Primers Backing Out When Fired - Problem

waynewjw

waynewjw

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.270 cal with 52 gn (min. load) of H4831. These were my 1st 5 reloads ever. So followed all the directions carefully (as per Lyman manual) and off to the range. The rifle jumped quite a bit and I noticed that the primers back out just a bit. No burn around the primer.

Another guy at the range said he noticed the rifle jumping more than normal, and as a re-loader he said that a minimum powder load could cause both issues.

Any feedback? Is what the other fellow stated pretty much true. Head spacing isn't an issue as factory fired ammo works fine and primers aren't backing out. I'm using a Sako A7.

Do you agree with the above comment?
 
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Might need a heavier charge to ensure the case is being pressed back against the bolt face hard enough during firing. Is there much soot at the case neck? Same goes for sealing the case walls to the chamber.
 
is it possible your pushing the shoulder back when your resizing , and creating a headspace problem like ben mentioned ?

try only resizing 2/3's of the neck of several cases already fired in your rifle , and reload them and see if that fixes your primer problem .
 
ben hunchak said:
"Factory ammo fires fine and primers are backing out"...I dunno' man!
Click to expand...

That is the way I read it too. The factory loads are firing fine, but the primer is still backing out.

If its only the reloads that are doing it, bump the charge up and try neck sizing only...
 
What make and how old is the brass? Might be brass with enlarged primer pockets.
How did you weight the powder? Second possibility and more likely is that you don't actually have 52 grains of powder. You may have inadvertently loaded more powder than you thought.
Minimum loads won't cause it. Under minimum loads can too.
 
are you sure it was 52 grains you loaded , i have used 52 grains of H4831 powder in well over 100 loads and have never encountered the problem described, even if you did reduce by 5% you should still be safe.
 
Clear Up Some Info

I guess I need to read my posts twice before I actually post them.

Factory Federal ammo which I purchased new and fired.
The primers in the factory ammo did not back out.

When I set up the resizing die, I had it touch the shellholder and resized some cases. They wouldn't fit into the rifle. So with some research on the net, it seemed that turning the die down another half turn would work, and so it has. The cases now fit.

I took a considerable amount of time setting up and measuring out the powder, so at that point I feel it was 52 grains. Not over or under.

There is no burn around the primers, they are just "popped" out a bit.

So I've now loaded a bunch of rounds between 56.5-57.4 gns in .1 grain increments at 5 rounds each. Hoping this will resolve the issue.

But a new issue may have arisen. I did about 25 rounds and the powder measured out fine. After that the scales seemed to go out of zero. I would reset and they would do the same. So I plugged in the power cord and the unit wouldn't turn on? Now I don't know if I have a defective set of scales or what. They are the Lyman XP1000.

After dicking around with the scales, I shut them off and left them off for awhile. Then I tried again and they seemed to work ok. Is this normal? I don't think so.
 
Federal brass is soft and the primer pockets are sloppy. I have seen factory ammo spit primers on the first firing. You might want to try some better brass.
 
A few things;

Light loads can give protrudeing primers.

Headspace may not have been excessive on the first fireing, but is almost certain to be now.

Electronic scales, or any scale should have check weights. Since you don't have one, try weighing your bullets. They should at least be close what the box says. .22 caliber stuff would be closer to the right weight range, even a pulled .22 LR bullet sacrificed for science would give a clue as to how your scale is reading.
 
Well - You may have undersized the brass. Looking at the instructions for Lee dies, they recommend 1/4 to 1/3 turn past the shellholder. When I size my brass, I set it to the shellholder, size a case and chamber check, add another 1/12 of a turn, check, etc until the brass fits. Most of my chambers are about 1/6 of a turn. If I went to a 1/2 turn, I'd be sizing the brass an extra 25 thou - well out of headspace.
 
Bullet and Powder

130 gr. Nosler Accubond Ballistic Tip with H4831 powder, no substitution. I'm new to the reloading process, and I've used the Lyman Reloading Manual. I've read through a number of times, and as I move to the next step in the process, I've had the manual opened to the correct section, and read it before proceeding. In addition, Lyman supplied their condensed booklet in the reloading kit, so I've also gone through that. The OAL of the finished bullet is 3.31, the manual says 3.34".
 
Hodgdons web site: 270 win, 130 gr. jacketed sp, H-4831 start 56.0 gr.s, max 60 gr.s ( compressed ). Your load could be really undercharged.
 
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