Primers not igniting

S

smilloy

Member
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
Ontario
Hi Everyone,
First, I am very new to reloading, and I realize trial and error is just part of the deal, but i thought i may be able to avoid some headache by learning from someone elses experience.

I just bought a Dillon Xl 650 set up for 9mm.
I spent the weekend setting it up, and calibrating the dies.

I am using
Mixed 9mm brass
Hodgdon tightgroup @ 3.6 gn
cam pro 124 gn rn bullet
federal primers.
Brass was cleaned with rotary tumbler (steel pin)

I ran just under 100 rounds though and took them out to the range. Unfortunately about 1 in 4, did not fire. Firing pin left a indent in the primer, but it did not ignite. Out of 92 rounds 27 did not ignite. I have read that this could be due to the primer not being set deep enough, but i am not sure how that happens. I am fairly confident i pushed the lever up to its limit each time. Even then, i read if it wasnt deep enough, it likely would fire on the 2nd or 3rd attempt. I could fire 10x without anything happening.


When i looked at the rounds that did not fire i could not noticeably see anything wrong with the primer. (also was not specific to one brand of brass)


Anyone have any ideas? I was told pistol brass does not need to be deprimed prior to reloading, so I did not do that. Is it likely my problem is just me not pressing the handle hard enough to seat the primer properly, or could there be something else i missed? (if its just me not pressing hard enough thats easy to fix).



Out of the rounds that did fire, I had a few issues with the case being jammed in my slide, so I think i need to bump up the powder a bit, but that isnt my main concern atm.
 
My friend I run a Dillon xl650 also, I have had similiar problems one up, it is human error..... You may think that you are running the handle all the way in both directions, hate to tell you that either you are not or you have your decapper pin not running deep enough to pop the occasional primer out of the cases as you are runnin the press.i personally have come across this problem, it was due to the decapper pin not being out far enough, there are some casings that need that little extra to pop the primer out. Inspect the rounds after you reload them, check each primer on each round. The pin will push the primer almost all the way out then the primer press arm will reset it and flatten it out, but it will look like it has been struck and when you run the through yer pistol you will not be able to tell that it was previously struck.

Best of luck
 
There is a temptation to not push the handle deep into the press on the XL650 it comes with practice.
How deep is the hit on the primers you could compare it to a round of manufactured and or between rounds that fired and the rounds that did not.
 
KellyP, the primers are being removed properly.

I counted how many primers went into the press, and how many rounds i got out. I am assuming my problem is that i just did not press hard enough on the upstroke, but i wanted to ask here to see if there is something else it might be.
 
Well there are 2 possibilities, you counted the primers. So all that it could be is you are short strokin her. Mine the arm damn near touches the blue bullet catcher plastic tray. Good luck I will keep this thread on my radar
 
I deprime and clean with SS pins before going into the press so there are no issues with old primers getting stuck in the Dillon while resizing etc.
 
I am hoping my issues is just me not pushing the press hard enough, but here are some pics of the misfires.

i0nfsyb.jpg

s9qhYbF.jpg
 
Freedomintheskies,
Yes it is possible that i did.
This was the first run through the press so there were quite a few times where i had to remove a case which meant the primers were ejected from the press.
I simply took them off the tray put them on the primer disk then reinserted them into the press when i was ready.

I didnt think anything of it at the time, but is there a different way i should be doing this?
 
If you wet tumbled your brass, it needs to dry a few days. One tiny bit of water in your flash hole will ruin the charge. Primers are fairly robust. I've messed up and pressed new primers out and still reused them with 100% success.
 
The only way this will effect the primers is if you have moisture or case lube on yer hands, It will take some effort to mess up a primer, the casings could be damp and that could be the issue. If it is then invest in a dehydrator or a toaster oven to dry the brass out. I wet tumble mine, then dehydrator then corn cob media dry tumble then off to the press in back to back motions. Never had an issue for that reason.

freedomintheskies said:
Handling issue? -Are you touching the crucible (open) end of the primer at any time with your fingers?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys.

I am thinking that I did not let the brass dry out enough.
I cleaned it Saturday morning and loaded them Sunday, but did not use a dryer. Just let them air dry.

Thinking about it now, it seems reasonable that there was some moisture still in the flash hole when the spent primer was removed.
 
I usually let the brass sit for a week or so in the house before I reload it, in the summer you can lay it out in the sun on a hot day and it will be dry in a couple hours
 
smilloy said:
Thanks guys.

I am thinking that I did not let the brass dry out enough.
I cleaned it Saturday morning and loaded them Sunday, but did not use a dryer. Just let them air dry.

Thinking about it now, it seems reasonable that there was some moisture still in the flash hole when the spent primer was removed.
Click to expand...

Oven temps to 200F should fix that for 20 min at least
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom