Dear All:

I just purchased a brand new Rock River Arms A2 that has a Colt government profile 1/7 barrel. Before I fire this rifle, should I have our Army Guard armorer headspace it?

I only ask because the barrel is a different manufacturer. Thanks!

OUCH

If you have access to someone who can check the headspace, you might as well have it done, but the difference in manufacturers ought not to be an issue.  Headspace in the AR/M16 series is a function of the bolt head/barrel extension fit, and all the major manufacturers use the same specs in their pieces.

I've got GI surplus Colt bolts in all my ARs, which have Colt, Bushmaster, and Rock River barrels, and have had zero headspace problems with any of them.[:D]

Ouch,

If your NG armorer is a unit armorer and not a 45B he'll most likely only have the FIELD gage. That will tell you if the headspace is or isn't too long. It will not tell you if the HS is long enough. For that you need a GO gage and that is used at levels higher than unit armorer. Who did the original assembly of the rifle?

While most of the manufacturers use the same specs for HS (some tend to the smaller end for accuracy's sake) that does not ensure that those specs are met with each barrel and bolt.

Ouch,

I'll go with Shamayim on this one. If it's a Colt barrel it's as close to Mil Spec as it can get, if it isn't a GI barrel anyway. As long as it has a quality commercial or GI bolt it's probably O.K.

If you really want it checked out, your unit "Armorer" can't help you out much. Now a days these guys are just Supply Pukes (92Y's)and other than account for the weapons and submit Work Orders if they are broke, are only concerned that you occasionally clean your weapon. If they aren't a 45B, Small Arms Repairman (Direct Support Level Maintenance) they don't have access to any of the Gages used to test for serviceability.

Sorry Tweak, but unit armorers don't even have Field gages. Actual Go and No Go Gages would only be found at Depot level, or the Manufacturers themselves.

If this still concerns you, A. Buy a headspace gage and do it yourself, it's easy. There really isn't any Black Magic involved. They're cheap enough and a good thing to have in your tool box anyway. B. Try to find out who the Direct Support Unit that does the Annual Gaging of your unit's weapons and make friends with one of the 45B's(Beer usually goes a long way), and have them give your rifle a thorough inspection. Your rifle sounds to me like someone assembled it on a Rock River Arms lower as opposed to a factory assembled gun, so it might be nice to know the condition/quality of the parts they used.

Wpns Man

Yep, that's DS level, my bad. Was going by what I had on hand, never checked the 23&P for the SMR.