NATO surplus 7.62 x 51 in bolt?

[devildawg2531]

I have a LOT of 1993 RadGreen NATO surplus 7.62 x 51 that I have shot for years in M1A, Saiga, PTR 91, various AR's with no issue. Its been about a 2 -3 MOA round but very reliable. Today I shot some in a bolt gun but had several primer strikes where nothing happened. I would load again and sometimes 2 or 3 times later it fired. The ammo has always been stored in doors in climate controlled (at least for the last 15 years or so that I've had it). Anyway is there something unique about a bolt gun that would make 7.62 x 51 unreliable or could the age of this ammo be causing it to not fire sometimes now (maybe 20% of the rounds had this issue today). The gun has been 100% previously and I switched to FGMM 308 after the issue today and the FGMM was fine. Thoughts?

 

[OREGUN]

Which action? Likely a lighter primer strike than the ammo likes. If it’s a custom action, that’s even more likely.

 

[devildawg2531]

Bergara HMR Pro

 

[OREGUN]

I don’t know the first thing about Bergaras, or about a lot of things for that matter, but I would guess that the primer cups are hard...certainly harder than FGMM...and the firing pin on the Bergara is hitting it a little soft. If the ammo shoots reliably in another gun, it’s almost certainly not spoiled primers...considering they’re probably crimped and sealed in place, it’s really unlikely.

 

[OREGUN]

You could try disassembling, cleaning, inspecting and lubricating you bolt/firing pin assemblies. A weak firing pin spring could be an issue, maybe some damage to the firing pin or spring, maybe a glob of dried out grease and dirt is slowing the firing pin down too much...or something really unlikely like a manufacturing defect that misaligned the firing pin in the bolt face. But, I’m a believer in Occam’s Razor. Hard primers are the simplest and most likely answer.

 

[isofahunter]

Hard Primer Cup would be first guess.

 

[Ledzep]

Yup, thick military primer cup would be my bet, too. Toss it in an M1a or AR10 and you'll rock and roll.

 

[Faronth]

Yup, thick military primer cup would be my bet, too. Toss it in an M1a or AR10 and you'll rock and roll.

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