I’m still new to reloading, but have never experienced this with any of my reloads before( .22-250&.308).I just picked up a new to me 308 rem700 bout a month ago. Finally got out to to test some loads aaaaand click. Loaded another round and click. Nothing. I had five rds left over from an ar10 I use to have and sighted the rifle in with those prior to my newly loaded rds, no issues. I used the same seating tool, same cci primers, same 1x fired Norma brass. Any ideas?
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Failure to fire, soft primer strike
- Thread starter Mick28
- Start date
I've been having the same issue lately with CCI 450 primers in two of my rifles i have plenty of firing pin drop and protrusion. I am not sure if I got a bad lot or whats going on some go off after re striking some don't so i am not sure whats the issue.
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Pull the bullet and verify it has powder in the cartridge. Had several like that over the years, started talking shit about the primers, eventually pulled the bullets to get the brass back in circulation...
No powder.
No powder.
Been there, done that! Fortunately, it's only happened once to me in fifty years of reloading.
Thanks for the replys.I loaded up 25 rds ,5 rds for 5 different charge weights. I tried a round from each weight and same thing, nothing. My first thought was maybe the rifle, but it fired the first 5 rds from an older reload batch just fine. Second was the powder but I don’t think I would have missed putting powder in 5 cases. I’ll pull all the bullets just to just to make sure. All the primers look to me like they are seated fine, none crushed or protruding. Guess I’ll check the pin and spring next.
It is possible your problems aren't primer or ignition-system related at all. If you are over sizing the brass (usually by quite a bit), you can create a condition where the case has room to be 'pushed forward' in the chamber by several thousandths by the firing pin impact. The symptoms it will exhibit are exactly as you're describing. It's certainly something to check.
You probably ought to have a headspace/shoulder bump comparator regardless...because it's an essential/required tool for precision reloading.
Could easily be something with primers or ignition system though....just tossing it out there as a possibility if everything else checks out.
At the very least you could get your dies setup correctly, vs how you have them now (i.e. i can guarantee you're oversizing as is).
For bolt guns you generally want to shoot for a .002 bump. For gas guns, somewhere in the range of ~.004-.005.
Edit: If you don't have one, you can get away with using a deprimed .40 S&W case as a comparator on a .308.
You probably ought to have a headspace/shoulder bump comparator regardless...because it's an essential/required tool for precision reloading.
Could easily be something with primers or ignition system though....just tossing it out there as a possibility if everything else checks out.
At the very least you could get your dies setup correctly, vs how you have them now (i.e. i can guarantee you're oversizing as is).
For bolt guns you generally want to shoot for a .002 bump. For gas guns, somewhere in the range of ~.004-.005.
Edit: If you don't have one, you can get away with using a deprimed .40 S&W case as a comparator on a .308.
Probably a good time to mention... after the root cause it discovered... it is still a good time to understand your bolt maintenance and interval. I can’t tell you how often I have had to clean up a click-no-bang issue on hunting trips and on the firing lines during a match. I have probably done this over a hundred times in 40 years, because it is so common. Also, between work I have done for the GOV and LE I can tell you it is a much more common failure caused by a lack of maintenance than individuals realize.
At least once a year, and more often if you operate in wet or dusty conditions, you should clean and relubricate your bolt assembly.
I’m not saying this is your cause, but I am pointing it out because it is one of the most common field failures right next to triggers and optics. Good luck with the debug, I hope you find it quickly.
At least once a year, and more often if you operate in wet or dusty conditions, you should clean and relubricate your bolt assembly.
I’m not saying this is your cause, but I am pointing it out because it is one of the most common field failures right next to triggers and optics. Good luck with the debug, I hope you find it quickly.
Alright so, I disassembled the bolt. Firing pin and spring were clean and good to go. Firing pin protrusion is also good.
I also measured the headspace on the cases that failed to fire. 1.620,1.621,1.620,1.621, 1.620
I also bought some FGMM ammo, measured the first 5 out of the box. All were 1.620. And it fired all 20 rds of the FGMM(quite accuractly too). So I guess it’s not headspace or rifle driven.
I also measured the headspace on the cases that failed to fire. 1.620,1.621,1.620,1.621, 1.620
I also bought some FGMM ammo, measured the first 5 out of the box. All were 1.620. And it fired all 20 rds of the FGMM(quite accuractly too). So I guess it’s not headspace or rifle driven.
Good move by tesing with some factory ammo.
So . . . apparently, something is going on with those particular cases and/or how they're loaded. You might check to see how deep you're seating those primers. I'd say,seat them no deeper than .003 - .004 below the base. CCI primers have always worked well for me, though this doesn't mean there aren't any bad one's out there. Keep in mind the CCI primers have a little harder material for firing pins to dent than some other primers (like say, Federal 210's). So, if seating depth is just fine, you might try a different primer to see if that'll solve this problem.
A safety note about squib loads may be appropriate here. If you have a round that has only a primer, no powder or a very small amount of powder, it may cause a bullet to become lodged in the barrel and a barrel thus obstructed is a serious safety issue.
I believe I found the issue. Me not being patient and using still damp brass. I pulled apart the first cartridge and dumped the powder. In the bottom was , I’d guess, 5 grs of clumped powder clinging to the brass. Popped the primer out and that looked wet as well.
I appreciate everyone chiming in and helping me narrow it down. I get so antsy with new rifles haha, just got to go.
MikeMcCasland, thanks for bringing up the possible sizing issue. I’ll go ahead and set my die for less shoulder bump.
MikeMcCasland, thanks for bringing up the possible sizing issue. I’ll go ahead and set my die for less shoulder bump.
Thanks for keeping us informed of your findings! Everything learned from other reloaders is of benefit to all.
