[jay524288]

I loaded up some 9mm ammo with Wolf magnum primers instead of standard primers. When I shoot them from either of my Glock-17s, about 10% fail to fire.
Both guns have fired thousands of other rounds without any problems.

On the rounds that don't go off, the primers are dented, but not very deeply.

Is there anything I can do to get the gun to reliably fire them? Would a stronger striker spring help?

Thanks.

[Marlin 45 carbine]

sure they are pistol primers? those nuts that shoot ISPC with the 9 use rifle primers to light off their powder to make MPF.
that's not for me, +P is plenty in the 9 Para.

[jay524288]

I'm as sure as I can be. The box they came from says "Small Pistol Magnum Primers".

[Walkalong]

Harder primers that take a bit more whack from the firing pin than your gun is giving them is my guess, although I am surprised the Glocks won't set them off.

Could be some bad primers, but not likely IMHO. Try them in another gun and see if it sets them off reliably.

[The Bushmaster]

Getting them seated deep enough?

[Marlin 45 carbine]

since you're sure they are pistol primers I ditto bushmaster.

[Walkalong]

Getting them seated deep enough? Excellent point that is easily overlooked.......Good thing The Bushmaster is around to keep us straight. :)

[243winxb]

spray firing pin area and gun with WD -40 or strip it and clean it.

[The Bushmaster]

KEEP WD-40 away from guns unless the are already rusted. WD-40 is for rusty bolts, screws and nuts...Or anything else that is rusted shut...

That leaves only one thing left...Disassemble and clean...

[Walkalong]

If too much oil is in the area of the firing pin/striker, it can make it sluggish and cause problems setting off primers. Oil the firing pin channel and parts, wipe them down thoroughly, and reassemble. No excess oil.

[jay524288]

The primers are seated to the correct depth - I've checked and double checked.

I thought it might be a dirty striker channel on the guns, so I stripped the slides and cleaned them thoroughly and made sure the channels were dry when I reassembled.

Harder primers that take a bit more whack from the firing pin than your gun is giving them is my guess, although I am surprised the Glocks won't set them off.

That's why I wondered if a stronger striker spring might help. I'd really like to find a way to shoot these in my gun, since I loaded about 2,000 rounds with these primers.

[243winxb]

Would a stronger striker spring help?
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[ArchAngelCD]

Before you go crazy I would suggest trying the gun with either older reloads where you know they all go bang or with some factory ammo. If those rounds fire fine you know there's something up with the primers. If not look to the pistol.

[Steve C]

The primers are seated to the correct depth - I've checked and double checked.

What exactly do you mean by "checked"? There's only one way to properly seat a primer and that's to the bottom of the primer pocket. Usually this is done by feel when you bottom out the primer. If you are doing measurements of depth you may or may not be seated into the bottom of the pocket.

When a primer fails to go off the most common reason is it wasn't seated to the bottom of the primer pocket and moves that little bit which absorbs too much of the firing pin impact to set it off. Usually these rounds will fire the next time as the first firing pin strike seats the primer the rest of the way. I have never seen a commercial primer that's properly seated fail to fire. I have seen some very hard primed 9mm surplus sub machine gun ammo fail to go off in pistols with light hammer strike like my Glock 19, but all fired with the heavier hit of my Browning HP and Beretta 92.

[jay524288]

What exactly do you mean by "checked"? There's only one way to properly seat a primer and that's to the bottom of the primer pocket. Usually this is done by feel when you bottom out the primer. If you are doing measurements of depth you may or may not be seated into the bottom of the pocket.


By checked, I mean that I visually inspected each case to make sure the primer was seated below flush. When I first found the problem, I reran all the rounds through the primer seating station, just to make sure the primers were seated deeper than flush with the case bottom.

I just replaced my striker spring with the extra power striker spring from Wolff. It did improve the situation, but I still got 2 misfires out of about 100 rounds. I measured the primer depth on the 2, and one primer is .005" below flush and the other is .010".

I reran both rounds through the seating station and really pulled on the lever (enough to torque my very sturdy bench) and was able to get them both .015" below flush. I don't think they are seated any deeper, but are just crushed some. I'll try try the same with some unfired rounds and see if they fire more reliably.

[JCisHe]

My question is... Did you do test rounds BEFORE you loaded 2k or did you just load 2k? The former would have been more intelligent than the latter.

[Sport45]

When I first found the problem, I reran all the rounds through the primer seating station, just to make sure the primers were seated deeper than flush with the case bottom.
..............
I reran both rounds through the seating station and really pulled on the lever (enough to torque my very sturdy bench) and was able to get them both .015" below flush. I don't think they are seated any deeper, but are just crushed some.

:eek: You reseated primers on loaded rounds to the point of crushing them???? :eek:

IMHO, common sense dictates that one should never press on the primer of a loaded round.

[ArchAngelCD]

Not many things scare me but pushing that hard on a loaded round's primer is scary. I know primers are designed to go bang when struck but who knows what could happen to the anvil if enough pressure is exerted on the primer to crush it. IMO you got a little lucky that time, I would test your luck again.

[claphoto]

I very much agree with JCisHe. 2000 rounds is a batch size that should be undertaken ONLY after proving the load with small batches FIRST. Also, if you are re-seating primers on loaded rounds, I think perhaps you should actually consider some life insurance. This is really a bad practice. Should you get hurt, you will contribute to giving handloaders a bad and unsafe reputation. Not what the anti-gun-liberals need right now. Do yourself and all of us a favor... shoot all the rounds off, pull the bullets out of the duds, and start over with small batches first. But really, whatever you do, don't re-seat any more live rounds.

[ArchAngelCD]

BTW, you never told us the recipe you are using. Is this a new recipe or and old and tested one? Did you make an adjustment for the Magnum primer or not?

[JCisHe]

Wow. Friend, read your reloading manuals from front to back before you load anymore. There is a wealth of information in there that might just save your life or stop you from hurting anyone else.

I hope you understand, no one is being harsh, but trying to teach you lessons that might SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Reloading is a VERY serious thing. Very serious indeed.

[Crownless]

I have this same problem in my Baby Eagle 9mm with Wolf SPM primers. About every 40th round Ill get a light primer strike. Give it another tap and they have always gone off the second time for me.

[FROGO207]

I WILL go into a burning building and put out a fire on a daily basis and rest assured I NEVER!!!! will reseat a primer on a loaded round. Go out and buy a lottery ticket now as you are the luckiest person I have heard about. When you win you can pay someone to load your ammo for you correctly and keep you safe.

[jay524288]

I appreciate your concern for my safety. I understand the risks and took precautions that I consider adequate. I did not just start reloading yesterday.

I'm not looking for a critique of my safety procedures. I am looking for suggestions that will make the rounds fire reliably from my gun, if possible. I've tried everything suggested so far. Is there anything else I can try or should I just accept that I'll get a lot of practice doing malfunction drills?

Thanks.

[psyop]

Friend, Get yourself a puller and pull down Disassemble those Cartridges. Chalk it up as experience. Like everyone has. Then get yourself a manual or 3. Bone up on your studies...like the rest of us. Now youre ready to start to work up.
This is a Great Hobby but one that has a minimal margin of error for Safety.

[Jim Watson]

I don't know The Answer, but you are not alone.
A shooter here also reports misfires with Wolf primers in a Glock. The Russian primers are apparently "harder" than American due to cup thickness, hardness, or primer mix composition. And the 5 lb striker spring in a Glock just does not hit as hard as a 19 lb hammer spring in my "old fashioned" 1911.

[psyop]

Lot Numbers?

So far 16000 Wolf SP / SPM to date with no FTF due to primer. Did have a few High primers in the batches though, which fired on the second..my bad.

[rogn]

When Ive loaded 300wsm w/ wolf LRM we get failures to fire in Browning A bolts and Savage SA. The Remmy 700 has not a bit of trouble, and the major difference is the 700 has a hefty spring and a bank vault firing pin. The lighter, faster smaller strikes of the other 2 just doesnt seem to set off the thick LRM cups. I suspect were seeing some thing similar w/ the lighter striker fired pistols. Just need more umph on the firing pin.

[243winxb]

Both guns have fired thousands of other rounds without any problems.On the rounds that don't go off, the primers are dented, but not very deeply

. How is the firing pin protrusion? Is the pin worn just a little shorter then what maybe a new pin would be? Is there any gas cutting of the pin nose from pierced primers? Seems the new spring helped some. Don't overdo the seating of the primer, if you can see day light when holding a straight edge acrosst the head, your good to go.