Have you ever made a dud?

[rskent]

Twice in the last month I have had a dud. They are my own loads (223).
Two separate loadings from the same lot of powder (H335) and the same
lot of primers (CCI).
After taking them apart I noticed that the primer has gone off and started
to ignite the powder, or at least the powder has changed color at the rear
of the case next to the primer. I have no Idea what is going on.

Any ideas?
Steve

 

[jcwit]

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!

 

[jcwit]

Seriously, what is your load?
Powder
How much

 

[bullseye308]

I would think first off of what contaminated the powder. Was it a wet case, excess lube, that I would look at first.

 

[mraymiller]

Have you been checking the flash holes after cleaning your brass? A little grain of corn cob can be easy to miss when you are anxious to seat primers.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Corn cob or walnut in the flash hole will not stop the powder from igniting. The primer will blast the media into the case. That was tested on here about a year or two ago. Somehow you either got bad powder or you have succeded in contaminating the powder...
[And no I have never loaded a "dud"]

 

[fireman 9731]

I have had one dud in my brief reloading career...

I'm not sure what happened... it was a 22-250 loaded with an average load of IMR 4895, CCI primer, and a 55gr FMJ.

I pulled the trigger, heard a little whoomph.... waited a minute then opened the bolt to find the bullet completely inside the case, still full of powder.

I guess the primer had enough oomph to force it out of the case, then bounce it off the lands, and back into the case....

I marked it up to powder contaminated by the PIA RCBS case lube and pad.

The bullet bouncing completely back into the case though has me stumped....

 

[Sport45]

I've loaded a few without powder on my 550b when the linkage on the powder measure got loose and the square nylon washer fell out. Luckily, cast bullets aren't too hard to push out of pistol barrels.

I never load rifle ammo on my progressive press and have never had a rifle cartridge fail to go off. The bullet doesn't always hit close enough to the previous shot, but they all go off.

 

[lgbloader]

It should not happen. it's like a woman putting on a feminine napkin adhesive side up. you have to Pay attention to what your doing.

LGB

 

[jcwit]

I loaded 7.62 x 39 ammo with 4227 and had problems with powder ignition. Switched to 1680 powder and end of problem, no misfires or anything.

I now use 4227 in my 30 carbine with excellant results and 1680 in my SKS 7.62 x 39 with excellant results.

Why? Who knows? Whatever the reason I no longer have the problem.

No the powder was not contaminated and the cases were dry with no oil/lube present. Just one of those posers. Primers were the same as I'm still using so that wasn't it either.

 

[gbw]

In approx. 280,000 rounds, I've found perhaps 10 with primer upside loaded down. Never actually tried to fire one, I always found them beforehand, so I don't know if that counts or not. I use an old Dillon RL450. Otherwise, I don't think so. I've never had a primer fail in a reloaded cartridge either that I can recall.

 

[Walkalong]

Nope. It is hard to do actually, unless you try of course.

 

[rcmodel]

H335 is spherical powder.
And spherical powder load data almost always says to use Magnum primers.

Still, I can't imagine any circumstances where a standard primer would fail to light a standard charge of spherical powder.

Unless the powder was contaminated with oil or water.
Or the temperature was 65 below zero.

BTW: I am of the opinion that a speck of tumbler media in the flash hole would stand about the same chance as a fart in a hurricane when a primer went off behind it.

Primer cup pressure runs to several thousand PSI of white hot gas. A speck of media would be blown out and completely vaporized in an instant.

rc

 

[rskent]

Thanks for the help

OK
Bullseye308: Thanks for some good ideas. I don’t think the case was wet.
I wiped the lube off the cases with a towel. I suppose I could have missed some. How would I contaminate only 1 round worth of powder?

Mraymiller: Thanks for the help. It was new brass that I use only for matches, so no tumbling.

Rcmodel: Thanks for the help. I wonder if I got some oil on my press and somehow it ended up on the primer. I prime by hand so I don’t see how. But I will check it out.

Thanks all for your help

Jcwit: I don’t appreciate your wit.

 

[Walkalong]

jcwit meant no harm, I can assure you. Lighten up, we joke around, around here.

 

[aerod1]

Yep, I sure have.

 

[lgbloader]

BTW: I am of the opinion that a speck of tumbler media in the flash hole would stand about the same chance as a fart in a hurricane when a primer went off behind it.

That's a good one. I have to remember that next time I spare.

LGB

 

[bigione]

Two safety tips I taught my sons. Always check the powder charge with your cases lined up in the loading block by looking into each case with a flashlight. Set up a blank, ie, case with only a primer and fire it. Listen to that sound and if you ever hear that sound, empty the chamber and look thru the barrel to assure it is clear before firing another round. To the best of my knowledge, they or I have never had a dud except for one bad primer. We have loaded many thousands of rounds.