Primers not going off?

[savageshooter86]

Savage Target action. 308 win
Brass sized for 1k shoulder bump. CCI BR4 primers. Primers seated by 21st century priming tool until feel them touch pocket then give little extra squeeze.

I had 11 out of 25 not go off today. Firing pin struck primer. Tried re clambering and firing again. No luck


I have had this before but a couple per session. In matches I have had same thing, couple out of 70 plus not go off

I broke firing pin assembly and bolt down. Only thing I saw was excess oil on firing pin and inside bolt body. Nothing else looked off. I've never blanked primer either.

Primers are brand new lot. I've had this issue with tulammo primers and CCI 450s too

 

[s100whunter]

Weak firing pin spring ,I replaced 3 this year doing the same thing

 

[MGYSGT]

You say only 1thou bump on the shoulder. You sure. Too much free forward movement can cause this problem. I experienced this problem with new brass (LC never fired). Just in case I replaced the firing pin spring. What is your firing pin protrusion from the bolt head.

 

[savageshooter86]

You say only 1thou bump on the shoulder. You sure. Too much free forward movement can cause this problem. I experienced this problem with new brass (LC never fired). Just in case I replaced the firing pin spring. What is your firing pin protrusion from the bolt head.

Yes measure every sized case.

Top of bolt head to tip of firing pin is 0.056. Top of bolt head to bolt face is 0.111. So I have good protrusion

 

[johnfred1965]

You can measure the cases that did fire against your reloads to see the difference in shoulder location is excessive. Since it has happened with numerous brands, it has to be the gun or loads of course. Do the primers that fired look extremely flattened? Like the case was pushed forward and slammed back against the bolt when it went off? Another possible indicator of too much headspace. Is this a new rifle to you, or did it just start happening recently? If it has gotten worse lately, A weak spring like s100 suggested. Disassembling the bolt takes debris in the channel out of equation, unless it is limiting protrusion as MGYSGT suggested to check. These are the most common things to check and fixes the majority of problems.

 

[savageshooter86]

You can measure the cases that did fire against your reloads to see the difference in shoulder location is excessive. Since it has happened with numerous brands, it has to be the gun or loads of course. Do the primers that fired look extremely flattened? Like the case was pushed forward and slammed back against the bolt when it went off? Another possible indicator of too much headspace. Is this a new rifle to you, or did it just start happening recently? If it has gotten worse lately, A weak spring like s100 suggested. Disassembling the bolt takes debris in the channel out of equation, unless it is limiting protrusion as MGYSGT suggested to check. These are the most common things to check and fixes the majority of problems.

Had gun two years plus. It has gotten worse lately. No debris in bolt body or firing pin assembly. I did break it down and clean everything. The rounds that don't go off are barely touched by firing pin.

Those cases measure 2k less than I sized them

My reloads shoot extremely well and so does this rifle. Just running into this lately. My custom Borden has zero issues. Over thousand rds now. It shoots well

 

[XTR]

Replace the spring. Only time I have ever had ignition issues that fixed it.

 

[uncle-buck]

Weak firing pin spring ,I replaced 3 this year doing the same thing

Having the same issue with a Savage 10 in .223 Rem. Only 150 rounds through it and stored with the spring released using a snap cap.

Did you replace your firing pin springs with factory or aftermarket springs. Thanks

 

[NorCalMikie]

Just a thought. Pull one of the bullets of the non fired suspect round out a bit to increase the OAL. Stuff the bullet "INTO" the lands and see if it will go bang. My bet is the OAL is too short and the firing pin is pushing the case forward so you end up with a weak strike.

 

[SheepDog]

Get all of the oil off of and away from your firing pin. It should run dry. It is likely that springs is an additional problem. Replace the spring and clean the oil off of the firing pin and out of the firing pin channel. It needs to be as dry as a desert in there (without the dust).

 

[Homerange]

Get all of the oil off of and away from your firing pin. It should run dry. It is likely that springs is an additional problem. Replace the spring and clean the oil off of the firing pin and out of the firing pin channel. It needs to be as dry as a desert in there (without the dust).

+1
Hydraulicing in the bolt can be a problem, seen it in a new Tikka after hot weather with nothing other than factory lubricant/corrosion protection.
Be sure to also leave the firing pin in a uncocked state when in storage or travel to lengthen the life of the spring.

My son when getting into reloading thought primers need be seated firmly and this gave the same result as the OP, flush is enough.

 

[savageshooter86]

Just a thought. Pull one of the bullets of the non fired suspect round out a bit to increase the OAL. Stuff the bullet "INTO" the lands and see if it will go bang. My bet is the OAL is too short and the firing pin is pushing the case forward so you end up with a weak strike.

OAL of loaded round? It is 15k off touch. Brass trimmed 2k less than largest sized case length

 

[swd]

Make sure you have .055"-.060" firing pin protrusion and that the pins not dragging anywhere. Somewhere between this and every thing else already said you'll find it.

 

[savageshooter86]

Thanks for input. I'll order firing pin or two extra. I already cleaned bolt and firing pin to remove oils. I will also lean trigger this week too

Much appreciated

 

[johnfred1965]

Just a thought. Pull one of the bullets of the non fired suspect round out a bit to increase the OAL. Stuff the bullet "INTO" the lands and see if it will go bang. My bet is the OAL is too short and the firing pin is pushing the case forward so you end up with a weak strike.

If his fired rounds are shorter than his resized rounds, wouldn't that indicate a slight crush fit in the chamber? Unless it is one of those counter-intuitive things you keep hearing about!

 

[johnfred1965]

Thanks for input. I'll order firing pin or two extra. I already cleaned bolt and firing pin to remove oils. I will also lean trigger this week too

Much appreciated

Did you mean a spring or two extra?

 

[Zero333]

You need a new spring. Had the same happen with a Savage mod 11 lefty 7mm08 that my brother uses for hunting. I was able to shim the spring and it fixed the problem. Never failed to fire after the shim.

Fed-210/210m 205/205m have softer cups than cci's. Switching to Federal primers would also help if you can't fix your firing spring.

 

[Acyr]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...in-spring-savage-10-series-short-action-32-lb

 

[savageshooter86]

Did you mean a spring or two extra?

Yes. I have extra firing pins already.

 

[NorCalMikie]

If his fired rounds are shorter than his resized rounds, wouldn't that indicate a slight crush fit in the chamber?

If the bolt closes with no resistance, the brass is too short.
That would tell me that the round is flopping around in the chamber. The key word is SHORTER!!
If you increase the OAL by pulling the bullet out a bit, that would hold the case head against the bolt face and give the firing pin a better chance to POP the primer.
If the round is SHORTER and not being held in place by the bullet being stuffed INTO the lands, it just gets pushed forward by the firing pin and you get a weak strike. As it is now, the bullets are set to a JUMP to the lands.

OAL of loaded round? It is 15k off touch.

Brass too short, being pushed forward by the firing pin.
Could be that the shoulders on the brass got pushed back too far OR, the primers didn't get seated down all the way. One step at a time till you find the problem. Don't blame the firing pin or spring or primer till you can PROVE it. And pulling a few bullets to lengthen the OAL won't cost you anything.