Need help: 9mm, Glock and pierced primers

[Proutfoo]

have you tried firing a primer in an empty case? turn the radio up and have at er. That will tell you if your striker is piercing the primer. If no punctures happen then it means its not too sharp, and its in fact not piercing but rupturing. Even with really hot loads with soft primers there shouldnt be ruptures unless theres something slowing the striker. A burr? weak spring? The casing head spaces on the mouth, could too tight of a crimp be letting the case too far into the chamber allowing too much headspace and no support for the rest of the primer surrounded my the strikers contact. Not only would too tight a crimp increase pressure but if the case mouth is going beyond the end of the chamber and into the barrel that could really boost the pressures as the bullet tries to wedge through? Anyhow if your guns are clean with good springs, ill be off to put my foot in my mouth...

can't comment on the springs. but all my G17s pierce these primers in empty cases, including my G17 that has seen little use.....

whats more interesting is that I did the same test with the small amount of Winchester primers I had left over. The Winchester ones are barely touched by the striker and they fire, leaving only a striker mark in the fired primer. The Federal ones show the striker, as well as the typical rectangular recess around the striker that you see on primers spent on live cartriges. The federal ones back out slightly on empty cases, the winchesters do not. In any case, looks like I should have started from scratch when I ran out of Winchester primers I have a hundred good rounds with Win primers, and a few hundred I am going to have to pull.

 

[40cal]

All this indicates too soft primers. You should contact Federal with the lot number on the primers and tell them what you have found.

Explain to them that they will pierce with 3 different guns and no powder. Tell them that the Winchesters show very little sign of denting in the same firearms. They may have a bad lot..........you never know.

 

[fuzzynuts54]

Agreed, my foot will be inserted into my mouth. I often dry fire into spent casings, I've even intentionally tried to puncture primers with berettas, my glock 20, .300win mag bolt action, 30-30's, 303's, break action 12 and 20g shotguns, 308 bolt action, 1911, and even with mabey 100 strikes on some I couldn't get one to pierce. You've got some crazy soft primers there.

 

[Proutfoo]

All this indicates too soft primers. You should contact Federal with the lot number on the primers and tell them what you have found.

Explain to them that they will pierce with 3 different guns and no powder. Tell them that the Winchesters show very little sign of denting in the same firearms. They may have a bad lot..........you never know.

well I talked to a Federal guy yesterday and he wants to have some pierced primers to analyze. The fact they rupture without any powder has him wondering. Who knows, in any case I am going to mail him a number of examples and see what they have to say.