Ruger #1 Misfires

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stang

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Hoping someone here can explain this as I can't and i have been reloading for quite a few years with nothing like this ever before.
Last year I got lucky and managed to purchase a new Ruger #1A in 6.5X55. As I have several other rifles chambered in this caliber I tried some neck sized brass that had been fired in one of the others and it chambered but a little bit tight. I then proceeded to load this brass with a mild load and a 140gr SBT. Taking these out to the range to try out the rifle I found most would not fire and the ones that did had soft shallow primer strikes. As I thought there was a problem with the rifle I sent it to the warranty center where the gunsmith fired it with factory ammo and no problems before returning it to me with a note saying it must be my ammo. Still thinking that maybe the firing pin was gummed up before I took it out with the original ammo I loaded only to have the same problem with miss fires. I then took the same brass and full length sized it loaded it again and have not had it miss fire since. The problem is obviously not with the rifle.
Can any one explain what is going on here? I could see loose fitting rounds not getting an adequate firing pin strike and not firing but not tight fitting rounds. And yes the gun was properly locked up on the tight ones.
 
I rebarrelled a M-38 and had the exact problem. When the gunsmith re-checked everything he asked to see some of my reloads and found my full length sizing die was out of spec and pushing the shoulders back too far. As the 6.5 headspaces/seats on the shoulders, this caused too much space (and headspace issues). This die set probably cost me a couple of hundred dollars over the years as after 2 or 3 loadings the neck would no longer hold the bullet consistently causing my groups to open up and early case splits. A check of the gun headspacing showed no problems as the problem was created by the sizing die. A new sizing die and no more problems.
 
If the tight neck was causing the rounds to not headspace properly on the shoulder, it might allow the cartridge to move forward when struck by the firing pin. If it isn't that, I have nothing.


Mark
 
Try different primers..just guessing but the amount of energy required to deform the metal enough to fire would be determined by how thick it is and what kind of metal. Are all primers created equal??
 
No read the first post.
When the rounds were neck sized and a tight fit in the chamber was when they wouldn't fire. When the same round exactly was full length sized and a loose fit they worked perfectly. Primers and every other component was the same.
 
stang said:
No read the first post.
I read the first post but not carefully enough.:redface: - Sorry.

stang said:
When the rounds were neck sized and a tight fit in the chamber was when they wouldn't fire. When the same round exactly was full length sized and a loose fit they worked perfectly. Primers and every other component was the same.
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However, what I said above still applies. The previous gun that you fired them in could have much different chamber dimensions and have pushed the shoulder back on firing . By neck sizing you still haven't changed the shoulder position. Just because it chambers tight doesn't mean it hasn't chambered in too far. It doesn't take much - a couple of thousandths difference and you don't get the primer penetration you need.
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Ruger No.1 said:
stang said:
No read the first post.
I read the first post but not carefully enough.:redface: - Sorry.



However, what I said above still applies. The previous gun that you fired them in could have much different chamber dimensions and have pushed the shoulder back on firing . By neck sizing you still haven't changed the shoulder position. Just because it chambers tight doesn't mean it hasn't chambered in too far. It doesn't take much - a couple of thousandths difference and you don't get the primer penetration you need.
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That makes sense.
Thank you.
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misfires

Gentlemen;

A cartridge that causes one to say "it chambered tightly at the close of the lever on a #1", I would think would have enough resistance to hold the case for the pin to hit with ample force to pop a primer, regardless of what was causing the resistance. Taking a short case with a fat neck and full length sizing it would certainly not fix the problem hypothesized to earlier (fat neck holding case but not under pin hit).
My guess would be brass shavings in pin hole, I have had this happen in #1 before. Check around the firing pin hole for a burr, not easy with #1 without disassembly. Look close at brass see if you can see scar just below primer. these shavings deaden the blow or even bind up the pin, my best guess.
 
c-fbmi said:
Gentlemen;

My guess would be brass shavings in pin hole, I have had this happen in #1 before. Check around the firing pin hole for a burr, not easy with #1 without disassembly. Look close at brass see if you can see scar just below primer. these shavings deaden the blow or even bind up the pin, my best guess.
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So why would the full length sized ones fire with no problems then?????
 
It fires factory ammo just fine but doesnt like your reloads?

Undersized (shaved) shellholder?
FL die that has had the base cut off?
Press with more shimmy than a hula dancer?

Did your fired reload cases by chance have the primers backed out ?

Just a few that come to mind..
 
It fires factory or full length sized rounds without any problem. And it's not brass shavings the gun was new and unfired and i cleaned the firing pin out in case it was bound up somehow.
 
stang said:
It fires factory or full length sized rounds without any problem. And it's not brass shavings the gun was new and unfired and i cleaned the firing pin out in case it was bound up somehow.
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And I'd bet that now these have been fired in the gun, if you neck size them they will fire just fine.
 
Ruger No.1 said:
And I'd bet that now these have been fired in the gun, if you neck size them they will fire just fine.
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X2. You may want to start segregating your rounds to ensure that you only fire either full-length sized rounds, or, if neck sizing, rounds that are from the #1. I had a #1 in 300 WM that was finicky about reloads.
 
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