Bought my first M44 Headspace Question

[tempdrummer]

Hey all. Finally went for it and purchased my first (most likely of many ) surplus rifles. I got a russian M44. To the point:

Do I need to get a no go gauge as well as the field gauge? or is the field gauge sufficient? I seem to be reading conflicting information on this.

...for that matter. Anyone in San Diego have any gauges that wants to check it for me? hehe

[socalguns]

no need, just clean the cosmo off

[dustoff31]

Using a no go vs. field gage is like the which caliber is best debate. I use the no go just to err on the side of safety. But that's a personal thing. I wouldn't refuse to shoot a rifle that failed a no go but passed a field gage on that fact alone.

I also agree with socalguns, I've checked a lot of MNs both my own and for other people. Haven't found one that fails a no go yet. This applies to the rifles imported over the last few years. Some of the very old stuff that didn't go through refurb, I can't speak too.

Hey all. Finally went for it and purchased my first (most likely of many ) surplus rifles. I got a russian M44. To the point:

Do I need to get a no go gauge as well as the field gauge? or is the field gauge sufficient? I seem to be reading conflicting information on this.

...for that matter. Anyone in San Diego have any gauges that wants to check it for me? hehe

[smle-man]

I've been shooting surplus weapons since 1972 and haven't found one yet with dangerous headspace. I'm sure they must exist but the incidence of this condition must be pretty infrequent. I've owned over a 150 different surplus arms in that 30 year period so it has been a pretty good sampling.

[roor1200]

sorry to thread jack but i just got a m44 as well. would one need to worry about head spacing if i bought it at big 5? im a few days shy of my 10 days so i dont have it in my possession yet. thanks in advance

[dustoff31]

sorry to thread jack but i just got a m44 as well. would one need to worry about head spacing if i bought it at big 5? im a few days shy of my 10 days so i dont have it in my possession yet. thanks in advance

I think you'll be fine.

[guimus]

I think there's just too much potential liability for Century and Big 5 for them not to just stick a field gauge in each one before they send them to the stores. The only problem I've found with Big 5 Mosins is the occasional need to adjust the firing pin, which is easy to do and check with the tool they give you.

[M. Sage]

If the numbers match, I wouldn't be too worried about it... I haven't heard of anybody having a KB with a Mosin (though it would suck to be the first!) Just keep an eye on your cases, but realize that a lot of the cheap surplus seems to split easily in the neck area...

[cgmoe]

You could always buy the No-Go gauge, but with Mosin-Nagants even with non-matching bolts headspace usually isn't a problem. Just make sure the firing pin is set correctly.

[Jared D]

m44

I bought my m44 at Big5 about a month ago. I just took it down and cleaned everything off, checked the firing pin with the supplied gauge tool and shot. It shoots great.

[roor1200]

well thats good to hear. thanks guys for the input. cant wait to test her out.