[Jeff Higgins]

Cool stuff. Talk about polar opposite ends of the spectrum, though, contrasting your build with my latest. I think it's fantastic that we can still do this kind of thing, at any level.

Just a couple of thoughts. First and foremost, I cannot imagine firing any modern high pressure centerfire that I assembled from a variety of manufacturers' components without verifying headspace first. We are unleashing 60,000 PSI inches from our ugly mugs, and I see no need to risk making them even uglier. There are a myriad of easy to use gauges available, get one you like and learn to use it.

The failure mode of too much headspace is not up at the neck as Stijn suggests. If it was, it really would not be all that dangerous. The point of failure is, however, back at the case web, right in front of the solid base. It happens like this:

The firing pin drives the case forward in the chamber (since the case is shorter than the chamber in an excessive headspace condition). The case stops moving forward when its shoulder contacts the front of the chamber. When it stops, the firing pin continues to drive into the primer, setting it off and firing the cartridge. When it fires, the thinnest part of the brass - the forward part of the case - expands to grab the chamber, which it does with authority. The part of the case that cannot expand to grab the chamber, the solid head and the web just in front of it, then get driven rearward by the high pressure in the chamber, stopping when the case head meets the bolt face. As a result, all of the stretch happens at the web, the thin part right in front of the solid head.

If this part stretches enough to fail, unlike if the failure occurs up at the neck, the brass no longer seals the chamber and hot gasses can escape. This can damage both the rifle and the shooter. Some rifle designs vent this hot gas better than others, but it's never a good thing regardless. It's best avoided.

Verification of headspace is so cheap and easy I cannot understand why anyone would risk this. And, well, I would rather not have a shooter risking this if he is shooting on the bench right next to me. This kind of sloppy carelessness should never manifest itself as a risk to other shooters.

Then there are scopes. I see all manner of "boosted" or "bumped" scopes at my range these days. 40X and more. Great for shooting teeny groups at 100 yards, maybe 200, but absolutely useless in the field. Especially on any kind of warmish to hot day, with any indication of mirage. You just cannot see through them clearly enough. Coupled with their extremely reduced field of view, well, they are almost impossible in the real world. My highest magnification scope goes up to 20X, but I am rarely able to use much more than 12X-15X in the field.