Headspace Control | Performance Innovation

If you’ve been around firearms, you’ve probably heard of the term “headspace”. But what is headspace? Headspace is the distance from the face of the closed bolt to the surface in the chamber on which the cartridge seats.

Controlling the amount of headspace in a rifle is critical. Many other manufacturers employ processes that allow an acceptable tolerance for headspace distance. Excessive headspace allows the ammunition to move around too much in the chamber, which can cause the cartridge case to deform. This can be anything from a split neck to crack and even cause case head separation, among other issues. 

Insufficient headspace can prevent the action from closing completely or require unnecessary force to close it, which can result in jamming or failure to fire. If a firearm is fired with insufficient headspace, the pressure inside the chamber will most likely be elevated, which is not a good thing. 

Needless to say, headspace control is extremely important in the proper function of a firearm. If it’s wrong, it can be downright dangerous. Even just a few thousands of an inch in variation due to acceptable tolerances can cause unreliable accuracy.

Savage’s Zero-Tolerance Headspace Control

This is why we developed a solution for setting the correct headspace on every rifle we build. The barrel locknut plays an important role in controlling headspace. It marries the receiver and barrel to a minimum threshold with zero tolerance.

The locknut, receiver, and barrel are all mated specifically for one another and allows us to set headspace on each individual rifle to its absolute minimum. To do this, we place a minimum headspace gauge in the receiver and close the bolt. The receiver and barrel are then threaded together until they stop. The locknut is then tightened onto the receiver, securing the recoil lug in between. 

The result is perfect headspace and ultimate accuracy. This zero-tolerance approach to headspace helps provide the accuracy you would expect from a custom rifle from our factory firearms. 

Headspace is set at the Savage factory when the firearm is built. If there is any reason to suspect that the headspace on a firearm is not correct, it should be inspected by the Savage Arms Repair Department or a qualified gunsmith.

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