Popped Out Primers- 6.5x55 swedish mauser

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Newmer

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Something strange going on, and I'm looking for some advice. A friend of mine just purchased a 96 swedish mauser from a local dealer. During his first trip to the range, Out of the box of 20 rounds, he had 4 cases with missing primers when ejected. Primers were being forced out. Is this caused by excessive headspace ?? excessive pressure ?? He was using S&B factory ammo.

Thanks, Newmer
 
Interesting.

S&B have a reputation for making very good ammo. It would be interesting to see if the problem happens with any other brand or even batch.

More info would help, especially photos of the cases.

Of course, whatever the cause, if the primers are missing, it's a dangerous situation; the primers are part of the obturation setup. If 20% have that problem, the risk of injury sooner or later would seem to be significant and I would strongly advise him to take it to a qualified gunsmith before firing any more.
 
I've had that happen with .308 when loadign some VERY light loads. Apparently what happens is this: When fired, the initial pressure pushes the primer partway out of the pocket. When the pressure builds and forces the bullet down the barrel, it also forces the case back against the bolt face, re-seating the primer.

What was happening with me was the pressure was not enough to force the case back and re-seat the primer. I wouldn't have thought this would happen with factory ammo, but who knows... the powder machine might have been on the fritz that day. They probably remove any cartridges ABOVE a certain weight, but maybe not below. This would get rid of double or overcharges, but not undercharged ammo.
 
I have seen it happen in a really leaded up lee no4 once and was told by a gun smith buddy of mine that it can be caused by the presure being traped by the bullet having fight through the clogging
 
Four out of 20 with MISSING primers?

This is NOT primer setback; this is high pressure.

Likely the rifle has a very tight chamber and an excellent barrel.

I have tried the S&B 6.5x55 in a couple of my own rifles and don't think I will be buying any more. It is MUCH too hot for my tastes. A Swedish Mauser should have a noticeable recoil with full loads, but it should not KICK. Mine KICKS with S&B.

Nice brass, though. If they would just load it down a TOUCH, I would be a lot happier.

The real problem is that people buy amo by the performance at the muzzle. The vast majority of shooters do not understand that rifle will get its best accuracy with relatively-mild loadings. The American gun magazines brag up the latest monster-of-the-month that runs at 65,000 or so, so the cartridge companies load their ammo hotter and hotter, never mind that the Swedish Mauser was adopted and first produced 115 years ago.... and that the majority of rifles in circulation are at LEAST 65 years old. My two are good examples: both 1899: 112 years old.

Handload: ONLY way.
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The Swede bullet has a very long beraring surface. If the barrel or throat is tight, pressures can get out of hand real fast. If the ammo is hot it can be dangerous.

Switch to a differerent brand or handload, and start with START loads.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses. The Swede is in great condition, with an excellent bore. I wish I had pictures, but the primers that did not pop do have a look of being somewhat flattened. I was surprised, as it is factory ammo.
 
I've been reloading for 6.5x55 Swedes since 1985. In fact I've never bought a factory round for the 4 I have owned. But I had a really "strange" occurence with a 96 I had for a short period of time. The only load I used in my 2 38's,a 42B and the 96 was 140 gr Hornady SP and 35.0 grs of 4064. This is a midrange type load (on the light side actually).
I only fired 5 rounds from the 96. As I fired each round for group at 100 yds the bolt lift got stickier with each round. The first couple were fine. The last one was very tight and difficult to open. Primer was flattened. The strangest thing was the target. Group was around an inch or so (eyes were much younger then). One of the holes had a swirl of lead spray in a circular "rooster tail" pattern around it. I'm assuming lead was somehow forced from base of bullet by pressure/high velocity? The bore in the old girl was a little rough looking but it certainly shot one nice group. The high pressure thing was a little scary and I traded her off at a local gunshop where I let the owner know what had happened.
 
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If the BOLT NUMBER of the rifle matches the RECEIVER NUMBER of the rifle, save yer money: the FACTORY checked the headspace..... and there is just a slight chance that they might have known what they were doing. People have the wrong idea about Swedish Mausers; they think that because the things were cheap, they were scrap or something. They were not. They were the Swedish WAR RESERVE rifles, maintained in PERFECT condition. They were only let go because the Swedes needed the storage depots for the 7.62mm rifles then in service, which were being replced with the new 5.56mm rifles. Before they dumped all of these, Swedish Mausers were rare and very highly-treasured. But when all these hit the market, they became too cheap nd fell into the hands of people who didn't understand that they were getting one of the finest rifles ever built, anywhere.

The sky is falling! The 'checkthehedspacechecktheheadspace' response comes from reading too many American gun magazines. I know: I used to take them seriously myself. Then I wised up.

It's a MAUSER: if the extractor is holding the cartrige in contact with the bolt, the headspace cannot get to a dangerous condition. Read HATCHER's chapter on HEADSPACE PROBLEMS AND MYTHS.

I have repeatedly fired .308W in a .30-'06 Mauser: HALF AN INCH of 'excss headspace'. Saw a guy at a match do the same thing, 40-odd rounds, when his Navy Garand spit out its little chamber collar without asking for permission. He didn't even know there was something wrong until the match was over and he started picking up all this deformed brass. You get a LOW PRESSURE situation when this happens. YOU don't have LOW pressure, believe me!

The problem as described is very simple: hot loads with long bullets, fired in tight chamber and tight bore. Pressure has got out of hand.

Reload your brass, using a safe load. And remember: brass is springy. You MIGHT even be able to re-use some of the cases that the primers spit out of, but don't count on it.
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