Primers popping?

[thefish]

Not technically a reloading question, but figured those who know would be in here.
I purchased a box of .308 Winchester perfecta loads at Walmart to get a new rifle sighted and broken in. Out of 15 rounds, about half of the primers popped out of the primer pocket upon firing.

Is this ammo junk? Just loose pockets?

It was the $15/box variety. Made in Italy, 150 grain. I was going to reuse the brass as I can't seem to find any locally.

TIA

 

[fguffey]

Out of 15 rounds, about half of the primers popped out of the primer pocket upon firing.

I will assume the make and model of rifle is unknown. My opinion, the rifle is already:

broken in.

There is no way a primer can back out and not reseat unless the load is reduced. I would suggest you find a way to determine the length of the chamber from the shoulder of the chamber to the bolt face.

I would suggest you learn to measure the length of the cases from the shoulder of the case to the case head.

F. Guffey

 

[thefish]

Sorry, details.

Savage model 10 trophy hunter xp. .308
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/10TROPHYHUNTERXP

Brand new out of the box.

Before taking it to the range I ran a bore brush through it, followed by a patch of hoppes #9.

 

[higgite]

Try different ammo. If it does the same, call Savage. If it doesn't, you'll know what brand of ammo not to buy anymore.

 

[thefish]

Ok. A little more info. I guess my memory was a little off. Shot 16 rounds, 4 had popped primers.

Pics attached. Unfortunately I did not save the primers.

 

[thefish]

Popped

 

[Wil Terry]

THAT is usually a sign of very high pressures; VERY !!
OR...it could be a sign of soft brass...or both.
Bet the ranch on the first.
And so it goes...

 

[stringnut]

Grossly excessive head space can cause primers to back out. This does not appear to be the case here, but, probably should be investigated. Cannot see a ring forward of the base , which is normally present, if the chamber is too long or the case too short. Also, the primers came completely out and headspace would have to be huge .

Because of the two marks near the primer they may have been crimped in place. This makes it doubly strange that the primers fell out. In my opinion the brass or the primes are not sized correctly . I may be completely off base. Without the rifle and ammo in hand it is hard to determine for sure. The two marks may also indicate that stamping die was hitting the brass incorrecly and causing loose pockets.

In any case it should be investigated before firing the rifle further. If you have access to a headspace gauge I would start there. Contacting both manufacturers would also be a good idea.

 

[judgedelta]

Since all of the primers didn't pop, it may not be the rifle. Try with some different ammunition. Preferably some "name-brand", so when the customer service rep asks what you are shooting, it will be something he's heard of before. I had a problem with a revolver recently and ALL of the primers were backing out...

 

[Alderman]

The fired primers don't look excessively flat as I would expect with a "hot" load.

 

[Rule3]

Perfecta is a line of Fiocchi made ammo. It is good ammo (usually)

I would try some other brand of ammo like Remington , Winchester, Hornady etc
and see if you have the same results, if not then contact Fiocchi. If the same then of course contact Savage Arms

 

[fguffey]

And if someone wanted to argue a good case could be made there is evidence the primers were staked/crimped.

F. Guffey

 

[stringnut]

Already stated it appears the primers may have been crimped. Never seen a crimped primer fall out. Seen a couple pierced by a severly defective rifle. Wasn't there when in happened , but, the results were pretty neat. Blew the mag out on the second one.

 

[Lee S. Forsberg]

Any signs of head separation?

 

[Reloadron]

If you want to start somewhere take a caliper and measure the width and depth of the primer pocket with a focus on the width. You should see a width of 0.2085" to 0.2100" and a depth of about 0.125" to 0.132", those are the SAAMI specifications for large rifle primer pockets. I would start there and if the pockets are in specification move on from there.

Just My Take....
Ron

 

[thefish]

Thanks for the replies guys.
No evidence of head separation.

Looks like these pockets may be a little loose, unless that's the result of the primers popping out.
Diameters are .219,.216,.211.215
Depths were all within the above spec.

 

[Reloadron]

Thanks for the replies guys.
No evidence of head separation.

Looks like these pockets may be a little loose, unless that's the result of the primers popping out.
Diameters are .219,.216,.211.215
Depths were all within the above spec.

My guess based on that is that the primer pockets were oversize to begin with. Anything over .210" is exceeding the SAAMI specification. Combine that with allowable primer tolerances of .2105" to .2130" and I can see where primers could easily drop out of those cases. Especially with primers on the low side of specification.

Ron

 

[mdi]

Does "popped" primers mean the primers were blown out of the case?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

THAT is usually a sign of very high pressures; VERY !!

I've never heard of high pressures making primers blow out.
High pressures would slam the round back into the bolt face so hard it would flatten them out. Flattened primers are a sign of high pressures. Primers backing out is a sign of low pressure. I've had primers backing out when working up youth loads or .243 Win but they didn't come all the way out.

Maybe high pressures can do it too. I'm certainly not an expert.