Misfires

[Vic T]

HI,

I loaded some bullets for my .270 Win for an upcoming elk hunt. I had about six misfires out of 35 shots where the bullet never fired but got a dented primer. I had used good quality new Nosler brass with Winchester large rifle primers installed with an autoloading primer tool so I wouldn't have to touch the primers.

My gunsmith checked one of the misfired shells and also checked the firing pin. The misfired shell had its primer set just a tad bit high and he said that was probably the trouble ... primer should have been seated just below flush with the rim of the brass. There were no problems at all with the firing pin fortunately. The hunt is in two weeks.

I plan to make sure all other primed (unloaded) brass have their primers seated deeper. Any thoughts or comments would be much appreciated. I really don't want to hear a quiet click when I shoot at a nice bull elk.

Thanks.

Vic T

 

[longwinters]

I hear ya there. "Click" is never a good sound. I use a Lee handprimer and have had excellent luck with it. But no doubt you do have to have the primer just under flush.

Good luck on your hunt I am sure your preparedness will pay off. Let us know how it goes.

Long

 

[lefty315]

I would think that having the primer just a little too high should not cause a misfire unless you have a weak firing pin spring. You said the Nosler brass was new, so I am guessing it was unfired at all even in your gun. Could be you have a very slight headspace issue. My Ruger .35 Whelen has a slight headspace issue so I make sure all of my hunting loads are with brass that has been fired out of my gun at least once. I have never had a misfire after that. With new brass it is common for me to have a few misfires in a box of 20. I even replaced the firing pin spring to help out and still would get misfires with brand new brass. Try the once fired stuff and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[normo]

Did you attempt a second strike on the mis-fired ammo? It is possible with a primer not fully seated to be strike it once and seat it, the second strike fires it.

I think we can all agree a misfire in the woods at a trophy animal is the loudest sound you will ever exprience.... :shock:

Good luck on the hunt.

 

[JD338]

I would try firing one of those shell again just to see if it fires.
I have used a Lee hand priming tool for years without any problems.

Good luck on your Elk hunt. Post some pics. :grin:

JD338

 

[TScottW99]

I think we can all agree a misfire in the woods at a trophy animal is the loudest sound you will ever exprience.... :shock:

Good luck on the hunt.

Yes it is!! I still get upset when thinking about it and 21 years have passed :x

 

[rick smith]

Touching the primers will not harm them and wouldn't cause them not to fire. Bad lot of primers, weak firing pin spring or headspace issue as pointed out. Unless they were really out, they should still fire.Rick.

 

[JD338]

Touching the primers will not harm them and wouldn't cause them not to fire. Bad lot of primers, weak firing pin spring or headspace issue as pointed out. Unless they were really out, they should still fire.Rick.

Rick,

I know you have a few years of loading experience. I am curious about a bad lot of primers. Myself, I have had 2 misfires in 33 yrs of loading. One was due to freezing conditions and my T/C Contender's hammer didn't have 100% striking energy. The other one was 30+ years ago and I figured it was me. So after loading over 10k rounds, I have never seen or heard of a bad lot of primers. They just seem to always work. How about you?

JD338

 

[rick smith]

Have had it happen with some WLP. Didn't know their history when I bought them, estate sale. Apparently some time during their former life conditions were such that they were deactivated. No apparent damage to the container but they wouldn't go bang in several different pistols. They went to the local land fill. Fortunately they were just plinking rounds so no game was lost. Did have several mag rifle primers fail to fire but that was due to a frozen firing pin. After two days of snow and freezing temps, the firing pin wouldn't move. Took a few minutes to correct but I still got the Mulie. Due to the WLP primers, I always put that in the differential diagnosis of rounds not going bang.Rick.

 

[JD338]

Thanks Rick.

Your experience has been the same as mine. Buying new primers and keeping them in a cool dry place have given you a spark every time.
I have standardized on Federal primers, they just plain work.

Again, I was just curious so thanks for your inputs.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

I have, on one occasion, had a lot of primers that were defective. About one-third of the primers failed to ignite. When I replaced them with another lot of the same brand, the problem ceased. When I tried another brand of primers, the problem ceased. To be certain, primer seating depth is important, but do not discount the possibility that the primers are defective. It can happen.

 

[JD338]

To be certain, primer seating depth is important, but do not discount the possibility that the primers are defective. It can happen.

I agree, it just that you almost never hear of a primer failure. I wonder what ppm levels the primers are at?

JD338

 

[Britz]

Thought I'd add my .02: I've loaded for about 15 years and don't remember haveing a misfire. I have only had issues with not properly crimping cartidges and causing jamming in an autoloader years back. I am under the impression that you should always seat your primers as deep as you can w/o deforming them. I use a RCBS primer pocket uniformer so the primers sit square and true in the case and are always a little past flush.

 

[Vic T]

Many thanks for the good advice given. I'll be seating them deeper.

 

[.260 Handgun]

I had similar experience with a batch of .260 brass. The only thing I noticed was that the primer pocket was slightly deeper than normal. Every other batch I've shot worked fine. I don't think I would try try to re-shoot the round. If something is wrong with the round just pull the bullet and start over. All you're out is the cost of the powder and the primer. Properly seat the primer just below flush with the base of the case, pour in new powder, reseat your bullet and try it again. If it happens again I would sit that set of brass aside and see if a different batch works better.

 

[Laker_Taker]

What type of lube do you use on your gun? I had a friend use some kind of oil that was thick and th firing pin would not slid out freely when it got cold. Make sure it's a light gun oil like Rem oil.

Just a thought
Aaron