12-07-2019, 12:20 AM
Klem Wrote:The gear in the photos appear to be in good condition.
I would buy a BCG and fire a round from the hip for safety. Then measure the headspace of the spent case.
If factory ammo does not go into battery then there's too little headspace and there's no danger because you won't be able to fire it. If it does go into battery then it is either OK, or too much headspace. If too much headspace you will know this when you measure the stretch in the case. If there is so much headspace that the chamber can't support the case on firing then it will rupture at the weakest point; the middle. This won't be as dangerous as a too-hot load however. It will be a bit louder and more smoke than usual will come out of the receiver. It's not pleasant if you are not expecting it and not helpful to the gun but it's not going to blow the gun to pieces. I have had two case separations and all it did was leave a slight trench in the chamber at the place where the case split - like a shallow plasma cut. I kept shooting it for a few years with no issues.
Firing the first round from the hip while looking away is something I do with all new barrels anyway, just in case. You can buy headspace gauges to avoid the guesswork but for a one-off situation like yours I would save the money and hip-fire it.
This. People way overstate the safety hazard of excessive headspace. If the headspace is too long, the case stretches, and you can tell with calipers easy enough. If the headspace is way way too long, and casing already weak - then it just breaks in the middle. Not ideal, but it won't Kaboom and blow off fingers. The last 1/4" (before the head), is all it takes to swell and seal the casing from blowing out past the bolt. Casings are designed to start getting thicker after the middle section, just for this - so that if they do overstretch and break - they break in the middle rather than by the head. I've had and seen more headspace separations / broken shells than I can count. For the most part it's a non-item. Obviously I wouldn't just keep firing it like that, but one or two isn't a big deal.