Hello, I was shooting my M14 this weekend with a box of Hornady Match grade 168gr. On about the 9 or 10th shot I noticed a nice puff of smoke that seemed to be coming back towards me on my last round. Happend to look at the primer and it looked like it was struck super deep.. almost like some one drilled into it with a # 40 drill bit. kinda blackend around the edges.. Is this the results of a bad primer ? or is something else going wrong with my rifle ? I gave it a quick look over, didnt notice any changes. Switched to a box of federal match grade with no more issues. another thing ive observed that probably has been like this for awhile.... But I just noticed now cause i spooked myself. with the bolt fully forward and closed with no round in the chamber theres a little bit of slop in the bolt... I assume this is normal... anyways maybe you guys can help me out
M14 Primer issue... I think.......
- Thread starter gillisj
- Start date
yup, with nothing in the chamber there should be some back and forth and a little side to side motion on the bolt. With a round in and the safety on the slop should disappear.
As far as the primer I think you had a weak one. Not a big deal ive had it happen with some white box stuff.
As far as the primer I think you had a weak one. Not a big deal ive had it happen with some white box stuff.
Oldsmobiler
CGN Regular
- Location
- Coquitlam, BC
Check your firing pin for damage. A pierced primer is like a torch and will melt the tip of the pin. Happened to me
Holy smokes! I'd back off shooting factory match ammo out of a m14 in a hurry. Is the ammo really the accuracy bottle neck?
Anyway, check your firing pin and ensure that it does not have, or develop a ridge. At that point, you might as well throw it away, and replace it. Also, check that the firing pin hole is not sharp.
How many rnds through the rifle BTW, and are there any mods to it?
Although I have rarely done it myself, I have seen several people put hornady match through their m14s at TSE. I have never seen the brass afterwards though. They may have simply been oblivious.
I had that problem with South African Surplus. I also had headspace issues. I started neck sizing only and the problem went away. Since then I got a TRW bolt (thanks hungry) and its a different gun. I hope to top it off with a krieger barrel this spring, and life is good.
Firing pin protrusion has a bearing on this. Min/max specs are .044 and .060 respectively. As mentioned, be careful to seat primers below flush with the case head. You can do a primer dimpling check by hand chambering a re-sized and primed case(no propellant and bullet) and then release the bolt and let it slam closed on the primed case. An overly long firing pin, soft primer cup and/or high primer will allow the firing pin to strike and dimple the primer, possibly deep enough to detonate it.
They should be resized using small base full length dies. Neck sizing for an AR15, M14, M1 Garand is Russian roulette.
It is a good test, but I see dimples on most M305, and even many ar-15s. It is not a fail test IMO.
