Re: TC gunsmiths on here?
Below is a quote that comes directly from Mike Belm's website. Factory rounds sat below the surface anywhere from .006" to .01", depending on the maker. Obviously that was too far. I emailed TC and got no response. So i contacted Mike Belm and he walked me through getting the gun shooting. Which brings me back to the original question.
"Note that the case head should ideally never sit below the end of the barrel,
even if the barrel is tight on a .001" or .0015" feeler guage blade, which is usually the thinnest blade in a set. With a really close barrel-to-frame gap, the case head should be flush with the end of the barrel and never more than about .002" below the end of the barrel. This would result in an actual headspace of about .003".
If it is more than .002" below the end of the barrel, you will need to shim the firing pin bushing forward, BUT since there is no room to move the bushing forward, you will have to face off the end of the barrel to make room for the bushing.
Nor should the case head stick out more that what the gap actually measures. The ideal is to have the case head stick out about .001" LESS than what the gap measures.
Ie., if the gap is .003," then have the heads of sized cases stick out .002." This gives a heaspace of .001." Many folks don't understand what headspace is. Here you see it. It is the actual distance, space, between the case head and the breech face. If the case head sticks out MORE than what the barrel to frame gap is, this is referred to as "negative headspace." Having case heads stick out more than what the gap measures causes all sorts of problems, and getting cases sized right cures the vast number of problems that plague shooters of break open guns."
