is no reason to check the go gauge, if the chamber is too short ammo won't chamber, it's cheaper to simply try and shoot it than to buy a specific gauge.
 
So the tolerances on the bolts and barrels are consistent enough that it's not normally something to worry about? That's what I was hoping for.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
The thing with AR10, there is no industry standard, some manufacturers have their own specs, not the same with AR15, for a build i will buy a barrel with a headspaced bolt, that what I did( criterion with bolt), or you can buy a complete 10.
 
ffgats said:
The thing with AR10, there is no industry standard, some manufacturers have their own specs, not the same with AR15, for a build i will buy a barrel with a headspaced bolt, that what I did( criterion with bolt), or you can buy a complete 10.
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That seems wise. Do any other manufacturers besides Criterion do this?
 
It is a good idea to check.
Particularly if miscellaneous parts from different manufacturers are being used.

By the same token, a rifle with a bit of excess headspace will probably work just fine. But problems can arise with handloads. And case head failures can be very unpleasant.
 
lmcc said:
That seems wise. Do any other manufacturers besides Criterion do this?
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Got mine from CTCS, although I bought a complete BCG from Brownells, only using their carrier right now, did not attempt to use the bolt because haven’t the chance to .headspace . IBI just told me that the JP bolt headspace perfectly with his barrel, you can order a barrel from him and let him check the headspace.
 
ffgats said:
Got mine from CTCS, although I bought a complete BCG from Brownells, only using their carrier right now, did not attempt to use the bolt because haven’t the chance to .headspace . IBI just told me that the JP bolt headspace perfectly with his barrel, you can order a barrel from him and let him check the headspace.
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Ibi headspaces all their barrels to jp bolts
 
Hmmm. My MRA .308 pencil barrel head spaced properly with the Go gauge and would not close on he No Go so not all of their barrels are bad. I too have never seen a report for an MRA barrel having a headspace problem.
 
griffin86 said:
One member has messaged me saying their MRA barrel failed with a No-Go.
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My MRA barrel was tight with a Lantac BCG, the NO GO wouldn't chamber but the even though the GO would chamber it would not eject easily. I had to tap the BCG backwards with a little hammer to get it to unlock the bolt and eject the GO gauge, I did it a few times and it got better but still would not just pull out with your hands alone. Seems like there was some burrs on the extension that have since been broken down with use

Since assembly I have shot hundreds of rounds of both .308 and 7.62x51 and it works 100% so far
 
My MRA SPR barrel was tight on the go gauge with a Tool Craft bolt. I agree with JohnnyP636 about the burrs on the barrel extension, I had to work the bolt in the receiver extension to get it to close on the go gauge. At first it wouldn't close on the go at all.
 
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