How many AR's have you built AND headspaced?

[HackerF15E]

I find it interesting that other rifle communities are obsessed with headspacing (HK guys with "bolt gap" and the milsurp crowd having an aneurysm whenever someone wants to swap a bolt on a Garand or M1 carbine), yet most AR guys swap bolts and barrels at will and rarely even mention the word, much less check it.

 

[henschman]

3 and none. The ease of performing even fairly involved jobs like rebarreling with nothing more than basic tools is one thing that has led me to consolidate around the AR design and get rid of most of my other semi autos. If pressed, I could rebarrel one with some vice grips and a pipe wrench.

That is also one reason I like Savages when it comes to bolt guns.

 

[Blitzfike]

AR barrels that come with the barrel extension have supposedly already been headspaced. When you take a barrel blank and thread it for the barrel extension, you then ream the chamber and set headspace by checking with a gauge with that extension in place and the bolt in battery. This is usually done with a pull through reamer, checking headspace with the go - no go set as you ream. All the AR-15 type rifles I have ever checked headspace on were within spec. I have made both rifle and pistol barrels from blanks over the years and it is not rocket science, it just requires a great deal of attention to detail and some appropriate tools. There is somewhat of a learning curve when it comes to the machine work when doing threading and finishing on a lathe, but as I said, not rocket science. When you consider the labor involved, it has to be a higher cost barrel for me to make one today. I am currently making a 300AAC barrel from a blank for one of my Savage bolt guns. I have the blank turned, threaded on both ends and I have only to cut the chamber and finish the metal to complete it. For what I spent on the tooling (headspace gauges, chamber reamer) and the blank, I could have bought one finished. Now, when through, I have the tools remaining for my next project and the cost will be much less for that one.

 

[Spata]

I've built a few 308ARs and have never checked.

 

[trbii]

You guys have eased my mind some about a carbine a nephew just showed me that he assembled from a Stoner barrel and I think he said a 'Red-Z' bolt and bolt carrier. It had a polymer lower with what seemed to a polymer/plastic hammer. That was new to me. But I never built an AR. Dumb-ass me thought a hammer was always a heat treated hard steel part. I voiced my concern about the headspace tolerance being right. I observed the bolt seeming to lock into locking lug recesses.

 

[fjtiii]

I have built a couple lowers, but bought the uppers assembled. Guess that doesn't count. Have a stripped upper, so may build my own upper next time.

 

[dennishoddy]

Never checked one. Never heard of a headspace problem on an AR.

 

[Boehlertaught]

I use Go & No Go gauges on every thing I put together. Whether I do the final cut on the chamber or not. I've always bought AR barrels from well known makers and I always check them. They have all been Ok. But I'll still check every one of them.

 

[Hump66]

Only thing I've ever headspaced was a Ma Duece. Checked her timing too.

 

[Blitzfike]

Only thing I've ever headspaced was a Ma Duece. Checked her timing too.

Hump, that's almost a lost art today...