Challenger/Cheddite warming

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Pijetro

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Hamilton Ontario
Hey all.
I'm here not to bash, argue or tell anybody what to do.
However, for those of you who shoot higher volumes of shells, please keep an eye open for pierced primers.

I have always been warned about Cheddites piercing , but due to cost, I never let it bother me.
However, as of lately, the number of pierced primers I see are alarmingly growing. Besides the annoying hangfires, which were tolerable somewhat, I've noticed a dozen or so pieced primers, and not just from my gun.
As a result, I've had to switch out firing pins.

What I'm saying is, if you value your gun, please be aware of this, keep your eyes open, and don't take your Cheddites /Challengers for granted.

The good news, for me anyways , is that Winchester primers are now matched in price.
 
To my fault, I never bothered.
Watching my friend's Perazzi spit a shell out with a pierced primer finally me snap and post here.
If you're associated with Challenger or Cheddite, I will gladly start writing down lot numbers.

It's clear to see the difference between Cheddites and the others. The primer is dished vs punched. Leading me to believe that it's a softer material.
 
I shot several flats through a semi and had no issue what so ever. The o/u does smash a primer pretty good. I was happy with the preformance of the shells over all just not so much in that gun in particular.
 
Pijetro said:
To my fault, I never bothered.
Watching my friend's Perazzi spit a shell out with a pierced primer finally me snap and post here.
If you're associated with Challenger or Cheddite, I will gladly start writing down lot numbers.

It's clear to see the difference between Cheddites and the others. The primer is dished vs punched. Leading me to believe that it's a softer material.
Click to expand...

I am not no.

I asked as the peoplem was well known, they looked after it to my understanding.

So was wondering if you had old stock is all.
 
I didn't mind shooting Challenger in some of my guns but my Perazzi doesn't agree with them. It was piercing the primers too often.
 
It happens in the lower barrels on certain over and unders. If the firing pin is at an oblique angle to the bore, it seems to tear the primer metal. I've had it happen on some of my Brownings, a Baikal, and a Brno.
 
I have used thousands of Challenger target loads, with no issues at all. I do avoid the cheap Winchester target loads, because they expand so much, and extract with more resistance.
 
When I shoot factory Challengers in my o/u gun I get many pierced primers ( over 10 % )........stopped buying that brand of factory ammo.
When I shoot shells reloaded by my MEC 600 JR using Cheddite primers , piercing is" almost "at zero( Less than .5 %) but still stopped buying Cheddite primers.

Somehow the factory Challenger/Cheddite combo causes big troubles in some guns........Is this a pressure thing ???? Does my MEC seat primers deeper ???
Changing my purchase habits was the easiest solution for me.
 
The Challenger shells seem to fail if the primer strike "smears" too far off centre. When I first noticed pierced primers on my Baikal sporting O/U, I took the gun apart and re-radiussed the lower firing pin such that the imprint was more centred. It didn't eliminate the problem, but it certainly reduced the percentage of pierced primers.
Its unfortunate that Challenger has this problem, I do my best to support Canadian industry, but not at the expense of my shotguns.
 
Sadly its not just challengers, lots of companies use that same hull and primer combo. Score, challenger and even kents have all done it at our range, all on similar frequencies.

Ammo manufacturers blame the shotguns, shotgun makers blame the ammo. I have chased this issue for years.
 
Not so much to do with the primers but for some reason my A400 doesn’t reliably eject spent challenger hulls. I asked stoger about it. They said it was likely due to using, what he referred to as cheap ammunition. I’m pretty confident there is really no such thing as cheap ammunition anymore. But it does seem that the rim is just a touch thinner or something on the challengers I was using. Or it could be the gun. Not worth the trouble of dealing with. I just buy other stuff now.
I had a Turkish semi auto that ran like a top using it. Can’t say I’ll never try it again but I won’t be buying flats of it, till I see how it gets along with my guns.
 
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I’ve used at least 25K Cheddite primers over the last 4-5 years. Never had an issue until last year when I replaced the striker springs in my Cynergy. Then I started getting maybe 5% pierced primers.

I started using Challenger Light Load 1oz #7.5 last summer when Remington dropped the quiz #7.5 Gun Clubs. Absolutely love the shells, but even more pierced primers.

I got a CG Summit Trap back in July. Same issue. About 6000 rounds in, almost all Cheddite primers, and I can see erosion on both firing pins with the naked eye.

Guess I’ll be going back to all reloads and Win or CCI primers. I used Fiocchi for several years, but they aren’t as easy to find.
 
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