Primers falling out

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Sin City Shootist

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I've loaded about 150 rounds of .243. Nothing over max load. The primers are falling out, the rounds were never fired and still have powder in them. Basically, I chambered the round only to find the primer fell out. The brass is new never used Winchester. Seating all felt good, nothing loose. This has happened 3 or 4 times. Anyone care to take a guess why this is happening? Oh Remington primers.
 
Bad batch of primers or bad batch of brass?

I would take some measurements of a unused primer and if you can do the same to the primer pocket.
 
Do you have more than one manufacturer's primers? If yes, use your caliper to measure the OD of the primers to see if one is slightly larger than the other. Like Xfire suggested, take some measurements and see if you can pinpoint the problem.
 
Did you notice that they were abnormally easy to seat on the press? I use a Lee turret and it's pretty easy to tell if one pocket is too loose or too tight. These must have seated with no pressure at all, I'm thinking.
 
If it's truly new brass, then measurements of the two components needs to be taken. Either the primers are undersize, or the loose brass primer pocket is oversize, or a combination of both.



NCsmitty
 
Yup, band new brass. I opened the bag. Primers did not seem like they went in easy at all. Felt like normal seating pressure.

Pocket was .199 and I grabbed a primer and it was .210
 
Are those measurements from the cases where the primers fell out? How much spread is there among the other cases and primers? Also, are there any unfired cartridges left? And were they checked?
 
A highly compressed load or seating the bullet with a very quick pull? Pushing the primers out or making them loose when you seat the bullet?
 
The cartridge listed was one of the ones the primer fell out of. No, I didn't check any others but I do have a few left. The primer was one I pulled out of the primer dispenser.

The last one that fell out was a 105g Amax with 40.0g of RL-17. Not listed as a compressed load.

I'm going to try some wolf primers and see what happens.
 
Nor will anything else that I know of.

Something is amiss with some of the primer pockets, or some of the primers are too small.

Thats the only two things it can be.

Quite frankly, I have never even heard of a new primer falling out of a new un-fired case in over 60 years of shooting & 47 years of reloading.

rc
 
Just to add. I was at a less charge of 38.5g of RL-17 and it did it too. Also with 95g SMK's. I honestly think its the primers because a few times they wouldn't feed in the dispenser. Seemed like they were to tall to slide down the primer dispenser rail.
 
Primer pocket crush:

I am only guessing but it would appear most reloaders are exempt from perimeters, I have restored worn holes with bushings and or sleeves that did not have a crush fit = to the difference between the inside diameter of the primer pocket and the outside diameter of the primer, so I believe there is a problem with the method used to measure the hole (primer pocket). Some of the holes the holes were bored out from 4" to 4.250

I have used a heavy press to push bushings and or sleeves with a .002 thousands crush, the difference in measuring? I use an inside micrometer or a transfer or a ball micrometer or a blind hole micrometer, but a .210 primer is not going to go into a primer pocket that measures .199.

Installing a primer is lik-en to installing a welsh plug, core hole plug or freeze plug, I have installed bushings and or sleeves with a 10 pound sledge hammer, and no I did not swing over head, that is too much work I used the drop method as pick the hammer up and drop it, and there you go, if the sleeve does not move I measure again THEN get a bigger hammer, swinging like John Henry can cause peripheral damage

Had a friend call me and ask if I knew what a wedge head was, I answered with "Don't tell me. let me Guess...you....."?

Tools that could be used. primer pocket uniformer and a military crimp remover tool BUT, I would suggest the reloader measure the outside diameter of the tool first, to avoid removing the crush and or interference fit between the primer pocket and primer.

F. Guffey
 
Pocket was .199 and I grabbed a primer and it was .210
Click to expand...

Recheck that pocket measurement, because thats way to tight. Most of my .308 brass measures .208"-.209", and the primers at .210" .011" press fit ain't happening. You probably just crushed the primer if it really is that tight, and it fell out.
 
I agree .199" can't be right.

I doubt you could even get a LR primer to go in a hole .011" smaller then it is by crushing it.

BTW: Didn't have any SR or SP primers floating around near the reloading bench did you?

rc
 
I'll double check that again when I get home. I will also check against some of the brass that did not fail and with a few new ones. I was using my calipers because I was too lazy to walk out to my toolbox for a real mic. I've never checked the inside measurement arms of the calipers, only the outside, so they may be off.

I do have other primers on the bench but they come out of the box and straight into the dispenser(white for large, black for small)which I have written on them what they are in big letters. Besides, wouldn't the small primers just fall out by taping them on the table?
Crushed primer, I might buy that. I am using a new press, Lee single breech lock. None of the primers felt loose at all or went in hard.
 
Yes, SM primers measure .175" and they would very likely just fall out of a .210" hole immediately when you removed the priming arm unless they were really crushed in place.

If they were in fact crushed SM primers, it should be readily apparent just by looking at them after they fell out.

As for crushed LG primers?
In my experience, that makes them fit tighter, not looser.

For instance, using an old case with a loose primer pocket, you can crush the primer in with extra force and it will expand the primer cup to fit the loose pocket tight enough to use it one more time.

NOT recommended, but thats what actually happens.

rc
 
Not sure what's left here, guys. The OP says they didn't feel loose, and if pressure of a compressed load or very fast bullet seating won't push out a primer, what else is there?
 

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You can use calipers. Push out a spent primer and measure its diameter.

Heck, pull some of the remaining cartridges and carefully push out the primers. See if they're loose.

Perhaps the brass has had some kind of lube applied that needs to be removed.
 
The factory doesn't always make them right.
I once had some .25-06 RP with primer pockets too deep. A primer seated to the bottom was out of reach of the firing pin. I seated primers flush and they all fired but accuracy was not great.
 
I guess I was tired when I measured the pockets or had the caliper to deep and the sides pushed in causing a false reading. I just rechecked the one that failed and it was .210 not .199

I shoot on a blanket in prone most of the time so the next time it happens I'll search for the primer and then remeasure every thing.

Other then tired brass, I've never had a problem with this.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
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