Large Rifle Primer Failure

[Ahampton7mm]

View attachment 7524086
This is my first time reloading Large Rifle Primers. Using Federals. Shot during powder charge tests. First round fired, next two didn’t! I then moved on to heavier powder charge and same damn thing. 2/6 cartridges fired. The ones that didn’t fire are severely caved in and obviously have a strike. Help!!

I took it to say that you was trying to reuse primers by reloading them.

 

[TX_Sooner nee CO_Sooner]

My 2¢... Left primer looks to be pushed out of the primer pocket. It may be angle of picture. Left is obviously flattened (it is a sign of high pressure) but don't see signs of primer flow into primer pocket at the case base. See if you can measure the depth of each primer. And, also check the left to see if the primer is flush with base of case. Suspect it is since that is the round that fired. The case will be pressed against the bolt face during firing assuming there is powder which there was in this case (pun NOT intended). My thought agrees with at least one other that there is a sizing issue that allows the case to move in the chamber and thus absorbs firing pin energy and doesn't allow the firing pin to strike cup with enough force to ignite the primer material betweekn the cup and the anvil. Regarding the sizing issue my first thought is shoulder set back druing resizing. Also, check the two that didn't fire for primer material. And, check to see if the shoulders the same distance from the case base for the one that fired and the two that didn't. Trying to keep up with primer demand may mean QC slipped some. Thought I had a picture of sever primer flow that I found in 9mm range brass but, alas, I cannot find it. The primer flow fill the complete cup and very small amount flowed over the lip around the cup. Who fired that round is playing with fire. If turn it up will post.

 

[FCS]

All the radius left on this primer and people are saying primer is flat?!
I’m calling BS.

 

[zeroz]

If that's a flat primer I have overpressure in everything, LOL!

Add my guess to the no powder poll. I've done it a couple times too (head hanging in shame). Once was this year on the old lady's rifle. She squeezed and no bang. Looked at me like WTF. Came home, pulled, and shit, no charge! I fessed up and now she jabs at me once in awhile, "Is this one gonna go bang or not?" Guess I deserve it since I'm always taking credit for her good shooting, "Whoever made that ammo, sure has their shit together". Getting distracted while loading can be a killer, literally.

 

[TicTacTex]

I’ve witnessed two duds being fired before, both in my rifles, but I wasn’t shooting, nor were they my hand loads, and both times they lodged the projectile in the barrel.
One was a .223, the other was a .35 Remington

I thought that just about any cartridge style, the primer itself was enough to get the projectile moving?

 

[ross2681]

if the primer is not seated properly it will move forward with firing pin strike but anvil is not impacting hard enough to fire, a second firing pin strike will generally set it off unless primer was crushed during seating. the extractor will hold the case against bolt , it is unlikely case is moving forward . primer cup depth varies between brands of cases as does wall thickness and powder capacity. good advice to pull bullet and check for powder. lee universal de priming die will let you check primer for compound ,will distort anvil and primer cup.

 

[AussieRob]

First things first. Are you using new cases or previously fired cases in your rifle. If full length resizing only resize 2 thou in a bolt gun. What make of brass is it? I had 3 misfires with new Lapua brass in my improved chamber when fireforming. Went home dropped the powder created false shoulders on the cases insert primers and they fired fine. The base to shoulder was 5-10 thou short on the three that miss fired so if you have resized to the full extent of your die it may be way too much. With fired brass use a primer pocket uniformer to ensure the primer is seated correctly and that the anvil is seated on the bottom of the pocket and will cause the priming mixture to ignite when struck by the firing pin. Your primers even with a firing pin indentation is no indication that they are fully seated and I would guess this is your cases or you have excessive headspace, you can get dud primers but in the world of today it is less likely to be that rather than the other problems.

 

[Slab74]

I have done this several times with brand new star line 10mm brass. I did not seat the primer properly, do to the extremely tight primer pockets. I hand prime everything and I tell myself every time to make sure to fully seat them and then the rechamber of shame happens at the range. Always goes off the second time around. I’ve reloaded 1,000’s of .45 without a single issue, but that tight ass star line 10mm gets me about 1 out of a 100.

 

[SkiB4]

UPDATE:

okay so first thing I did was set the primers deeper. I was just going by first resistance by feel (works perfect for my 6mm Creed, single digit SDs and never misfired). I reset all primers deeper in the primer pocket and tried firing them. No boom. Now today I got around to pulling the bullets and depriming the three rounds that did fire, and five rounds that did not fire. The picture below shows two of the primers that did not fire and the two on the right obviously did fire just fine. Is that color messed up?? I examined all the powder, nothing looks out of the ordinary. I then checked shoulders. I had set all shoulders back .0015-.0020. Ran the misfires through the shoulder gauge on my calipers and they’re ~.002 bumped from the fired cases. In one hand I want it to be bad primers so I know what’s going on, but if this is the case, I have 2,000 of the things now worthless. Comments??

 

[myronman3]

i’ve done a pile of handloading...and i can’t remember having a primer not because it was bad. maybe from handling it perhaps? i know it doesnt take much and i was taught that even oil from your fingers can muck them up.

 

[918v]

The oil from your fingers does not muck them up.

OP,

Take the cases that did not fire, size the necks, press in new primers so that you feel them bottom out and then give it a little more pressure. Then charge and seat your bullets.

 

[smoooth1]

UPDATE: View attachment 7531231okay so first thing I did was set the primers deeper. I was just going by first resistance by feel (works perfect for my 6mm Creed, single digit SDs and never misfired). I reset all primers deeper in the primer pocket and tried firing them. No boom. Now today I got around to pulling the bullets and depriming the three rounds that did fire, and five rounds that did not fire. The picture below shows two of the primers that did not fire and the two on the right obviously did fire just fine. Is that color messed up?? I examined all the powder, nothing looks out of the ordinary. I then checked shoulders. I had set all shoulders back .0015-.0020. Ran the misfires through the shoulder gauge on my calipers and they’re ~.002 bumped from the fired cases. In one hand I want it to be bad primers so I know what’s going on, but if this is the case, I have 2,000 of the things now worthless. Comments??

Smack one of the unfired primers with a hammer, or toss one in a fire, and see if anything happens, at least you will know if there is any life in them.