Failure to Fire: Quick question

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kidneyboy said:
Hmm, If I have to lean on the press handle for priming I stop and toss that piece of brass. If the primer is stuck in the brass it goes too.
Likewise if the primer pocket is loose. I resize and prime as a separate operation and anything that feels or seems out of the norm gets special attention.
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You underestimate the effort I will expend to save three cents...
 
460Shooter said:
One, the primer did fire, but being out just far enough, it didn't spark the powder. However, this seems like I would've gotten some indicator that it sparked. In fact I have seen a powderless cartridge cause a squib before.
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The primer has a tremendous amount power, enough to push the bullet out of the case and jammed into the lands. If the primer ignited, you would know it, so what you describe can’t happen.

As others have said, sounds like it wasn’t seated deep enough. The other possibility is a defective primer. Just recently, I found a primer with the anvil flipped, and managed to spot it on the flip tray. I also had a dud rifle primer that had no primer compound. I’ve also heard of a missing anvil. Would be interesting to see the primer in question.
 
Toprudder said:
The primer has a tremendous amount power, enough to push the bullet out of the case and jammed into the lands. If the primer ignited, you would know it, so what you describe can’t happen.
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Right. I'd expect a squib at least.

Toprudder said:
Would be interesting to see the primer in question.
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I'll try to remember to take a picture. What threw me off is that the primer strike seemed light. Tried it a second time.

But yes, it seems it just wasn't seated deep enough to get adequate resistance to movement and allow it to fire. I'm tempted to pull it, seat that primer a bit deeper, reload it and see if it'd fire.
 
Hmmm, most likely a short seated primer or maybe that is what Vladimir Putin and his people want you to think!
 
Yea, that bad boy didn't have a chance. I doubt it will fire now even if fully seated and tried again.
 
So to me it seems there are two possibilities. One, the primer did fire, but being out just far enough, it didn't spark the powder.

What seems more likely is that with the primer pushed out just a hair, the striker was not able to reach full velocity, thus resulting in a light strike and failure to fire.

What do you all think?
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I don’t think it’s either of the above.

If the powder will burn and the flash hole exists and there is ignition from the primer it’s going to go off. Even if the powder doesn’t burn or there is none the bullet will move from its original position.

Just because you had a primer not fully seated won’t effect the velocity the striker travels, that’s controlled by the spring. Not having a primer fully seated would be more like trying to drive a nail into a board your holding in the air vs setting on a bench.

I too would pull, if it mattered to me. I have seen some that had no anvils in them before, and simply “duds” it doesn’t happen often but does happen.
 
jmorris said:
If the powder will burn and the flash hole exists and there is ignition from the primer it’s going to go off. Even if the powder doesn’t burn or there is none the bullet will move from its original position.
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Right and after reading responses and pondering things I realize this isn't possible. I had a factory squib once where there was either no, or so little powder in the case it didn't fire. The bullet moved and left odd marks on the cylinder face. I believe, in hind sight there was an under charge on it, and it was a cowboy load.

I have heard some powders can be a little position sensitive, but I realize this simply can't be the issue here. These were loaded with 6.3 gr of Unique. that powder is way to fluffy and fills the case way too much for this to be the potential problem.

jmorris said:
Just because you had a primer not fully seated won’t effect the velocity the striker travels, that’s controlled by the spring.
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Right, and I realize that now also. I mean it was just a theory based on what looked like a light primer strike. But if there is any issue with light strikes, either the striker spring needs replacing, or something is in the channel gumming things up. I need to clean the gun, and I'll check that. But, it's not like I'm checking primer strikes on every cartridge I fire. It may have looked light, but in hind sight, it probably wasn't.

jmorris said:
Not having a primer fully seated would be more like trying to drive a nail into a board your holding in the air vs setting on a bench.
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That's an excellent way to put it, and either the anvil is missing, or what you describe is the culprit.
 
I would think with a primer dent like that the anvil could be missing. Most primer strikes in a primer that didn't go off will look like a light strike because it didn't go off and push itself back against the firing pin while it was extended.
Being it wasn't fully seates the anvil isn't against the primer pellet so all bets are off. It takes an impact to set off a primer, if the firing pin is out of reach of pushing the anvil against the priming pellet hard enough, like others have already said, it's probably the reason it didn't go off.
 
tightgroup tiger said:
Most primer strikes in a primer that didn't go off will look like a light strike because it didn't go off and push itself back against the firing pin while it was extended.
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Hey that's a good point, and I'd bet an ice cream cone that's why the first primer strike looked light. I rechambered and tried a second time, which is why the primer strike looks strong.

I'd forgotten that. I shoot many thousands of rounds each year, and my shooting is only increasing with reloading habits, but in over a decade of doing so I've only had a handful of duds. Just plain forgot. I'm having an issue with a performance center revolver not firing consistently in DA. The FTF rounds always look like they have a light strike now that you mention it.
 
As mentioned before crud in the pocket could prevent the primer from fully seating. I've noticed that Winchester primers tend to leave more debris in the pocket than CCI primers. One of the reasons I've never bought a progressive press is because I'm pretty anal about cleaning the primer pocket.
As I've said before tumbling your brass and not cleaning the primer pocket is akin to washing your pants but not your underwear. :what:
 
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I've been loading on a 550B for 3 years now, and have concluded the priming system is the weak link. I don't get the "feel" that I do hand priming, and you don't have a chance to check it out until the cartridge is completed. Check them out before you shoot them. I always find a couple that need reseated.
 
brutus51 said:
Having to reseat a primer on a fully completed cartridge would definitely give me the willys.:uhoh:
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No way no how. I would pull the bullet and powder, reseat the primer, and then reassemble the cartridge.

I don't care how robust the primer might be. There's no way I'd ever be willing to put a loaded round on my press and push on the primer, especially just for academic purposes.

Just no.
 
460Shooter said:
I don't care how robust the primer might be. There's no way I'd ever be willing to put a loaded round on my press and push on the primer, especially just for academic purposes.
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I've done it a few hundred times for the specific purpose of seating a high primer better.

And the way the Lee Classic Turret is built, this actually happens at the bottom of every stroke (twice per round after the initial seating).
 
ATLDave said:
I've done it a few hundred times for the specific purpose of seating a high primer better.

And the way the Lee Classic Turret is built, this actually happens at the bottom of every stroke (twice per round after the initial seating).
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Did you do them on ones that failed to fire or on one that didn’t pass inspection and were fresh primers?
 
I have done it, I don't recommend it, and while the chance of an untouched primer going off from being seated further are one in a gazillion, and it would not explode even if it did, I don''t tell people to do it. Really no different than seating it halfway, pausing, then finish seating all the way.
ATLDave said:
The latter. Reseating dimpled primers WOULD make me nervous.
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Yea, not going to do it with a primer that has been hit and didn't go off.
 
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