41 Long colt flat primers

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rm_rang

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Hey guys

So I have a 41lc that I reload for. The other day I went out shooting and this time all the primers were going flat. It's strange because it's the same powder load and bullet that I had been shooting before but now they are flattening. That's with 3.5 grains of trail boss and a 200 grain heeled bullet. Now an older box I loaded a while back same powder exc and they were not flattened. Same goes with the much hotter factory ammo and it isn't going flat.

I read that headspace could flatten primers but again the other loads were fine so I have no idea what's up.

A little while ago I had a flat primer issue where 3 grains of trailboss would flatten the primers but 3.5 wouldn't. I thought I had that figured out by letting off on the crimp a bit and it sorted itself out.

Now I'm not using a crimp at all with heeled bullets so I have no idea what to think.

Thanks guys
 
Pull a few bullets and measure powder charge? Maybe something changed while you were loading and you have more or less powder than you thought? How full is the case with that much powder?
 
rm_rang said:
Hey guys

So I have a 41lc that I reload for. The other day I went out shooting and this time all the primers were going flat. It's strange because it's the same powder load and bullet that I had been shooting before but now they are flattening. That's with 3.5 grains of trail boss and a 200 grain heeled bullet. Now an older box I loaded a while back same powder exc and they were not flattened. Same goes with the much hotter factory ammo and it isn't going flat.

I read that headspace could flatten primers but again the other loads were fine so I have no idea what's up.

A little while ago I had a flat primer issue where 3 grains of trailboss would flatten the primers but 3.5 wouldn't. I thought I had that figured out by letting off on the crimp a bit and it sorted itself out.

Now I'm not using a crimp at all with heeled bullets so I have no idea what to think.

Thanks guys

You're right about being full. I was wondering if the case was too empty to ignite properly. Sounds like it should be fine. What primers are you using?
Click to expand...
 
Any chance the primers were just a tad high? Not sure if that would cause the flattening of the primers. Your load should be fine.

Take Care

Bob
 
rm_rang said:
I'm using federal small pistol. Now that you mention it the older loads that worked fine were CCI. Are federal primers maybe softer than CCI?
Click to expand...

They are the same thickness but use a older style priming compound that ignites easier. So said a rep a few years back. Both Federal and CCI are now owned by the same financial group but made in two different factories. Federal in the East and CCI in Idaho.

Take Care

Bob
 
rm_rang said:
Hey guys

So I have a 41lc that I reload for. The other day I went out shooting and this time all the primers were going flat. It's strange because it's the same powder load and bullet that I had been shooting before but now they are flattening. That's with 3.5 grains of trail boss and a 200 grain heeled bullet. Now an older box I loaded a while back same powder exc and they were not flattened. Same goes with the much hotter factory ammo and it isn't going flat.

I read that headspace could flatten primers but again the other loads were fine so I have no idea what's up.

A little while ago I had a flat primer issue where 3 grains of trailboss would flatten the primers but 3.5 wouldn't. I thought I had that figured out by letting off on the crimp a bit and it sorted itself out.

Now I'm not using a crimp at all with heeled bullets so I have no idea what to think.

Thanks guys
Click to expand...
I think the federals are softer too which will make them flatten more than other primers.
 
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