Excessive headspace in Stevens 37 .410 bolt action shotgun

[GBertolet]

I have aquired old Stevens 37 Ranger .410 shotgun, which has excessive headspace. The fired case head actually has a bulge in front of the rim. I have not fired this shotgun since I became aware of this unsafe condition. I built up the rear of the case with tape until the bolt would close with some effort. I then measured the tape thickness, and it was .045. Is TIG welding up the bolt handle, moving it forward to compensate, a proper way to correct this condition? I don't know whether the bolt, the handle, or the cut of the chamber, is the root of this problem. Any input on correcting this problem?

[I'll Make Mine]

Most likely adding metal to just the bolt handle won't correct this; headspace on most bolt actions is set by the locking lugs, which go into the receiver just behind the chamber, rather than by the bolt handle's camming surface. Having .045 of free space behind the round and still closing does seem excessive; the only cartridge I've done anything with on headspace has only .013 between "go" and "field" gage dimensions, where closing on the field gage is considered unsafe to fire.

I'd be concerned that someone had been trying to replicate some YouTube videos I've seen where insanely powerful cartridges compared to factory .410 (.44 Magnum, .454 Cassull, possibly even .460 JDJ) were fired in a .410 break-action; if so, they may have stretched the receiver, bulged the chamber, or both. Hopefully you didn't pay much for the gun, but I'd certainly get it checked over by a competent gunsmith before doing anything.

[2152hq]

If the shotgun locks up like most bolt action shotguns, the base of the bolt handle is the locking lug and rides against the edge of the receiver wall. Rarely do bolt shotguns have forward locking lugs on the bolt body itself, but anything is possible.

Look to see where the wear and looseness is coming from..
If the bolt is a 2 piece design where the front half does not rotate but mearly slides back and forth while the rear half turns,,there can be slack in the joint between the two. Sometimes nothing more than a cross pin & groove link up is used. If enough wear occurs, the forward portion (bolt head) can move backwards and create excess headspace.

The base of the bolt handle if it is the locking system, must engage the edge of the receiver it locks against. If it has worn or been battered to the point where it has 'set back' locking surface(s) and allows slack movement,,that movement is excess headspace.

.045" is an awfull lot of extra headspace.
The rim recess depth in the 410 chamber is .060 IIRC.
On top of that is you headspace allowance. Should be in the .010"range between min and no-go on top of that. The 410 may be small but it's working pressures are the highest of any off the shelf shotshell.
Check for a SAAMI spec for headspace on the 410 chamber to be sure

Check the bbl to make sure it's on correctly.
Might sound silly but I just fixed up a single shot .22 bolt action Colteer rifle that had the bbl pushed forward approx .080. It's a pressed in assembly to the receiver, then a setscrew type bushing installed under the receiver to secure it. The bushing also acting as the assembly point for the TD screw.
How it came apart,,??, but it was.
The built in forward spring loaded slack in the bolt head assembly actually allowed the rifle to make up the difference in headspace in this instance. The bent firing pin made it stop working.

Anyway, inspect the chamber carefully to make sure it hasn't been worked over at some point. Some well meaning person may have deepened the rim recess in the chamber for what ever reason and that will instantly create the excess headspace problem for you as would a bbl not screwed on all the way.

Make sure the bolt handle itself isn't loose. The handle is generally a separate piece that is silver soldered, brazed and sometimes no more than inserted and rivited into place in the bolt body. It can and does often come loose. If it pulls out a bit it can move around it can allow excess headspace. Common on Remington, Savage/Stevens 22 rifles and others

Building up battered or worn locking surfaces on the receiver can be done if needed.
TIG is one way. Even silver soldering (hard solder) a separate piece into place and trim it down as needed. Both spoil the bluing, but that's another project.
The bolt handle is usually best left to securing the handle in place and squaring up the locking surface. Then doing any repair work on the receiver if it needs it.

Lot's of little things can be done to bring these back to life. Not always worth it from a monetary stand point. But if you can do the work yourself or the gun is worth it to you in family memorys, ect,,sometimes we just do stuff like this.

Good luck with your project.

[Mooseman]

I would take it to a competent , qualified gunsmith for examination and repair. It may be the chamber mouth is worn , in which case the barrel can be removed and machined to set it back and then recut the chamber and headspace reset properly.
Not often can the condition you describe be repaired by trying to move the bolt forward , because it will affect the sear/ trigger relationship and possibly the extractor and clearance of the bolt face to barrel.

Rich

[2152hq]

If 'bolt set back' is what caused the excess headspace, then putting the bolt back into the correct locked position is a way to correct the excess headspace problem.

Putting the bolt back where it belongs will not effect sear, trigger relationship,,they have not changed from where they were.

Check the bbl for an over size/too deep chamber rim cut. That's the easiest to look at. Not the easiest or cheapest to repair though.

There's a lot here you can do yourself if you have a grasp of what is going on and can use measuring and hand tools effectively.
If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then by all means take it to some one that you trust can do the job.

[KCSO]

IF you can do the work your self and IF you can maintain the proper hardness of the parts welding will cure set back. Unless you have a lathe you are not going to be able to turn in the barrel. Look at the receiver where the bolt lug rides first and see if it is set back there. What you get a lot of the time iis the receiver sets back and when you open the gun the bolt rides forward a little as it goes ofer the set back hump. Now if you weld the bolt handle the hump is still there and you are having to force the bolt over the hump against the chambered ctg. If the receiver is worn then you need to weld and recut the receiver.

Around here these are $100 guns at best and your best bet might be to look for a parts gun and make 2 into one good one. I have tig welded and re machined these in the past but $50-60 work on a $100 gun is kind of iffy.

[jkpq45]

Agree with looking for where the wear has occured. If the sole lug is the bolt handle and it shows setback, you should build up that point to move the bolt body forward.

Probably don't need to set the barrel back, but that could correct headspace as well.

[sbowers]

I would take it to a competent , qualified gunsmith for examination and repair. It may be the chamber mouth is worn , in which case the barrel can be removed and machined to set it back and then recut the chamber and headspace reset properly.
Not often can the condition you describe be repaired by trying to move the bolt forward , because it will affect the sear/ trigger relationship and possibly the extractor and clearance of the bolt face to barrel.

Rich

This is the one and only correct answer to the question that was asked. How many of you have actaully corrected the head space on a rifle or shotgun. Mooseman has done it for many years and knows that of which he speaks.
Steve

[jkpq45]

Yeah, but what's the fun in taking it for a $200 trip to a gunsmith when it's a $50 shotgun? :-)

Might be time to hang it on the wall.

[Mooseman]

After looking in my extensive library of exploded diagrams and blue prints , I believe that barrel is press fit in place and not threaded , I have the Later model 59 Bolt action .410 and it is press fit.
It may be that the barrel has moved forward in the receiver , which is way more likely than a bolt being set back, unless bolt parts were changed in the past and never properly fitted. That Model has 2 different Bolt Heads listed , so who knows.

Rich