6.5 Carcano Go/NoGo Gauge for rent?

Anyone have a set they'd be willing to rent me or lend me?

I have a 6.5 Carcano, and would like to acquire a Cavalry Carbine as well...but i'm just not going to pony up 150 dollars for a set of Go gauges for a 150-200 dollar rifle - the economics just aren't there.

The one i have may be good to go; it's currently a safe queen. However, since i've got other stuff to shoot I'm not eager to get on a reconstructive surgery list.

I'm in southern CT, and would be happy to trade for a spare part i have on hand for another rifle type (i have a bunch, so ask me), or a pack of beer, for a helpful fellow C+R collector willing to let me use their gauges.

Anyone else have this problem with their obscurely chambered rifles?

Thanks, Des

All you need to check the headspace of a gun is the cartridge you shoot out of it.

If you can just barely close the bolt on a factory round, you are good to go.

If the bolt closes with ease, then put one piece of masking tape on the back of the cartridge and try again. If it takes more than two layers of tape brfoe you have a problem closing the bolt, your headspace is excessive.

I don't know about that.
Different brands of masking tape varies all over the place in my experiance.

Scotch brand Magic Tape is very close to .0015" per layer.

Two layers = .003"
Three layers = .0045".
Four layers + .006".
Five = .0075"
Six = Way Too much.

Of course this all depends on whether or not the commercial or GI cartridge you stick the tape too is right in the first place.

But it matters not anyway.
The 6.5 Carcano is a relatively low pressure round as military rounds go.

If you shoot it and get incipient case head separations, you have a problem.

If you don't, you don't have a problem.

rc

If you have to go beyond 0.010" with the tape you need to have a pro look at it.

I doubt you would have a case head separation unless you reload. Even then, if you don't set the shoulder back when you size your brass it's not a problem.

Good advice above, but a Pacific Tool No-Go gauge is available from midwayusa for $35.

If it was me, I'd probably use a loaded cartridge because I am cheap. I'd make sure I was somewhere safe with regards to possible discharge, just to be sure. Unlikely that the disassembled bolt would touch one off, but stranger things have happened.

Thanks for the replies.

I was looking for something a little more scientific than the tape method; but have decided to sell the rifle, along with some others, to finance another pursuit.

For what it's worth, the biggest thing to fear from my recent readings is brass with a soft case head. The carcano is a controlled feed system, picks up the brass from the magazine, holds it under the extractor as it pushes it into the chamber. The cartridge is not going to go too much further into the chamber (maybe, just maybe, if you push it really fast and hard?), because the extractor is holding it in relatively close proximity to the boltface. Read "hatcher's notebook", I got a copy from google books as a PDF I think, there is also a site of you search for it, has PDF's of all the classic gunsmithing and reloading books.

Anyway, there is a whole section on headspace and cartridge failures that debunks a lot of the myths people still have today. Infact he does that with a lot of other gun related topics, too.

Carcano's are strong and well made. Unless it looks really abused, I wouldn't get too worried about it. If you are scared, ties it to a bench and pull the string from far away. Or shoot it, but remember to wear your safety glasses and keep your hand away from the magwell.

Just as an aside, I recently took a bolt off of a random carcano from my collection and put it in the rifle I recently rebarreled to take 7.62x39. I had already headspaced on a different bolt, and this other one was just as tight, and not overly tight. I haven't tried any of the 4 others I have, but I suspect they will all be kind of similar, I.e. consistently constructed.

I agree with the others, headspace it off of the round that you are going to use. Maybe take the firing pin out to be safe... But put a round in and see. Put a piece of scotch tape on the bolt face and trim it round so it doesn't get in the extractor groove. Try that. Put on another piece. The moment you feel any resistance closing the bolt, that is too much tape. If there is resistance, you are crushing the shoulder to fit the chamber, which is not how you are supposed to do it. Hatcher describes the process really nicely, but if you think about it for a minute, it's pretty intuitive.

Have fun shooting your carcano!

Oops, just realized you are selling it. Nevermind.

Elk Ridge Reamer rentals also has the headspace gauges for rent.

I have not rented them seperately but the cost is $5 when I get them with the reamers (+shipping)