I also noticed that the primer protrude a VERY small bit from the base of the brass on loaded rounds. You cannot feel it with your finger but can see it it you put a straight edge over it and hold it up to the light. I may have to switch primers to see if that rectifies the issue.
Strange primer strikes.
- Thread starter SuperCub
- Start date
put a flat edge on the receiver and make sure the firing pin is not sticking out proud, then get a primer pocket unifier and prep your brass.
Take a sized case and measure the depth of the primer pocket, it might be to shallow or you may have not seated the primers in until they bottomed out. There are a few ways to fix the proud primer issue, different brands, pocket unifiers or seat them deeper if you can. I had the same issue on my 30-06/12 gauge but narrowed it down to floating pins and Winchester primers, switched out to cci primers and problem went away.
send me more picks of the 303 SxS.........
Take a sized case and measure the depth of the primer pocket, it might be to shallow or you may have not seated the primers in until they bottomed out. There are a few ways to fix the proud primer issue, different brands, pocket unifiers or seat them deeper if you can. I had the same issue on my 30-06/12 gauge but narrowed it down to floating pins and Winchester primers, switched out to cci primers and problem went away.
send me more picks of the 303 SxS.........
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Once upon a time I had a Marlin 95, the 22" version with the microgroove barrel, and plastic butt plate. This rifle got me out of the habit of using CCI primers due to misfires resulting from an anemic hammer spring, which I resolved by shimming the spring with some small washers. But since that rifle is long, long gone, CCIs should once again become my primer of choice, they already are for my match loads. And you can get an extra load or two out of your brass with them too which is good if you have a supply of soft headed Federal brass.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
This might be the most likely as the receiver face looks nice and clean, but what is then a mystery to me is that the primer marks don't all hit the same spot, which you would suspect would be the case unless perhaps the cartridge rotated in the chamber between shotgun firings. As a point of interest though, an AR-15's floating firing pin will dent the primer when the bolt slams home. Some day I should run the same round through he rifle a number of times to see how often it can be abused like that before firing.
If you can't get the primers to sit slightly below flush, maybe try uniforming your primer pockets. Inconsistent seating depth is what led me to give up on the various hand tools and buy a bench mounted priming tool. The best hand tool was the old cast metal job made by Lee which had thread in shell holders, you could adjust the primer depth by threading the shell holder in or out of the tool. Too bad it was discontinued.
Problem solved, and you're right about the inconsistent seating depth being the problem.
The primers were protruding only a very small amount. If you looked quick, you wouldn't see it, but I put a straight edge over the primer and help it to the light and there it was. I've always used Lee hand primers and never a problem, but I think the combo with the Norma brass and Rem primers made it necessary to apply much more force to get them deeper into the pocket.
Once I tried this and got them flush, problem solved. No more firing pin tracks!
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Once I tried this and got them flush, problem solved. No more firing pin tracks!
Crap...that means the price just went up.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
They're making me fly. No meal and an aisle seat await me.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I leave on the 8th. Headed to Shelburne, NS.
Anyone who wants an amusing show feel free to watch me struggle to navigate Edmonton Airport or Underwear International (Halifax Stanfield). 2 Action Packers and 2 dog kennels...should make for some good laughs!
***UPDATE***
I was still having problems with this rifle. After firing, it was hard to push the lever over and open the action. I had been cleaning the primer pockets extra clean and seating primers as hard as I could, but still hard to open the action.
Brain wave happened, so I measured a few primers I had on hand for thickness. The ones I was using in the rifle were Rem 9 1/2s. Brass is Norma.
1. Rem 9 1/2 .1335"
2. WLR .1305"
3. WLRM .1245"
4. CCI 250 .1245"
Looks like the Norma primer pockets are a tad shallow. [My wife says I'm a tad shallow.
] Hopefully using the CCIs will rectify the problem.
I was still having problems with this rifle. After firing, it was hard to push the lever over and open the action. I had been cleaning the primer pockets extra clean and seating primers as hard as I could, but still hard to open the action.
Brain wave happened, so I measured a few primers I had on hand for thickness. The ones I was using in the rifle were Rem 9 1/2s. Brass is Norma.
1. Rem 9 1/2 .1335"
2. WLR .1305"
3. WLRM .1245"
4. CCI 250 .1245"
Looks like the Norma primer pockets are a tad shallow. [My wife says I'm a tad shallow.
] Hopefully using the CCIs will rectify the problem.
