Ejector and Plunger

[mnbogboy2]

Headspace.

I set headspace so that I feel very slight resistance on bolt close. Handle will not drop by gravity- but with very light pressure.

Can't feel that with resistance from an ejector. Makes no difference to me whether it's a Savage where the barrel's being screwed in, or an M700 based on chamber depth.
I remove ejectors from every bolt, every time, all the time. I want to know when there is contact, not whether I can force the bolt closed; there is a difference.

Someone else feels that's unnecessary, go for it.

This is my method also. On savage & Remington remove the ejector. On Remington also remove the firing pin. On a Savage remove the cocking pin & cocking sleeve. (Reinstall the firing pin to hold the bolt head retaining pin in place.).
Also on the Savage remove the rear bolt baffle.
The bolt is now free to "flop", any resistance will be from the go gauge.

[Robinhood]

Headspace.

I set headspace so that I feel very slight resistance on bolt close. Handle will not drop by gravity- but with very light pressure.

Can't feel that with resistance from an ejector. Makes no difference to me whether it's a Savage where the barrel's being screwed in, or an M700 based on chamber depth.
I remove ejectors from every bolt, every time, all the time. I want to know when there is contact, not whether I can force the bolt closed; there is a difference.

Someone else feels that's unnecessary, go for it.

I was just interested in your purpose. I measure things with all different types of inspection equipment regularly and could not figure out how you came to your opinion . Putting something solid in a space with as much as .004" clearance and being able to feel the airspace intrigues me. Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that? Just trying to learn.

I do remove the firing pin. I let the wave washer hold the cross pin in place. To me that has much more impact on feel. The dragging of the bolt lugs and the cock on close messes up the feel for me, The minor impact the ejector has to feel has never even been an issue for me.

[tobnpr]

Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that?

Minimum headspace is what I shoot for- because it provides the most "versatility" for those that handload.

If one shoots factory ammo, doesn't handload (or give the brass to someone that does)- it's mostly irrelevant within the typical .006-.010 "additional" clearance from boltface to breech of cartridge that would get you beyond "no-go". Shoot it, ditch the case. Doesn't matter how much it stretched...

https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady/ballistic-calculators/ballistic-resources/internal-ballistics

For handloaders that full-length size (me)- it's critical to limit the amount that the brass will stretch on each firing. If brass stretches excessively, when FL sized that extra brass is forced to flow back to the neck (the thicker casehead is the area that stretches rearward). So, this requires much more frequent trimming, work hardening of the necks, and shorter case life overall because the casehead becomes thinner and weaker on each firing. Thinned too much, is when potentially dangerous casehead separations can occur.

For those that neck size only, this is less critical, but even those that neck-size still need to FL size occassionally.

It's just "best practice" to maximize brass life. Even for those where minimum headspace may not be important- if the rifle is sold, it might be very important for them. Not a big deal with nutted barrels to adjust headspace, but it is for shouldered ones.

So again, it's just a matter of being able to determine exactly when the bolt face contacts the gauge. Can't accurately do that with resistance from an ejector.

[sharpshooter]

[So again, it's just a matter of being able to determine exactly when the bolt face contacts the gauge. Can't accurately do that with resistance from an ejector.]

Sure you can....That's why I use plasti-gage.

[Robinhood]

I size my brass to fit my chamber. I don't make a habit of shooting ammo from one rifle in a different rifle. Why would someone want to bump their shoulder back .004" or more if .001"-.002 is plenty? I can tell you do this a lot but what I have found in practice is vastly different from your experience. No right or wrong here...That's why I asked. It is good to know what others reasoning's are. Thanks for sharing that stuff. A lot of guys get pissed when you ask those questions and I appreciate you humoring me.

[GrenGuy]

Speaking to Savage rifles, I don’t remove the ejector, never have. Leaving the ejector in does not mean your going to have 6 to 10 thousands headspace, if you have and mechanical feel at all. I don’t know what My headspace is, but it couldn’t be any less.

lately I have been disassembling the bolt to try to achieve minimal bolt lift.

It is also a precise method to find the lands with zero resistance on the bolt.

Those who feel more comfortable removing the ejector or anything else, no problem, go for it.

[mnbogboy2]

We all have different methods to get to the same place. The wave washer holds it in place but if you accidently press too hard against the bolt and drop it part way out it sucks, just like a broken pin.
I use scotch tape on my gauge, with ejector in it has a tendency to "tear up" the tape. I like it very snug on the gauge with 1 piece of tape. With two thickness it is no go. This method has worked for me to get all 5 of my 6.5 CMs close enough to use same bump setting + or - .0005. So it definitely works for my purposes.
However i have set many with complete bolt intact with no consequence. I still double check no go with 2 tape layers (approx .004). Some tape brands vary up to .0005 so best to measure each use.
The "stripped bolt" method can also be used for checking bump on sized brass and where the bullet meets the lands. For checking bullet in the lands the rear baffle has to be used with the detent balls removed. The PE is required to feel the "click" as the bullet is extracted from the lands. The baffle can be lightly taped to the receiver to keep it from flopping around.
If interested it is called the "Wheeler method" and there is U-tube video of it. (Done on Remington or clone).

Edit: the wave washer also adds a small amount of tension between the front baffle & bolt head. Part of the reason for reinstalling the "unloaded" firing pin. The bolt will not fall free with the wave washer in place.

[wheezengeezer]

I was just interested in your purpose. I measure things with all different types of inspection equipment regularly and could not figure out how you came to your opinion . Putting something solid in a space with as much as .004" clearance and being able to feel the airspace intrigues me. Unless you are looking for minimum headspace exactly. If so what is the purpose of that? Just trying to learn.

I do remove the firing pin. I let the wave washer hold the cross pin in place. To me that has much more impact on feel. The dragging of the bolt lugs and the cock on close messes up the feel for me, The minor impact the ejector has to feel has never even been an issue for me.

Cock on close?

[Robinhood]

Correct. The hand off, the drag of the lugs once the CoC takes place etc...


You can remove the cocking piece pin out if you have issues with the cross pin falling out.