I would like to reinforce the idea of having military surplus rifles checked for head space before shooting them. Either go to a gunsmith or invest in a set of guages yourself if you like rifles in a certin caliber.
Early this month, I bought a Carl Gustaf M96 Swedish Mauser (1908), mostly because it had a pretty nice fiddle back figure in the stock and was all matching, of course. It failed to pass the No Go test with my Clymer gauge, though it did stop on the Field Gauge. It probably would not have blown a case, but is too far gone to be a shooter of mine.
Who knows, perhaps the bolt is still in the process of setting back for some reason. I might shoot a lot of rounds through it, think it is fine and them have it blow up in my face. For this reason, I distrust the idea of just firing an old rifle with as string as a substitute for having it gauged. Perhaps I am a worrier.
Most of these rifles are still good, but not all of them.