Light Primer Strikes..

J

JRodko

Regular
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
Location
Regina, SK
Hello again,

I had my Savage model 25 in .204 out at the range shooting some hand loads and I had 2 failure to fires in 15 shots. The first one I re-cocked and fired two more times before assuming faulty primer (couldn't get it to go bang). The second one I re-cocked and it went off the second time. Both had dimples that looked normal to the naked eye. I was using brand new Remington Brass and shooting in -20 degrees after coming outside from a heated shack.

I've got four theories... any insight would be really appreciated.
1) Bolt is gummed up and cold weather is making the oil and grease prevent the firing pin from moving at full force, so I dumped in a whack of lighter fluid to clean it out and let it sit for a few hours then I had weird issues when dry-firing, it was **** near impossible to lift to bolt to re-#### and pull it out... so I sprayed in a small amt of oil and that seemed to clear things up, I just haven't had a chance to go out and test again but I'm not very hopeful. Also, I don't know how to take the bolt apart to clean it apart completely...

2)Maybe I didn't have the bolt closed all the way? But I've got lots of experience with bolt actions and I've never had one fail to fire because of an issue like that. Also on the 2nd tries I made sure it was closed as far as it would go.

3)Headspacing issue? If the brass was a little short before fire forming maybe it was moving just enough so that the firing pin couldn't punch deep enough?

4) Bad primers? But that's highly unlikely as another guy uses them in his cz .204 and they work great every time.

Any help would be really appreciated... I'm coming up on gopher season and I don't want to have to send my new rig away. I clipped the trigger spring AFTER I did my first day of shooting so for those of you who have read that thread I suppose it's irrelevant.

Cheers,

J
 
did you touch the primers with your fingers? water in the brass from cleaning that could have soaked the primers?
 
if your not comfortable dissassembling your bolt (its easy just watch youtube vids) Then spray the whole thing down with brake clean. I just went through the same thing with a ruger and I think I finally have it cased. Firing pin was a bit too short. You need to check firing pin protrusion. .055-.065 is spec for rugers. Savage would be similar I would think. Also use federal primers and only neck size your brass.
 
did the primers look like they were lightly stuck before you tried firing them again?
and what kind of primers?
 
I disassemble the bolts on all my rifles, clean the parts then wipe them lightly with G96 before reassembly. The preservative they use on new rifles is really sticky, especially in the cold.
 
They were the normal small rifle CCI primers, and yep they were dented after the first couple failures to fire! I also have no idea how to check the pin protrusion unfortunately. I could figure out the bolt if someone can point me in the right direction of one with pictures, I couldn't find any for my specific model.

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions!

I think I'm going to see what happens after I fire form and neck size once my new gear arrives, I'm hoping my lighter fluid bath solved the problem. The gunk I cleaned out of the trigger group was insane, so if there's similar #### in the bolt I'm not surprised it didn't work!
 
if your seating your primers so they don't bottom out in the primer hole in the brass these things can happen.......the primer moves forward with the firing pin softening the blow.........
 
Brownells makes a firing pin protrusion gauge that you use in conjunction with a micrometer. Pricy for just one time usage.

I do enough projects that I got one myself.

ht tp://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/measuring-tools/firing-pin-protrusion-gauges/centerfire-rimfire-firing-pin-protrusion-gauge-prod867.aspx
 
Yeah I don't think a gauge is practical for me really but I'll keep that one in mind!

Yodave, I don't think primer seating would have been my issue.. I use a pocket uniformer and have primed lots and lots for my .243. However next time I'll squeeze a little harder and see what happens!
 
I had this happen to me before. In my case, it was handloader's error....I was not seating the primers firmly enough, so that they were properly bottomed in the pocket. This allows a bit of "give" to the primer. It really sounds to me like your problem, and is apparently a fairly common error to make. I started squeezing my Lee Auto-Prime a bit harder and have had nary a misfire in 15-odd years.
 
Your bolt may have been hard to lift because the bolt lugs were dry. Put a little bit of grease ( I use a toothpick to spread it on) on the lugs and a little bit on the cocking cam and you may find the bolt easier to operate. The lubrication in these areas will not affect the firing pin fall like oil in the bolt will.
 
Hunter5425 how do I get into the bolt to do all that? Anything to lighten that bolt lift would be excellent. YoDave I was using remington brass that I had just bought. Are you thinking head spacing issues because it was not fire formed? Is it possible for the brass to move that much even if it's being held by the extractor?
 
the extractor is not strong enough to hold the brass all by itself if it is a headspace issue.......but I would measure and compare the shoulder of a once fired case to a new case and see if there is a large margin of difference........

This is the second case of FTF this weekend but the other was large federal primers........
 
yodave said:
if your seating your primers so they don't bottom out in the primer hole in the brass these things can happen.......the primer moves forward with the firing pin softening the blow.........
Click to expand...

I agree with yodave.
Does the rifle have an Accu-Trigger? Did you tune the trigger at all?
 
Try loading some more and seat the bullets really long so they engage the rifling a good 30 thous and try again if it still misfires my guess would be bad primers if the firing pin protrusion is good the casings may be moving ahead a bit .
My 6ppc is built on a custom action and the spring is intentionally very weak ,when I fireform I need to have the bullets seated really long with lots of neck tension otherwise it will misfire.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom