reload problem : failure to fire

[Hektor]

When on my trip to the range I loaded about 30 rounds of ammo, mostly with Remington 9 1/2 primers. The brass was all primed with a hand primer and to the best of my
knowledge they were seated uniformly. Most went off without a hitch but three rounds did not. They had the appearance of no powder in the case but when I returned
home and pulled the bullet they all indeed had powder in the case. I never had 3 Remington primers fail before. Is there something I might have done to cause this?
Thanks, John

[musketjon]

Broken firing pin, weak hammer spring. Are the bolt internals clean? Is the bolt going into battery fully? Got 'er lubed properly? Did the primers have a firing pin dimple in them? Sometimes there will be a bad primer but certainly not 3 in the same lot. Have you checked the head space to make sure it's not excessive?
Jon

[melloman]

What did the strike from the firing pin look like? Did the rounds misfire randomly or in sequence? The primers might be seated too deeply. You may have sized the case so it is too short for the chamber. Do you have a case gauge? I would pull the loads apart and try to fire the empty primed cases outside again.

[buzzy]

If you have a cartridge head space gage, check to see if the cases were head spaced to short when you sized them.
I recently found some Lake City cases that were as much as a -.008".
This combined with a long head space on the rifle could allow the round to seat too deeply in the chamber, causing your problem.

[Hektor]

The bolt was thoroughly gone over Saturday and the riflesmith put in a new pin and he checked it carefully. The primers were struck deep enough to ignite and they looked like primers hit with no powder in the case, but there was plenty. This barrel was replaced Saturday and it was totally checked for headspace.I don't believe there was any rifle malfunction.

[buzzy]

There are many things that can cause a primer to fail. Dirt, moisture, oil are three. This is why I am very careful to keep my reloading bench as clean as possible. Is it possible that you may have contaminated the primers or got the rounds wet?

[Hektor]

Hi Buzzy,
That is certainly possible. I too, keep a clean bench, but these primers have been a primer drawer for a while and like I say (and you suggest) anything is possible. The firing pin certainly struck the cases hard enough. I have plenty of other primers to try. I just ordered bullets from Primer Valley so I will have to wait, anyway. I have several neglected rifles to shoot while I wait. ;=)

[buzzy]

Good Luck,
I have been loading for about 15 years and believe it or not, I had one primer do exactly the same thing about 3 weeks ago!
First in 15 years.

[Hektor]

This is what it looks like:
brass.jpg

[musketjon]

Looks like a good strike to me. I'd say bad primers.
Jon