45 reloading questiion

i have been loading 45 rounds and everything seems to be going ok but every once in a round the round doesnt fire. cci primer is struck but round doesnt go off. middle of the range powder charge and it is the same charge as all the others. any suggestions? am i seating the bullet to far? i am using a progressive rcbs press.

Be sure the primers are fully seated; they should seat so that they are below the base of the cartridge.

If the primer isn't fully seated it may not ignite. A second try may ingite the primer, because the first strike seats the primer fully.

Edited to add: Depth of bullet seating won't cause the problem you are experiencing.

Are your primer pockets clean before seating the primer?

Have you ruled out an issue with the gun, meaning does it happen with factory ammo too?

Here is what you do:

Take your barrel out of the gun. Drop a few rounds into the barrel. If they do not freely fall in with a "plink" sound you might not be crimping enough. That would be a taper crimp of course. Otherwise your firing pin/spring might need replacing.

Let uns know how it worked out.

How would not crimping enough induce a failure to fire???

Sounds like a possible spotty lot of primers.

If you over crimp it will headspace on the extractor/be sloppy. Do not over "crimp".
Also, was this gun modified to make the trigger lighter etc? If it won't set off CCI something is wrong with the gun or how you're putting the loads together.

How would not crimping enough induce a failure to fire???
I once had a similar issue where some of my rounds that I forgot to crimp did not properly go into battery. Does not hurt to try out my suggestion.

My RCBS Pro 2000 had a over size shell plate return spring. It would coil bind before the primers would seat.
I cut some of the spring off and since I use mixed lots of brass I ditched the primer seating stop. Now I seat by feel.
I'm shooting a modified 45 ACP, S&W 625 revolver that needs well seated Federal primers to fire.

Are you getting a good indent on the primer when it fails to fire? Does it fire when struck a second time? This will help in determining the problem.

i am getting a good dent in the primer. it is happening in more than one gun so that is why i was thinking the crimp.

If your crimp was so poor the rounds were not chambering correctly and the slide was not going into battery all the way you would have noticed it because you would have at least an eigth of an inch of slide protruding out of battery and ther would be no primer indent.

If you don't seat the primer all the way to the bottom of the primer pocket, the anvil will float. When the firing pin strikes the primer, the anvil will not have anything to bear against and all that will happen is the firing pin will push the primer in deeper. But that will severely cushion the impact and the primer may not fire.

I know all the primers are seated properly

I know all the primers are seated properly

If they say it's not the money; it's the money! :cool:

How do you know the primers were seated properly? The press isn't sensitive enough to let you know that.

I have read some posts over the last several weeks about primers failing to ignite. The individuals say they haven't had the problem before and had just started using a new batch of primers. I don't remember if they where CCI or Winchester. You might contact CCI and see if they have had any complaints with the batch number of primers you are using. If so, they will replace them.

1. Primers are struck and don't fire
2. Happens on more than one gun.

JMO: It is a cartridge issue.
Drop a failed cartridge into the naked bbl and see that it seats on the casemouth with a clink. If it does, The only things that matter are the primer and primer seating.

THEN recock the hammer and hit it again. Do it twice. If it fires it is likely a primer seating issue. If it doesn't fire, it's a primer failure.

97% of primers not firing is from them not being seated deeply enough. 2.9% is from weak springs or shortened strain screws, and .1% is from bad primers.

This is a guesstimate, but you get the idea. :)

97% of primers not firing is from them not being seated deeply enough. 2.9% is from weak springs or shortened strain screws, and .1% is from bad primers.

This is a guesstimate, but you get the idea. :)
if you pass your finger over the round and you can feel the primer protruding, even if ever so slightly, it not seated enough.

As this CCI article states, high primers are the most common reason for misfires: the anvil must be firmly seated and pushed into the primer cake

http://www.shootingtimes.com/2011/01/04/ammunition_st_mamotaip_200909/

I agree with this being the 97% probability.

Ok so i found the problem. You were absolutely right. Some of the rounds that i have done fit easily into the barrel. Am i seating them to far? How do i fix this.

Can you take pictures of a cartridge in your barrel?

The base of the cartridge should be roughly even with the "hood" of the barrel. If it is too low, the cartridge may be headspacing on the extractor instead of the case mouth.

Can you take pictures of a completed round?

The diameter of the case at the bullet should be around 0.471", if I am remembering correctly. The case walls should appear straight. If there is a visible roll crimp, the crimp isn't correct.

How do you fix this? Here is how to check it.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

Here is a 9mm round in the barrel of a Steyr M9A1. Same thing for a .45ACP

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/44723422/bullet.jpg

Thank you everyone for your help. The culprit was that i was over crimping. Fix per you guys and back to reloadingg. Thanks again for all your guidance.

Overcrimping causes misfires???

Good grief!

I need to go smoke a controlled substance.

Overcrimping causes misfires???

Good grief!


I suppose it's possible if they are crimped so tightly that the case mouth fails to engage the chamber, coupled with a bullet that has its engagement surface relatively far to the rear. Add the factor of a somewhat loose extractor, maybe a slightly thinner rim and possibly a slightly shorter case. All those tolerances MIGHT stack up in the wrong direction and cause the occasional misfire.

That's a lot of stuff that has to happen at the same time, which might explain why the misfires are only occasional.

For what you describe to happen, the OP would have had to apply a .452" dismeter crimp. That is so far away from .470" that it would have been blatantly obvious.

My thought was that if he is using a progressive press, was to make sure that the round was being charged with powder, sometimes something can get out of time. Just my two cents. (Which are worth less now than four years ago):neener: