howa 1500 .243

[josebd]

is there a easy way to check the headspace on this gun? my gun was shiped without a bolt, there gonna send another one but they said head space wouldn't be a problem

[gunnut69]

There's not an easy way but it is doable.  What kind of weapon are you dealing with and who sent it to you..  Some weapons such as pump and semi auto shotguns are pre set at the factory.  That's why barrels are interchangeable.  The realtionship between the locking bolt and the chamber headspace indexing point is set at the factory to a point of safety. A high powered rifle on the other haand msut have the headspace checked unless they simply found the bolt that was serial numbered to the rifle at the time it was built.  What kind of weapon are we taklking about?

[josebd]

its a howa 1500 .243,this is also on the subject line

[gunnut69]

Whoops!!  I cerainly missed that one!  I pleed age induced CRS..  In any case there is only one way to get a positiive reading.  That entails the use of a headspace guage set.  Usually this consists of a go guage and a no go guage.  These correspond roughly to the maximum and minimum limits of the headspace tolerance range.  The guages are fairly expensive for an individual to buy just to check a rifle.  Even in instances such as yours where they will be the same guages as for a 308 and 7mm-08.  The gauges are used by inserting them in the chamber and attempting to close the bolt.  Usually this is done without the exttractor.  The bolt should close on the 'go' guage but should not close on the 'no go' guage.  This is done with a light touch as the chamber and or the guage may be damaged if too much pressure is used on the bolt handle.  There is a third gauge called a 'field' guage.  If a bolt closes on this it is likely that cases would fail if a round were fired in that chamber.  In practical use the 'no go' gauge is considered the limit for dangerous use.   There are also guages available that measure the exact headspace that exists in a chamber.  They are quite expensive and not really need excepting perhaps in some target shooting applications.  My advice is to take it to a local smith who already has the needed gauges and have it checked..should not be an expensive thing at all.