[Sandman]

Hello, I have recently purchased a Czech Mauser (cz24) and I want to check the headspace on it. I've looked up some gauges I can order and I have a few questions. What is the difference between a go and a no-go gauge, and which one should I be looking for?

I found a couple of these gauges on midwayUSA's website. The two different brands I found were Forster and PTG. The Forster gauges seem to be less expensive; does anyone have any experience with these products? If so, please give me some suggestions on what to buy. Thanks.

Here is the link to the site.
http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteabrowse/4/9456/649+***+682+***+9161+***

[Art Eatman]

You can close the bolt on the "Go" gage, but the "No Go" gage is too long for a proper chamber. If the bolt will close on the No Go, the headspace is too long for safety.

Just guessing, but the difference in price probably reflects a difference in finish, not reliability as to dimension.

Art

[Mike Irwin]

It was my understanding, at least in military use, that 3 gauges were used -- go, no go, and field.

If the gun closed on no go, a final check was made with field. If it closed on field, it was immediately withdrawn, whereas the guns that would shut on no go could be addressed whenever.

[Art Eatman]

I guess a search in the Rifle forum at TFL would bring up that discussion about gages; try "field gage" or "Field gage/gauge" or some such combination, along with "go" and "no-go".

In general, for civilian purposes if a bolt closes on a no-go gage, it is recommended that the rifle be fixed.

:), Art

[hps1]

Your recollection is correct, Mike.

The 30-06 Field Gauge is 1.950" and No-Go is 1.946"

.308 Field = 1.638" and No-Go is 1.634"

Regards,
hps

[BenW]

I once had the same question about a VZ24 that you did (well, mine was over the whole 19deg vs 20deg 48" gauge thing). Take an asprin and go to:

http://pub109.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm13

Go to the sticky on "headspace index of threads" and there you will find all you need to, or will ever want to for the rest of your life, know about headspace and Mausers.

[*8*]

If you are on a budget, just buy the no-go gauge, the ones made by Dave Manson cost less at Brownells. The Forster gauges are comparable as well.

[Rottweiler]

In my meager experience I've found it really doesn't matter which brand of headspace guages you(or I) buy as long as they aren't mixed. For example a Forster Go guage and a Manson No-Go guage. For some reason I seem to get some pretty weird results. It may be because some manufacturers hold their products to the high end of of the acceptable range and others hold to the low end of the acceptable range

[Rocko]

If you are only going to buy one, get the field gage. If the bolt does not close on this, your rifle is safe to shoot. Optimally, it won't close on a nogo gage either, but could still potentially be fine if it does - this is why if you are only getting one, get the one that will give you the max safe headspace (field gage). You won't really need a go gage unless you are rebarrelling (similarly, the nogo gage is most often used in rebarreling - if you are gonna rebarrel, you don't want it to close on a nogo). If your headspace is too short (which is what the go gage would measure), you should notice that it is difficult to close the bolt on a factory loaded round.

Rocko

[4v50 Gary]

Whatever one you choose to buy, take a micrometer to it to ensure it is what it purports to be. Ruger returns go & no-go gauges to the mfg if they aren't true.