Primer not firing

[rjohnson4405]

I am having trouble with some primers taking two or three hits to ignite. It's not real common, like 2 in every hundred or so, but I'm kind of concerned. We are using Win 296 with Federal Magnum Primers. Our other setup is Alliant Unique with CCI Small Pistol primers and it has some of the same problems. Could it be environment or is it the way the primers are seated?

I didn't think our loads would be as reliable as factory ammo, but I was thinking it would be better than this.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

-rjohnson4405

 

[Walkalong]

May not be seated all the way. First one or two strikes is wasting energy finishing seating the primer. Last strike fires the now fully seated primer. The Feds are generally considered the easiest to set off and the CCI's the hardest.

 

[strat81]

I've had some issues with CCI Small Pistol Primers and my Taurus 24/7. Occasionally 2 or 3 strikes won't set them off but I'll eject those rounds, load them in my Glock, and they fire on the first pull. I don't know if those are the primers I've touched and have contaminated or if the firing pin spring is weak in the Taurus (striker-fired).

Since you mention two different brands of primers, I wouldn't blame them. I'd check the firing pin spring (or hammer spring) or check your technique to make sure you aren't man-handling them.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Insure you seat the primers blow the case head at least .002 to .005" If they seat deeper...Good.

 

[tkendrick]

I would call two out of a hundred, extremely poor!

While I know I've had some reloads that have done this, I honestly can't remember the last time it happened.

I can think of several reasons that this could be happening. Start with the most obvious, and work your way back. For me, this would be:

1. Seating depth: the primer has to be seated all the way into the pocket.

2. Weak strike: You didn't say what gun you are using, but there could be a problem with the force of the primer strike. If you have been shooting factory ammo with no problem, you can probably rule this out.

3. Contaminated primers: It is possible that somehow your primers are being contaminated or not stored properly. This could lead to a failure to fire. However, since you state that they will eventually fire, I would tend to also rule this one out. Contaminated primers are usually permanently dead.

How are you seating your primers? Is there crud in the pocket? When you lube the cases, is it possible that lube is getting in the pocket?

My guess, without seeing your loads, is that you aren't completely seating the primer, as most previous posters have said. Start there, and let us know how it goes.

 

[rjohnson4405]

I will look at the seating depth as that seems a good place to start, anyone know if the depth is adjustable on the Hornady LNL press. Come to think of it I think there is an adjustable nut that will seat it deeper.

We are using a Ruger Security Six and a Puma 92 to fire these, the strikes look good, centered and plenty deep, but most of the energy must be used to seat the primer all the way.

Factory ammo is 100% so I doubt weak hammer strike.

Like you said, contamination unlikely if they eventually fire.

As far as the depth, I don't have a way to measure as precisely as .002 to
.005 so I'll probably just adjust it a little deeper each time until I get acceptable reliability.

Man-handling is probably a possiblity too as we are like two gorillas (new to reloading).

Thanks for the responses and keep them coming if you got ideas!

-rjohnson4405

 

[Walkalong]

I use an RCBS hand primer instead of priming on my Projector. No problems.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Then just push them in until they stop moving...I went looking for my depth mike and couldn't find it. Oh well. Like I said...Just push'em in until they stop moving...

 

[Ol` Joe]

To measure the depth of your primers take the tail of your caliper with the jaw opened a couple hundreths and press it down on the primer until the "handle" bottoms out. Read the scale to get your depth. A little practice and it is as easy as pie.