In
firearms terms, the headspace is the distance measured from the part of the chamber that stops forward motion of the
cartridge (the
datum line) to the face of the
bolt. Used as a verb, headspace refers to the
mechanism by which the correct positioning is achieved. Different cartridges have their datum lines in different positions in relation to the cartridge. For example,
5.56 NATO ammunition headspaces off the shoulder of the cartridge, whereas
.303 British headspaces off the rim of the cartridge.
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