The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Not a tutorial bout what headspace is or the precise measurements of it, just a quick how to on the use of the Okie gauge as well as how to recognize the two types of gauges for rimmed and rimless cartridges.

Another very helpful video. Good job Jim.

Could have been better, I was going to show how to check a Mauser as well but I was getting seriously cold.

Thank you so much for your time. Another Great video. If you should ever put a how to CD together on the Mosin, Ill take 2. Thanks Again

It's all I can do to hold it together for a fifteen minute video During one take I dropped the gauge out of the rifle, it rolled off the table and vanished into the gravel. Had I posted that take you would have gotten a whole new vocabulary . I did manage to find it.

Excellent video...loved every second of it!!

BTW, you sound NOTHING like I expected. I can't place the voice but you remind me of someone I know. It'll come to me.

My voice was suffering after awhile, this was the most difficult video to make of all of them so far. If you notice there were snowflakesfalling, I lost shit, dropped shit, I will probably redo this one come warmer weather.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:It's all I can do to hold it together for a fifteen minute video During one take I dropped the gauge out of the rifle, it rolled off the table and vanished into the gravel. Had I posted that take you would have gotten a whole new vocabulary . I did manage to find it.

Been there done that multiple times. There is a "phantom zone" that suddenly appears when you start messing with these tiny parts. If they fall into it, good luck finding it!!
One thing I might note...I can't remember if it's on the instructions or on their website, but somewhere it says that these gauges are "slightly magnetic". That is NOT TRUE. Mine aren't magnetic at all. Maybe they had complaints about them being magnetic from customers, I dunno. But mine are NOT magnetic.

I bought a complete bolt assembly just to practice fiddling around with taking it apart. For the heck of it I tried installing it in one of my Mosins. It would NOT close. I checked prices on bolt heads on E-Bay and Gunbroker...they vary from $15 to $65. I can't see me buying 4-5 bolt heads for "just in case" purposes. Just not practical or economical to do so. Heck, for the price of a couple of bolt heads I could get a whole rifle!

Some folks want them magnetic, others don't. It seems the .303 guys need their gauges magnetized since the bolt face doesn't have the rim like a MN bolt does. Makes sense to me. I am going to start magnetizing the .303 gauges and see how that goes over. FWIW if you put a tiny drop of oil on the .303 bolt face and hold the rifle vertical when checking headspace the gauge is much less likely to slip off. The oil adds a minuscule amount of extra length to the gauge but when closing the bolt the slight pressure negates any change in reading.

Thank you for the video as I am going to order a set of Okie gauges soon.

websterz wrote:Some folks want them magnetic, others don't. It seems the .303 guys need their gauges magnetized since the bolt face doesn't have the rim like a MN bolt does. Makes sense to me. I am going to start magnetizing the .303 gauges and see how that goes over. FWIW if you put a tiny drop of oil on the .303 bolt face and hold the rifle vertical when checking headspace the gauge is much less likely to slip off. The oil adds a minuscule amount of extra length to the gauge but when closing the bolt the slight pressure negates any change in reading.

Okay. No .303s in my collection. I'm not really sure magnetic is preferable. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the gauge off the bolt face. But when it falls off the bolt face and down into the mag housing or other hiding places, it's pretty frustrating. I am happy with them, though. Work great.

websterz wrote:Excellent video...loved every second of it!!

BTW, you sound NOTHING like I expected. I can't place the voice but you remind me of someone I know. It'll come to me.

Ray Romano.

A suggestion that works well for me, whether checking headspace or disassembling anything with small parts is to spread out a towel under your work. That way when something falls,gets dropped, etc.... It won't bounce off the table and out the window!

Dallassoxfan wrote:

websterz wrote:Excellent video...loved every second of it!!

BTW, you sound NOTHING like I expected. I can't place the voice but you remind me of someone I know. It'll come to me.

Ray Romano.

That mean I get the same money Ray would get for narrating a video?

Dallassoxfan wrote:

websterz wrote:Excellent video...loved every second of it!!

BTW, you sound NOTHING like I expected. I can't place the voice but you remind me of someone I know. It'll come to me.

Ray Romano.

THAT'S IT!!!

Deputy wrote:...Sometimes I have a hard time getting the gauge off the bolt face. But when it falls off the bolt face and down into the mag housing or other hiding places, it's pretty frustrating...

I have a couple of dental picks that I use as gun cleaning tools; very handy for getting into tight spaces. They also work great for getting the gauge off the bolt face; just stick it in the middle hole and it seems to hook it securely with little risk of losing it.

Incidentally, I loved the video, JYD. Thanks for your time and effort.

Thank you, I have dental picks, and I use them when I can lay hands on them, they seem to walk away when I am not looking.

Guess I can use a toothpick.