Large Pistol Primer Question

[FitchHall]

THR,

I'm having light primer strikes with a Sig P220 shooting reloads.

The P220 fires flawlessly with factory ammo (S&B, Federal, American), but has light primer strikes (1 out of every 10-15) with my handloads.

I have loaded tens of thousands of hand-loads on my dillon SDB using Winchester Large Pistol primers. My Les Baer, Para, and all of my Kimbers have had no problem firing these hand-loads and never had a light primer strike out of these guns.

In my last batch of hand-loads, I took extra time to ensure that I wasn't seating the primer too deep into the pocket. I still had the same rate of light primer strikes in the P220.

I believed that it was the gun that was malfunctioning. My smith took a look at the Sig, cleaned up the firing pin and the notches that secure it, but was certain that it wasn't the gun since it fired factory ammo without fail.

He told me that I should switch to a "softer" primer if I wanted to practice with the Sig P220 using handloads.

Here are my questions:
(1) is it possible that it is the Sig that is the problem here and that I need to take it to another smith to work out the light primer strikes
(2) What primers are "softer" than Winchester Large Pistol?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Black Snowman]

The Federal primers are generally considered the softest.

It's possible you might have a worn or incorrect mainspring or mis-matched firing pin spring.

I always seat my primers as deeply as I can without forcing them. In a rifle the firing pin has enough energy that they will go off even if the firing pin moves the primer. In a pistol the strike isn't that strong and enough energy can be used up moving the primer that they don't go off.

I use CCI primers, which are considered the hardest. If I get a light strike I know it'smy primer depth and if it's a fail to fire i have a contamination problem because I know the gun is reliable with the hardest primers available.

YMMV and all that.

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Primers

In my Progressive Reloader sales I recommend using a identical batch of the same maker of brass that all have the same depth of primer pockets among other features. Adjust your progressive reloader so that you can feel the primers being accurately seated to the bottom.

Picked up range brass with differing primer pockets can allow some primers to not be seated to the bottom and when a primer is hit it can absorb some energy to move forward without igniting. In early CCI primers the compound of the primer compound was referred to as a "cake" and when primers were not seated to the bottom and absorbed a hit they often suffered a problem called "cracking the cake" so even though the primer moved forward the next hit often did not ignite the "Cracked Cake" particularly of CCI primers.

Because of this in my sales of Progressive Reloaders and injuries caused by CCI primers I have never recommended them. I mention problems to avoid in my booklet "How To Live With And Love Your Progressive Reloader" which I list on e-bay every so often.

My thousands of customers have advised me particularly Bullseye shooters to use Federal primers for the 25 yard range and Winchester primers for the 50 yard range because Federal are the most reliable but Winchesters are hotter for the longer range.

I often mention the old saying that "When You Buy Cheap, You get What You Pay For".

This is a personal observation about primers, not about pistols.
Fitz

 

[FitchHall]

Thanks for the info

THR,

Thank you for your input. It sounds like Federal primers are the way to go when I load practice ammo for the Sig.

This has always been a great way to receive and share information and ideas - thanks to all of you on The High Road.

 

[Jim Watson]

I am with Snowman.
If that is a stock P220 and your reloads work in a 1911 type, something is wrong and changing to the more sensitive Federal primers is a bandaid. I'd send it to Sigarms or a specialist gunsmith.

That said, primers must be seated fully. I loaded a lot on a SDB and had to work hard to bottom the primers. A high primer will often misfire but that does not explain why YOUR P220 misfires and the 1911s don't.

 

[JPM70535]

There is a simple way to eliminate the primers as the problem. Using a universal decapper or other method, deprime a batch of cases and clean the primer pockets thoroughly. Load the cases on your SDB as usual and compare the performance with that of your normal reloads. If the light primer strikes and FTF are eliminated, the Pistol is not at fault, Ditto the Winchester Primers. Most probably your SDB is just not seating the WW primers as deeply as other brands. Don't ask me why, but my SD in 45 ACP did the same thing and the only solution I found was to switch brands to Federal.

I permanently solved the problem by going to a 650 and selling the SD