40 S&W FTF with reloads

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BWstickman

BWstickman

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I know the prob I’m having could very well be my primers... I have a friend that works at a range and he got me a couple hundred range brass... I cleaned brass and after talking to guys on the forum I learned about this “glock bulge” issue... I noticed that my brass did have the bulge issue..
My reloading dies came in but my Redding G-RX Base Sizing Die Kit has not come in yet... So I was wanting to try my does and shoot a couple I went ahead and loaded 5 rounds... As far as my primers go my LGS had Small Pistol Mag Primers on hand so I bought a brick... So I took my 5 rounds out back too shoot... First round ftf... I went ahead and re chambered round and it fired... cycled next round and that fired... next round ftf... rechambered ftf... rechambered and fired... so basically I had 3 out of 5 rounds ftf... All rired after 2 or 3 attempts...

So what I was wondering is... could of the bulge not let my cartridge chamber far enough to let slide fully go into battery but far enough to allow my gun to fire? I know this kinda sounds weird but I’ve read on forums that this could be possible.

My next question if this in fact could happen could the ftf be from slide not fully be in battery?

That all my question thanks for any help... I’ve just got into reloading pistol and I’m learning it’s a little different then rifle cartridges....
 
By the context im assuming your using FTF as failure to fire?
On the rounds that didn't fire. How did the primer look? Was it indented at all?
Magnum pistol primers shouldn't really pose an issue. Any issues with light strikes in the past?

I would load a few more, make sure they pass the plunk test, and make sure the primers are fully seated.
 
Thanks for the quick response!!! Yes fail to fire... and yes there was a very slight indent in primer... No I never had a ftf issue in the past with this pistol but I’ve only prob shot 150 rounds through this pistol...

My base sizing die is suppose to arrive today and if it does I will try sizing 5 brass through it and then reload 5 more and try again... I was thinking if this prob persists maybe a stiffer striker assembly my work?
 
The primer needs to be seated firmly, just slightly below the case head so that the primer can be “armed” . The primer cup and anvil are almost up against each other so the primer will ignite when hit by the striker,firing pin etc.
 
BWstickman said:
Thanks for the quick response!!! Yes fail to fire... and yes there was a very slight indent in primer... No I never had a ftf issue in the past with this pistol but I’ve only prob shot 150 rounds through this pistol...

My base sizing die is suppose to arrive today and if it does I will try sizing 5 brass through it and then reload 5 more and try again... I was thinking if this prob persists maybe a stiffer striker assembly my work?
Click to expand...
Silly question: are you cleaning the primer pockets? As everyone else has said, it sure sounds like primers aren’t seated all the way. Check your priming process and maybe modify it to make sure you seat them right.
 
BWstickman said:
could of the bulge not let my cartridge chamber far enough to let slide fully go into battery but far enough to allow my gun to fire?
Click to expand...
Yes that’s possible. Not as likely as a misseated primer but possible. If that happens it’s likely to result in a ka-boom so do yourself a favor and make sure it’s not happening. Use unprimed rounds with no powder but otherwise complete. Verify the chamber is fully locked even with a bulged case.
 
BWstickman said:
I know the prob I’m having could very well be my primers... I have a friend that works at a range and he got me a couple hundred range brass... I cleaned brass and after talking to guys on the forum I learned about this “glock bulge” issue... I noticed that my brass did have the bulge issue..
My reloading dies came in but my Redding G-RX Base Sizing Die Kit has not come in yet... So I was wanting to try my does and shoot a couple I went ahead and loaded 5 rounds... As far as my primers go my LGS had Small Pistol Mag Primers on hand so I bought a brick... So I took my 5 rounds out back too shoot... First round ftf... I went ahead and re chambered round and it fired... cycled next round and that fired... next round ftf... rechambered ftf... rechambered and fired... so basically I had 3 out of 5 rounds ftf... All rired after 2 or 3 attempts...

So what I was wondering is... could of the bulge not let my cartridge chamber far enough to let slide fully go into battery but far enough to allow my gun to fire? I know this kinda sounds weird but I’ve read on forums that this could be possible.

My next question if this in fact could happen could the ftf be from slide not fully be in battery?

That all my question thanks for any help... I’ve just got into reloading pistol and I’m learning it’s a little different then rifle cartridges....
Click to expand...
Like @v8stang289 said, pull out your barrel and do the plunk test to be sure your cartridge is flush. Your bullet or case bulge could be preventing complete chambering.
 
gunlaw said:
You can reseat the primers
Click to expand...

Not a good idea to reseat primers inLOADED ammo on the press.

The OP has a classic "primers not seated correctly" as they went bang the second strike.

Dirty primer pockets? ( I doubt it) never cleaned a primer pocket
OP did not say how the primers were seated (what method/tool)

More concerning is if the round did not fully chamber!!. Did the OP plunk test them in the barrel of the gun??:what:
 
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...primers-before-shooting.832434/#post-10757047

Primers need to be seated until the anvil legs touch the bottom of the primer pocket (Minimum), and then a little more so the cup pushes down around the legs, up until it hits the bottom of the primer pocket (Maximum).

If seated to little (Anvil legs not touching the bottom of the primer pocket), the firing pin has to seat it fully and then have enough energy left over to crush the priming compound between the cup and the anvil. Sometimes it does not, these are the ones that so often fire on the second try. The first try seats them fully, the second try fires them.

bds has some great primer pics here somewhere that shows the cup and anvil and how they are positioned with each other prior to seating. The anvil legs are sticking out of the cup just a little bit.

After fully seating the anvil's legs and the primer cup is hard against the bottom of the pocket, it takes a great deal of pressure at this point to damage the primer so much it fails.

It is fairly easy to seat a primer too soft, not fully seating it, so that it misfires, but difficult to seat them so hard it damages them to the point of not firing. This statement is based on my decades of seating primers with various tools. I have never had one fail from being seated to hard/deep. Not saying that with some primer tools and some gorilla grips it can't be done, but it is 100/1000 times less likely to happen than seating one too shallow/soft.

We have threads here all the time when failures to fire end up being primers seated too softly/shallow. I can't remember one where it turned out someone managed to crush a primer into submission. I would suggest to all to try it. Some priming systems simply cannot do it for mechanical reasons. Some might have enough travel to do it if you have the strength, That cup surrounded by the brass primer pocket is tough to crush. Very tough.
 
Walkalong said:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...primers-before-shooting.832434/#post-10757047

Primers need to be seated until the anvil legs touch the bottom of the primer pocket (Minimum), and then a little more so the cup pushes down around the legs, up until it hits the bottom of the primer pocket (Maximum).

If seated to little (Anvil legs not touching the bottom of the primer pocket), the firing pin has to seat it fully and then have enough energy left over to crush the priming compound between the cup and the anvil. Sometimes it does not, these are the ones that so often fire on the second try. The first try seats them fully, the second try fires them.

bds has some great primer pics here somewhere that shows the cup and anvil and how they are positioned with each other prior to seating. The anvil legs are sticking out of the cup just a little bit.

After fully seating the anvil's legs and the primer cup is hard against the bottom of the pocket, it takes a great deal of pressure at this point to damage the primer so much it fails.

It is fairly easy to seat a primer too soft, not fully seating it, so that it misfires, but difficult to seat them so hard it damages them to the point of not firing. This statement is based on my decades of seating primers with various tools. I have never had one fail from being seated to hard/deep. Not saying that with some primer tools and some gorilla grips it can't be done, but it is 100/1000 times less likely to happen than seating one too shallow/soft.

We have threads here all the time when failures to fire end up being primers seated too softly/shallow. I can't remember one where it turned out someone managed to crush a primer into submission. I would suggest to all to try it. Some priming systems simply cannot do it for mechanical reasons. Some might have enough travel to do it if you have the strength, That cup surrounded by the brass primer pocket is tough to crush. Very tough.
Click to expand...
I have the anvil of my FA hand priming tool adjusted high enough that if I really put the arbor wrench grip to it I can flatten the primer a little. Never had a FTF because of the primer. Yet. Let’s not tempt fate.
 
I agree with the majority that it is most likely improperly seated primers.

v8stang289 said:
....
I would load a few more, make sure they pass the plunk test, and make sure the primers are fully seated.
Click to expand...

Try the plunk test first.

GeoDudeFlorida said:
Yes that’s possible. Not as likely as a misseated primer but possible. If that happens it’s likely to result in a ka-boom so do yourself a favor and make sure it’s not happening. Use unprimed rounds with no powder but otherwise complete. Verify the chamber is fully locked even with a bulged case.
Click to expand...

Then work up some dummies. You can use these to check your dies.

I've noticed on occasion when seating and crimping the bullet with a single die, if I get things "too tight", it prevents the cartridge from seating properly. This in turn doesn't allow the slide to properly lock up. For me, this seems to happen more frequently with the .40 than other handgun cartridges.
 
G
Rule3 said:
Not a good idea to reseat primers inLOADED ammo on the press.

The OP has a classic "primers not seated correctly" as they went bang the second strike.

Dirty primer pockets? ( I doubt it) never cleaned a primer pocket
OP did not say how the primers were seated (what method/tool)

More concerning is if the round did not fully chamber!!. Did the OP plunk test them in the barrel of the gun??:what:
Click to expand...
Good point I withdraw my advice.
 
BWstickman said:
Thanks for all the great info!!! I’ll be revisiting this dilemma after my bulge buster die c9mes in
Click to expand...
I would recommend you spend money on a case gauge first before getting a tool you may not need or use. I’ve picked up many once fired.40’s from an LE range and not once had a bulge issue.
If you don’t have a single or 100 case gauge then use your barrel and do a plunk test on both a sized only case and a finished round. Testing the sized case let’s you know that step in your process is complete. Testing again with a finished round tests the seating the crimping operations. Max COL needs to be determined for each barrel you’re reloading for.
You didn’t mention your firearm but it’d be nice to know if it shoots factory ammunition ok, then, yes, it’s something to do with your reloads. As others have said, it’s most likely high primers. Good luck.
 
S&W M&P Shield... primers are seating so easy I can press them in with just thumb pressure on my primer seat tool... Easiest primers I’ve ever seated!!! I’m prob gonna get that gauge your talking about

No plunk test
 
FWIW:

You need to check your shield's bbl to see if it's a fully supported bbl. S&W put out a bunch of shield's that have an un-supported bbl and the end result is the "glock bulge" in the cases with hot loads. A picture of 9mm brass fired from a shield that are bulged, they have a round fp hit (glocks are flat/square). Note the heavy ring/scratches left on the base of the sized bullets removing the bulge.
6CLjnOn.jpg

This is what starline brass has to say when you click on the description link for their 9mm brass:

9mm brass: also known as 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger and 9x19mm. This cartridge is now one of the most popular pistol cartridges in the world. **NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN S&W SHIELD PISTOLS WITH NEAR-MAX OR +P LOADS, DUE TO POORLY SUPPORTED CHAMBER CONDITION** WE ALSO DON'T RECOMMEND USING THIS BRASS IN S&W 929 REVOLVERS DUE TO HARD EJECTION ISSUES.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/9mm-luger-brass/

I understand you're using a 40s&w bbl, it's good to check anyway
 
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