[dobber500]

i have just finished building my 1919a4. got ready to set head spacing to test fire the weapon. When i get the head spacing set then pull the charging handle, the bolt slams home and the barrell spring that maintains the head spacing, gets pulled towards the bolt out uf the notches on the barrell. is my barrell wore out? any help would be greatly appreceated.

dobber

 

[Luke]

Is yours a .308 barrel or 8mm or 30.06. The notch is wider on the .308 than the 8mm or 30-06. So if you have an Israeli barrel retaining .308 spring it will move because it is too wide to fit into the groove that prevents the barrel from rotating on the 8mm or 30-06. Also I always headspace with the parts removed from the gun and use the actual ammo I will be shooting. Someone here made a video that showed this process it will put your setting right on. You must remove the firing pin from the bolt to do this!

 

[Roc Rat]

How are you headspacing,,, it sounds like you are unscrewing the barrel too much. To have the headspace spring fall into the threads of the barrel you would have to unscrew the barrel quite a bit,, it would seem far more that proper headspace would require. Screw the barrel all the way into the extension and back it out slowly till the bolt goes into battery,, two to three clicks more should do it. With the spring all the way into the extension, it should not get anywhere near the threads.
I just modified a 308 spring to 30 06 configurations the other day for a friends build and it works fine.

In thinking this further,, I was headspacing my friends gun yesterday and the bolt just wouldn't drop into battery,, sumpin was up, so I pulled the guts out and discovered that the cocking lever on the bolt was in backwards,, wasn't letting the bolt to go forward and preventing lockup, and also causing barrel to be way out of the extension,, enough to allow the spring to get into the threads,,,

 

[blkbd]

The headspace video was made by "want2race" and we need him to repost it as it was lost in the great crash of 07.

 

[dobber500]

OK this give me several things, mine is chambered for 30-06. with no round in the gun everthing locks up, when i put in a spent case th check head spacing(yes its the ammo i plan on shooting) i had to unscrew the barell 2 or 3 turns before every thing would lock up.
any more tips?

 

[DanG]

Using the spent case may be adding to your troubles, try headspacing with an empty chamber. I realize that you're getting tons of advice, and once you understand headspacing, it will be like riding a bike, you'll never forget. I had spent cases get stuck in my chamber when I used some for a demonstration. Fired cases that have not been resized will stick in your chamber, and may not be seating at the same depth as an unfired cartridge.
Hth,
DanG

 

[want2race]

http://want2race.net/1919/headspacing_smallest.wmv

PM if you have questions

 

[overbore]

Thanks

You made it simple and accurate; well done. Overbore