Bumped the shoulder way too much. Is there a fix?

Ultraman550

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 8, 2011
717
2
50
Utah
Its LC brass that I bumped way too much, about 30 pieces, and I think this was the cause of a bunch of rounds not firing from my gun. Is there any way to still use this brass?
 
If you've just done this one time, load them up and shoot. Next time get it right. You'll need to start doing the paper clip trick to check for case head separation from now on with this brass.
 
If you've just done this one time, load them up and shoot. Next time get it right. You'll need to start doing the paper clip trick to check for case head separation from now on with this brass.
The problem is the rounds don't shoot when I load this brass. Factory ammo fires without a problem. I tried two different brands of primers so I'm ruling out that both brands had bad batches. If there is excessive headspace won't this cause misfires? Maybe this is a stupid question but would it work with the bullets loaded long? Berger VLD's?
 
Yes, loading so they're into the lands will get them fired, make sure it's not a hot load to begin with. You musta bumped them back into the dark ages!
If you have plenty brass, might be better off just recycling the 30????
 
Are you seeing any kind of a firing pin strike mark on the rounds that fail to fire? Have you pulled a loaded round apart and used a hornady headspace gauge or something similar to determine how far back you pushed the shoulder?
 
Firing pin marks yes, but I'm talking about a mark, not an indentation like it should be. I used a Sinclair bump gage and fired rounds from SW ammo, Federal, Privi Partisan are at 1.569 from the shoulder to the case base. The brass I fucked up is 1.560 up to 1.564. Can .005 cause this much case excessive headspace issues? I'm guessing .009 most probably can.
 
My understanding is that fp tip protrusion should be around .040"-.060" and primer penetration should be .018"-.022". Assuming you are at the extremes, I would think misfires would start at .018". Caveat...I am no expert on this problem and merely using known data and hypothesizing.

Any chance you used a primer pocket uniformer and cut the pockets too deep?

Also, did you have any issues chambering factory ammo?
 
Last edited:
I don't know much on that issue , but I had 308 ( 7.62x51nato )army surplus ammo no problem with my m1a , but not fired on my bolt savages , event had fire hit from bolt on prime I put back and try on m1a , did fired , if that your load work with both just try !!! i Just did reload for 2 years lack of experience , good luck to your load , sorry for loss
 
My understanding is that fp tip protrusion should be around .040"-.060" and primer penetration should be .018"-.022". Assuming you are at the extremes, I would think misfires would start at .018". Caveat...I am no expert on this problem and merely using known data and hypothesizing.

Any chance you used a primer pocket uniformer and cut the pockets too deep?

Also, did you have any issues chambering factory ammo?

Nah man, I just swaged the pockets lightly. Factory ammo and SW ammo all chamber fine, not one problem. I just FL sized some other cases to 1.569 so I will see if those work out well. Its only about 30 pieces of LC brass so I'm not too upset. I figure I migt be able to use them on a .308 Semi because the chambers are tighter.......I think.....so don't quote me.
 
Do you have oil in the firing pin recess? 0.005 under fired cases is not enough to cause that. Many people resize for semi-autos .003 to .005. Up towards .009 you are probably decreasing case life but this seems like it would have to be a combination of things to cause this. Such as an already weak firing pin strike combined with your slightly undersize ammo. Clean the firing pin and recess and don't get much oil in their could be hydraulically retarding the pin.
 
Ok, I'll try that. I already took the bolt apart and checked the firing pin and everything looked in tact. It was clean and the pin didn't seem to be worn down or deformed in any way but then again I don't exactly know what a new firing pin looks like to compare it to. It's a Stiller Tac 30 action so are all firing pins and springs pretty universal? Maybe I should just buy another set to have in case and see if changing it cures the problem.
 
Pull the bullets and use a expander ( a mandril if you have one works best) for the next caliber up, then resize back down until your bolt feels just a little sticky. Load the fastest burning powder in your load book for the bullet you plan on using, seat the bullets long so they jam into the rifling then make em go boom. Then resize your brass correctly the next time. Most people resize the shoulder way too far back, which can lead to troubles as you are experiencing, remember the firing pin drives the case into the chamber before primer ignition takes place, too much slop no boom. I learned a long time ago to measure my headspace with hornady lock and load gauges so this isn't an issue in the future. Good luck on getting your brass back to form
 
I don't think you bumped the shoulders too much. Where did you get such a die? Most dies will allow you to bump .010" which is within factory spec. Unless your chamber is way out of spec you should be fine.
 
Update:

It's the primers........Tulammo 7.62 Nato. They're too thick.

I tested another 30 rounds, FL sized the case to 1.569 (shoulder to base) with a .336 bushing. COAL of bullets were 2.810, ogive to base was 2.215. This time I loaded 20 rounds with CCI 200 and 10 with the Tula. The CCI all went bang, 5 of the Tula wouldn't even fire because of soft primer strike, other five ignited but only 1 went on the first firing. The other four fired the second time I single fed them. It's the primers......fuck. I have 3900 of these goddamn things. I can see a Semi-Auto in my future so I guess I'll use them for that.
 
With all due respect, the problem is not the primers. Your rifle should be able to ignite any primer, not just softer ones. I suggest you take heed of what was mentioned in the other thread and investigate the Timney trigger issue...which apperas to be a known cause of light strikes with Stiller actions.
 
19Scout, I'm doing that on Monday. I've got plans to call Stiller and Timney and see if there is a remedy. I hope you are 100% correct about it not being the primers. I researched them and read really good reviews so I bought a bunch.
 
I think you will be fine with the russian primers and your problem lies elsewhere. It is my understanding that the reason such semi specific primers are harder is to lessen the chance of slamfire feared of floating fp semis...not because the semi fp hits harder. A proper bolt gun should have no problems.
 
Hi everyone I share what I did when I put prime back in pocket , first i had all kinds primer, cci , federal, winchester, tula , they all mag , fired all , accept tula I misfire quite a fews , them one guy in the hide said Russian prime they thicker hard fire , light me up ,
Here what I did , I had handheld RCBS prime tool, took a part , drill & tap 1/4 x20 where between level & body contact , put the screw&nut , a just the depth for primer seat , problem solved , fired most every time if not I opened & close bolt again ,no more misfire on Russian prime ( machinist guy ),
Here the tip ( # 7 drill .201 dia , center drill, tap 1/4 20 ) good luck
Have fun gentlemens
The best for all
 
Its LC brass that I bumped way too much, about 30 pieces, and I think this was the cause of a bunch of rounds not firing from my gun. Is there any way to still use this brass?

I dont know if it worked or not but when I did that with my 6mmREM brass I seated the bullets into the lands, it didn't seem to hurt anything. Well, I didn't notice any flattened primers or incipient head separation, so......