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Can't seem to find any gunsmiths locally ( Vancouver and Portland) to check it. I recently got a Yugoslav 8mm M48 Mauser that has a mismatching bolt from the barrel. My understanding is that a " field gauge" is pretty much all I need to consider the firearm " safe"? Buying all 3 gauges would be pretty expensive. GO, NO GO, FIELD.

I found out you can rent them online. But its only the GO/ NO GO.
 
Measuring headspace on most milsurp is a waste of time and money, unmatching bolts are extremely common and rarely cause any problems. I wouldn't worry about it unless there are obvious issues with the brass after firing, such as blown out primers or split cases.

If you want to be extra safe, measure it with a field gauge, or use the trusted method of attaching a string to the trigger and firing it from behind cover and then inspecting the brass. Like the previous user mentioned, the mauser action is one of the strongest in the world.

Go / No Go gauges are only used when cutting a new chamber. Another thing to consider is that many countries had different headspace specs than those designaged by SAAMI, in which case a rifle may be perfectly within the specifications of its original country, but will swallow a SAAMI no-go gauge.
 
There is quick dirty ways to check if it is excessive for the ammo you have by using comparator and firing a round.

On milsurp guns, it is not uncommon to have chamberings that met the particular military standard at the time or country and not our current SAAMI standard. A field guage will only tell you if it can reliably use new manufactured ammunition made to SAAMI standard. If you reload, a field gauge is almost useless, you need to know the chamber size to make reliable ammunition.
 

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