Finally figured out my dud rounds.

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SASS#23149

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well, son of a gun.

for a couple of years i've had way too many 'dud primer's' with a couple of my handguns. always tried to blame the primers,and/ or myself.

well...it turns out that the Lee Ram Prime that I've been using....no idea where I got it..had the wrong spring in it,and instead of actually seating the primer fully, what I was feeling was the unit 'bottoming out' on the fully compressed coil spring.

cllipped a bit off of the spring, , went to test some rounds...NO misfires !

..a simple fix that took me 2 years to figure out,since I only load on the single stage Lee a couple of times a year.
One of those times I had loaded my cowboy match ammo on the Lee,boy did that make for lousy stage times !
Glad that one finally got figure out.
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Definitely happens. Had something similar here too. If you dont quite seat them fully they can crater too even when the pressure is not up high.
 
Regardless of priming method used (hand prime or press prime), I always attempt to seat primers below flush with goal of .004" below flush.

My quality control check is loading finished rounds primer side up in ammo/reloading tray and feeling the primers with minimal acceptance of flush seated primers. Any high primer felt with finger tips (believe me, finger tips are more sensitive than aging eyes) gets seated again in a hand priming tool.

I currently experience 0% primer related failure to fire using various CCI, Fiocchi, Magtech, PMC, S&B, Winchester, Wolf primers loading 380/9/40/45/223/300BLK/308. I had a particular lot of Tula SP with thicker cups that occasionally failed to fire and have not bought anymore Tula primers since.
 
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Agreed, i always run my finger over the seated primer. And instantly feel if its flush or a few thous below.
 
Glad to hear you finally figured out the problem. I suggest you contact Lee for the correct and new spring. They will probably send it free.

I agree with the above, I always run my finger over the primers of loaded rounds to be sure they are seated fully.
 
In this hobby we constantly have to be on the watch for a "Murphy". (as in Murphy's Law) Good catch on your primer tool!

Many who load on progressives have or have had primer seating problems....or at least have a hard time getting them to seat to the right depth every time. Each color of press have their own things to work out.....especially since cases come in different brands and batches that make their primer pocket depth a moving target. Some give up and prime in a hand or bench tool where "feel" is useful.

For me....using an RCBS Pro 2000, which is one that has a primer seating depth gauge, my Murphy's disappeared when I learned to use a primer pocket uniformer on each case before I start them into the progressive press. That way each and every pocket is cut to the same depth, so that the "gauge" sets all primers just exactly where they need to be. I uniform during case prep in big batches separate from reloading sessions.

Other presses used in "priming on the press" probably could benefit from a uniformer too.;)
 
For me....using an RCBS Pro 2000, which is one that has a primer seating depth gauge, my Murphy's disappeared when I learned to use a primer pocket uniformer on each case before I start them into the progressive press. That way each and every pocket is cut to the same depth, so that the "gauge" sets all primers just exactly where they need to be. I uniform during case prep in big batches separate from reloading sessions.

Other presses used in "priming on the press" probably could benefit from a uniformer too.
I think that is smart and agree it would have benefits when priming on the press.
 
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