Rossi Rifleman

Archer, thanks for the saami link. Is the .060-.070 min/max for the .44 mag the same for .357 mag? Mine's chambered in .357. Didn't see it listed. I'm learning enough stuff that I'm going to have to start forgetting some things to make room for it all.

Sorry, for some reason I was thinking .44 Mag when I posted that link.
Here is the Saami chamber/cartridge standards main page:


The .357 is in the handgun section.
https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... g-Copy.pdf The cartridge/chamber drawings are on electronic page 53. (The headspace dimension is indeed the same for the .357 Mag and the .44 Mag)

(.44 Magnum is listed in both the handgun and the rifle documentation. The handgun spec is more pointed toward revolvers and the rifle spec was initially more pointed toward the Marlin microgrooved rifles. Cartridge size is the same as are pressure limits.)

Archer, thanks for all your time and effort. I used some blue painters tape for the poor man's no go headspace gauge. I was able to close the bolt on the 4th piece, but it wasn't happy about it. If I was trying to chamber an actual round, I would have stopped. The lever was a little hard to pull down after. The 5th piece did not come close to closing. I did the best I could to measure the thickness of the 4 layers of tape and the rim of the used cartridge. In some places they combined for about 0.065 and in other places closer to 0.068 or a bit more - depending where I measured on the rim. I feel like the bolt was really compressing the tape, so I don't know what to make of all of this. I also was all thumbs when I was using the calipers, so not sure how accurate my measurements were. At the very least, it got me out of the house and into the garage for a while.

You don't have to measure the tape at the rim.
You can measure the tape stack and the rim separate and then add them together.

I decided to rent go and no go gauges to eliminate any uncertainty. I should get them in a few days. That will help me decide what to do depending on the results.

Well, I was able to close on the no go gauge that I rented. Looks like there is a headspace issue. I wonder if it's the bolt carrier, or the barrel.

Are we talking the bolt slid home on the no-go or you were able to force the bolt home with the lever?

I only tried it with the lever. It was a bit tricky to get rim of the gauge under the extractor claw as I fed it in.

Am I supposed to dismantle and then try sliding the bolt carrier closed?

You usually don't want the extractor or ejector to factor into the headspace check and you don't want to force closure.

For example, the cam action on some bolt actions can be quite strong. You can force the gun to close on a round that is larger than the chamber. With the ejector and extractor in place the force you apply to overcome the ejector spring or the way the extractor works may alter the results.

You may have to knock the gauge back out with a cleaning rod down the barrel or maybe grab it with a magnet to get it out of the chamber.

Did you get a Go, No-Go, Field set or did you only get the Go, No-Go or the No-Go alone?
https://pacifictoolandgauge.com/saami-h ... field.html