primer didnt work but then did

pj1

Well-Known Member
evening all.

i have started reloading and the other day had a round that the primer didnt detinate (if thats the right word). the dent from the firing pin was noticably shallower than the previous and post rounds.
i pulled the bullet emptied the powder and tried the case and primer through my rifle again. this time it fired. the primer was maybe seated a fraction deeper than the other rounds but that dosnt explain why it should work on a second go.

any ideas more than welcome.

if its strip and clean the bolt them its a parker hale 1100 light weight in 308 and any instructions are more than welcome

regards pj
 
could be as simple as a weak firing pin spring, damaged pin or the cases you are loading are being bumped too short so the firing pin is pushing the round into the chamber too far rather than cleanly striking the pin and pushing teh primer case into the anvil.

either way you need to sort it out and identify it sharpish. a potential hang fire that goes off when you least expect it after a "misfire" can be fatal.

stripping the bolt is easy
numerous tutorials on you tube.

get a chopping board and with the bolt removed hook the bottom edge of the rear of the bolt against the edge.
pulling back reawards you can compress the spring exposing either a small hole to insert a thick straightened paperclip or allowing you to rotate the rear of the bolt a quarter turn taking the strain of the spring when you release.

you can then unscrew the bolt "head" from the body.

further compressing the spring allow you to 1/2 turn the pin and remove the spring and pin from the head.

you will see what I mean if you google "mauser bolt strip"
 
ok so bolt is apart. there are flat spots on the side of the firing pin spring at the pin end if that makes sense. the spring looks even in spacing between coils and straight. it certainly took some compressing. would it make a differance by turning the spring round. if the sping is making a differance at all

yes touching the primers. i load with the lee classic loader in which you place the primers one by one. i do have as my dad would say rusty fingers. swetty hands to you and me. would this make a differance
 
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As an additional safety feature, most primers anvil is kept slightly away from the fulminate thus preventing accidental ignition in transit etc .. the act of seating the primer in the case 'pushes' the anvil into position so that when the pin hits the primer, the fulminate is crushed against the anvil and ignites.

If you havent't seated the primer fully in the pocket chances are there was still a gap between fulminate and primer and so when the pin hit it all it did was made a lump on the other side or the metal rather than crushing the fulminate against the anvil..

Tired and felt like I'd repeated myself at lease 3 times there... sorry... :oops: I'm sure you get the gist!
 
Don't handle primers you will make them useless with sweaty hands or they might not go off when you want and do silly thing like delay,
 
yes thank you. made sense 3 times over :). i wondered if it is a seating problem. some primers go in really easy others are take a bit more work. might be time to get an auto prime
 
i only have a Lee Loader and handle every primer.
never had a mis fire as a result. (I have just opened my 3rd box of 1000 primer since starting to reload so not just a handful of possibles)

you would have to be very sweaty to get sweat into the open end of the primer to get the result the OP has had IMO.

OP, what does the tip of the pin look like?
what resizing dies and headspace are you working to when reloading?
how deep are you seating the primer with the lee seater? flush?
what primers are they?

is this the first and only time it has happened?
 
Ok mate just handle them all with sweaty hands i was always told to use my primer tray and not to touch the primers but hey i have been wrong before.
 
end of firing pin looks a little damaged. slightly domed. centre of dome is smooth with rougher edges. i cant see any burrs or feel any rough edges though.

with the lee loader you resize neck only and as far as i know you cant adjust head space.

trying to seat as near flush as possible but erring on just under rather than proud

they are cci large rifle primers no 200

this is the first time it has happened but was only the 13 one i have reloaded. (not got out as much as i wanted)
 
Ok mate just handle them all with sweaty hands i was always told to use my primer tray and not to touch the primers but hey i have been wrong before.

he doesnt have a primer tray if he is using a lee loader.
can't imagine any other way of getting the primer into the seating cup without handling it. not suggesting he wipes his sweaty finger across the open end, but normal handling won't affect the primer

they sell enough lee loaders in the US to smother Britain in used primers. they can't all be doing it wrong either.
 
end of firing pin looks a little damaged. slightly domed. centre of dome is smooth with rougher edges. i cant see any burrs or feel any rough edges though.

with the lee loader you resize neck only and as far as i know you cant adjust head space.

trying to seat as near flush as possible but erring on just under rather than proud

they are cci large rifle primers no 200

this is the first time it has happened but was only the 13 one i have reloaded. (not got out as much as i wanted)

are you using once fired factory brass fired in your rifle or new brass? doubt it makes much difference unless you have a unusually long chamber. Would be good to know just for reference.

Pics of the pin would be good.
a pic of the primer after firing would be good too.

what load and calibre is it?
 
Ok mate just handle them all with sweaty hands i was always told to use my primer tray and not to touch the primers but hey i have been wrong before.

didnt mean anything by the :doh: it would just be my luck to load that many to find i had killed the primers with sweaty fingers:). the lee loader has to have the primers loaded one at a time but maybe cotton gloves or tweezers would be a good idea in future. i notice that the guy (sorry cant remember your name) in the reloading guide at the top of the reloading section of the forum uses gloves
 
using new winchester brass.

sorting picture now

its 308 using 41.6 gns of vit n 150

With 165 gn sierra game kings
 
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No worrys mate not a dig but christ i could have saved some time if i didnt need to use a primer tray there will be some on hee who can comment beter on handling primers like Muir.
 
well I am no gunsmith but that pin doesnt look great and the strike doesnt look very deep/clean but the pictures dont always do the actual view justice. pin looks damaged on the very tip

personally I would get the bolt/pin looked at by someone who does this for a living.

I think there are things they can use to test the depth and strength of a firing pin strike.
 
ok thank you. i checked the firing pin is free to travel through the bolt face and it is so will see what the gunsmith has to say
 
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