Campro/ginex primers hard to set off?

[fightinghamster]

I’ll start this by saying this is the only handgun I’ve had this happen too and I use only campro/ginex small pistol primers for all my handgun reloading, recent range trip with my endfield no2 revolver in 38s&w had a hard time setting off rounds in double action, no issues in single action but about every 3rd or so round shooting in double action I’d get a failure to fire, cycling through and hitting it again will set it off, I should note I’ve already put about 380 rounds through this gun since I got it before the ban and 200 of those have been reloads with these primers and this is the first issue I’ve had with light strike so I’m trying to narrow down what the cause is, are the campro/ginex primers harder to set off than other brands? Do I need to do some internal work on this endfield? Any information is appreciated

 

[iron cat]

We have seen a few issues in our club using Ginex primers not igniting .
Cat

 

[wasa]

I have loaded/shot thousands of them over the past few years. Overall, no issue with my 9mm pistols (and 9mm rifles), but lots of problems with my S&W Model 10 revolvers (38 Special). Many people (like me) in my PPC league have stopped using them in our revolvers.

I also feel that they are "weak" when it comes to flame strength. Using them in 45 ACP (small pistol primers) often gives me inconsistent results with Titegroup powder. I generally use LPP for my 45 acp, but if I'm at a lost brass match I often use SPM primers in the small pistol 45 acp cases.

YMMV

 

[fightinghamster]

I have loaded/shot thousands of them over the past few years. Overall, no issue with my 9mm pistols (and 9mm rifles), but lots of problems with my S&W Model 10 revolvers (38 Special). Many people (like me) in my PPC league have stopped using them in our revolvers.

I also feel that they are "weak" when it comes to flame strength. Using them in 45 ACP (small pistol primers) often gives me inconsistent results with Titegroup powder. I generally use LPP for my 45 acp, but if I'm at a lost brass match I often use SPM primers in the small pistol 45 acp cases.

YMMV

I reload a variety (380acp, 38s&w, 9mm, 40s&w, 45acp) all using the same primers this is the first issue, weird that it only happens in double action but if it keeps up I’ll have to buy a different brand specifically for that revolver, it’s also the only one I buy non campro bullets for

 

[C96 1897]

The only issues I’ve had with these primers in they seem to be harder to seat than other primers.

Have yet to shoot any though, Ontario sucks and it’s pretty well impossible to get on a range if your in the military. A posting is 5 years and that’s what you’re looking at for a wait time for any range. That’s if you’re lucky enough to get on the wait list which only opens once a year and you have to know somebody to be able to get your name on before it’s full.

No crown land either ugh

 

[fightinghamster]

The only issues I’ve had with these primers in they seem to be harder to seat than other primers.

Have yet to shoot any though, Ontario sucks and it’s pretty well impossible to get on a range if your in the military. A posting is 5 years and that’s what you’re looking at for a wait time for any range. That’s if you’re lucky enough to get on the wait list which only opens once a year and you have to know somebody to be able to get your name on before it’s full.

No crown land either ugh

Damn that’s ridiculous, I’m in Newfoundland and have been to two different ranges multiple times and can count on two hands the number of times there’s been other shooters there when we were there, tho we aren’t allowed to shoot on crown land unless it’s hunting season and have a license

 

[C96 1897]

Damn that’s ridiculous, I’m in Newfoundland and have been to two different ranges multiple times and can count on two hands the number of times there’s been other shooters there when we were there, tho we aren’t allowed to shoot on crown land unless it’s hunting season and have a license

BC is the best, you don’t have to have any permissions or anything to shoot non restricted on crown land. You are even allowed to have it with you for protection against wildlife when camping year round.

 

[Auggie Doggie]

I reload a variety (380acp, 38s&w, 9mm, 40s&w, 45acp) all using the same primers this is the first issue, weird that it only happens in double action but if it keeps up I’ll have to buy a different brand specifically for that revolver, it’s also the only one I buy non campro bullets for

When shooting a DA revolver in double action, the hammer doesn't fall as far as in single action. What I mean is that when you #### a DA revolver, the hammer catches in the single action notch, and when fired, the hammer falls through it's full arc. When shooting DA, the hammer is drawn back as you squeeze the trigger, then falls before it reaches the single action notch, so it doesn't have quite as much "Oomph" as in single action. #### the hammer on your revolver and see where the hammer sits. Now, decock it, then squeeze the trigger in DA and watch the point where the hammer drops. It will be before where it sits in the single action notch. Sometimes that extra millimeter of hammer fall is enough to set the primer off when a DA pull won't.

Auggie D.

 

[fightinghamster]

When shooting a DA revolver in double action, the hammer doesn't fall as far as in single action. What I mean is that when you #### a DA revolver, the hammer catches in the single action notch, and when fired, the hammer falls through it's full arc. When shooting DA, the hammer is drawn back as you squeeze the trigger, then falls before it reaches the single action notch, so it doesn't have quite as much "Oomph" as in single action. #### the hammer on your revolver and see where the hammer sits. Now, decock it, then squeeze the trigger in DA and watch the point where the hammer drops. It will be before where it sits in the single action notch. Sometimes that extra millimeter of hammer fall is enough to set the primer off when a DA pull won't.

Auggie D.

I was kinda thinking this is what’s happening, thanks for confirming it tho, looks like I’ll have to get different primers for this caliber

 

[The Cold Lake Kid]

One of my Pards has stopped using the Ginex Small Pistol Primers after a number of squibs in his .38 Spl/.357 SAA's and his .357, 1892 lever action.
All three have OEM springs and the cartridges all had a good crimp.
He found a lot of unburned CFE Pistol and Titegroup powders left in the actions when he pounded out the squibs.

 

[toxic]

Ginex primers are HARD. They go off no problem in my "modern" handguns with factory parts. But in my revolvers with lighter springs and competition semi-autos (lighter hammer springs) they are unreliable. Other than being hard I've never had a problem with them - they go bang every time in factory guns.

 

[PPCLI-Jim]

I've had zero issues with them, they've never shown me any problems or failures. I've run them through SUB2K, PCCs, multiple handguns, and even in place of SRPs.

 

[tiriaq]

The only issues I’ve had with these primers in they seem to be harder to seat than other primers.

Have yet to shoot any though, Ontario sucks and it’s pretty well impossible to get on a range if your in the military. A posting is 5 years and that’s what you’re looking at for a wait time for any range. That’s if you’re lucky enough to get on the wait list which only opens once a year and you have to know somebody to be able to get your name on before it’s full.

No crown land either ugh

Doesn't have anything to do with the topic of the thread, but where in Ontario are you?

 

[ted_dent]

I have used the Ginex primers and found that they are dependable as long as they are properly seated. However, I did note that they were harder to seat using a hand primer than comparable Winchester, Federal, CCI and Dominion (Russian) primers which leads me to believe that they are marginally larger in diameter than the others. This problem can be compounded if you are using brass with marginally smaller primer pockets (S&B brass being a prime example).

This problem can be exacerbated if you are reloading on a progressive press as some of them don't seem to have the mechanical leverage that hand primers do. I once had a situation where my Lee Loadmaster sized and primed 9mm cartridges with no issue but when I switched it over to load 38 Specials I had an issue with primers not going off on the first strike but they would on the second. When I examined the 38 Special rounds I noted very slight primer protrusion so what was happening was the energy from the first strike was fully seating the primer so on the second strike the primer could not move so was getting the full impact of the firing pin. I had to adjust the primer punch depth to get the primers in the 38 Specials fully seated.

You do not say of you are priming manually or on a progressive so just be aware that that this can happen. The fact that the rounds will go off on the second strike indicates that primers not fully seated MAY be the culprit. You also do not say if the second strike detonations result from single or double action strikes.

The other comments about single action strikes being stronger than double action ones are also valid considerations. My PPC revolver has a very light action which only works reliably with Federal primers whether it used single or double action.

Like so many firearm malfunctions there are often more than one possible cause so at least you have a few approaches to try and diagnose the problem.

 

[The Cold Lake Kid]

Good post Ted and thanks for the input.
We did notice the Ginex primers were hard and using a RCBS hand primer, felt harder to seat.
We checked and made certain that all primers were flush seated.

 

[FarmerDanz]

Flush doesn't mean fully seated.

 

[mactroneng]

The Ginex primers are harder to seat but once seated properly (slightly below flush) I've not had issues.

However, I have not tried them with a DA revolver.

Also, LOL at the website censoring people taking about what happens when you c0ck a revovler.

 

[fightinghamster]

I have used the Ginex primers and found that they are dependable as long as they are properly seated. However, I did note that they were harder to seat using a hand primer than comparable Winchester, Federal, CCI and Dominion (Russian) primers which leads me to believe that they are marginally larger in diameter than the others. This problem can be compounded if you are using brass with marginally smaller primer pockets (S&B brass being a prime example).

This problem can be exacerbated if you are reloading on a progressive press as some of them don't seem to have the mechanical leverage that hand primers do. I once had a situation where my Lee Loadmaster sized and primed 9mm cartridges with no issue but when I switched it over to load 38 Specials I had an issue with primers not going off on the first strike but they would on the second. When I examined the 38 Special rounds I noted very slight primer protrusion so what was happening was the energy from the first strike was fully seating the primer so on the second strike the primer could not move so was getting the full impact of the firing pin. I had to adjust the primer punch depth to get the primers in the 38 Specials fully seated.

You do not say of you are priming manually or on a progressive so just be aware that that this can happen. The fact that the rounds will go off on the second strike indicates that primers not fully seated MAY be the culprit. You also do not say if the second strike detonations result from single or double action strikes.

The other comments about single action strikes being stronger than double action ones are also valid considerations. My PPC revolver has a very light action which only works reliably with Federal primers whether it used single or double action.

Like so many firearm malfunctions there are often more than one possible cause so at least you have a few approaches to try and diagnose the problem.

Sorry for not mentioning before but I hand prime everything with a Lee hand primer and load everything on an older Lee single stage press as it’s all I have now, the revolver in question is an old warhorse and has definitely seen better days but I don’t know the exact history, I’ll be ordering a set of 100 cci small pistol primers to try out and see if that helps, if not it might be a worn firing pin or hammer spring or something similar, I can’t remember if I set the once hit primers in DA or SA, I should be at the range again this week so some more data will be collected

 

[ted_dent]

Sorry for not mentioning before but I hand prime everything with a Lee hand primer and load everything on an older Lee single stage press as it’s all I have now, the revolver in question is an old warhorse and has definitely seen better days but I don’t know the exact history, I’ll be ordering a set of 100 cci small pistol primers to try out and see if that helps, if not it might be a worn firing pin or hammer spring or something similar, I can’t remember if I set the once hit primers in DA or SA, I should be at the range again this week so some more data will be collected

Just to let you know, CCI primers are among the hardest of the domestically produced primers so they may not be the best solution to your problem. Federals are generally considered the softest with Winchester and Remington somewhere in the middle.

 

[fightinghamster]

Just to let you know, CCI primers are among the hardest of the domestically produced primers so they may not be the best solution to your problem. Federals are generally considered the softest with Winchester and Remington somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for the information, I wasn’t aware, I only got into reloading when I got my handguns before the ban so I’m still new to it