30-30 Reload issue

[Cukali]

Hello all. First post and it may be a bit long but want to make sure i supply all info needed for solution.

Mossberg 464 in 30-30. Normally I dont reload this cartridge but its my sons rifle and I am teaching him to reload and thought this would be a good starter.

Problem: Rifle fires all factory loads fine. Fires 1 in about 5 hand loads. Rest are misfires with slight primer indents.

Sized the cases with light over bump on press. I immediately backed the die off slightly on the next set of reloads (doing 5 at a time) and they fired fine but caused the lever to be a little difficult to lock.

I then went and bought another box of factories, measured my cases after sizing and the factory cases after firing and they were nearly exact. I am talking .0005 to .001 on everything measured. Case width at base, length, COL, case trim length, and even disassembled the rifle and measured the primer height (if that is a thing) when case is in the chamber using a depth gauge. Height difference was .0005 higher on my hand loads than factory. At this point I was completely lost. I then began to think the gun was at fault. Firing pin extended from bolt face a good bit and doesnt have a spring so i kept looking

Final test I did was to pull factory bullets out, size the factory case (without pulling primers) and THEY ALL FIRED! I then took out primers from factory cases and installed mine.....THEY DIDNT FIRE!!

So, what I did was disassembled the rifle and increased the compression on the hammer spring and just did 5 test fires with just sized cases and my primers and all fired fine.

My worry is that the solution I used may not have been the problem. The factory primers are brass style and I was using CCI No. 200 which appear to be tin or thin steel or alloy of and think maybe I was using the wrong primers. BUT to me the hammer is a bit sloppy from factory and felt a bit weak upon cocking.

Just needing reassurance I did this properly. Should I have changed primers instead? Should i just stuck with factories? besides throwing the rifle in the trash what would you guys done differently?


Thank all. Sorry for the book.

 

[nso123]

Have you checked the rim thickness on the ones with light primer strikes?

 

[Uncle Ed]

How far do your fired primers back out of the primer pocket?

What are you using to seat your primers.

Are you seating your primers below flush with a slight primer crush and anvil preload.

My guess is your primers are not being seated properly with the anvil not contacting the base of the primer pocket.

 

[Jacks Grampa]

Sounds like proud primers. Re-seat them deeper. The light strikes push them deeper into the primer pocket instead of setting the primer off. I had the same thing happen re-seating the primer fixed the problem.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Sounds like proud primers. Re-seat them deeper. The light strikes push them deeper into the primer pocket instead of setting the primer off. I had the same thing happen re-seating the primer fixed the problem.

Only don't do it with powder in it.. Not trying to be a wise azz but some folks would do this.. Try some Speer 110 RN Plinkers when you get it firing right. They shoot good and are cheap. My money is on the advice from the above posters.

 

[hayboy]

This is a striker fired pistol. Factory ammo 100%. My reloads with win lp primers about 2 in 12 no fire light primer strike. Switched to fed match back to 100%. Just me and mine

 

[2506]

The 30-30 Win is designed to head space on the rim so when you full length size the case you should be head spacing off the rim. It does sound to me like you are not seating your primers deep enough. The primer cup needs to bottom out in the primer pocket which will compress the anvil against the priming compound allowing it to ignite when struck by the firing pin. If the primer is not seated deep enough when the firing pin strikes it usually it will push the primer deeper in the pocket and will not fire. If you give it another strike or two it usually will go off because it has driven the primer deep enough to bottom out in the cup. If proper seating of primers does not fix things then it could be bad primers. Get some other large rifle primers and give them a try.

 

[Cukali]

Have you checked the rim thickness on the ones with light primer strikes?

Yes, I used the mic and both sized and factory cases were identical. I stated that I even unloaded a factory case and used my CCI primers in it and it didnt fire.

Only thing that solved it was increasing the hammer spring. Now all fire fine.

 

[Cukali]

How far do your fired primers back out of the primer pocket?

What are you using to seat your primers.

Are you seating your primers below flush with a slight primer crush and anvil preload.

My guess is your primers are not being seated properly with the anvil not contacting the base of the primer pocket.

Yes. i measured my primer depth and it was exact to factory. I removed several factory primers to load my CCI primers in and they didnt fire. I used pretty heavy seating force for my primers. I make sure they are correct depth as for all my calibers. So far its firing fine with the stronger hammer spring. From factory it was sloppy as hell and felt weak.

 

[Cukali]

Thanks for all the points guys. I have double check all the primers on my hand loads against the factory and they are the same. I used a depth gauge and they vary 0.0005 but thats the lowest resolution my electronic gauge goes. Factory loads measured the same depth and variation. The head space while in the chamber varied from 0.001 to 0.0005 using both facotry and resized loads.

Im starting to feel it was the hammer spring. I could take it back apart and remove the shim to see if changing primer types works. May do this later but so far all rounds fire with a little bit more spring pressure. The hammer was very sloppy and weak IMO when i got it. Was the first thing I noticed.

 

[Cukali]

Not sure how well this will come out but here is a misfired round showing primer strike. I marked this batch with red on the back but hopefully you can still see it well. Primer is slightly below the base. Measured same as the factory.

 

[CaptainMal]

Glad you seem to have it fixed.

Not familiar with Mossberg levers, just Marlins as I have many. Curious how you "increased pressure on the hammer spring". I would think a stronger spring replacement, some stretching of the spring, maybe some kind of bushing or spacer. Just curious.

 

[MrMajestic]

My Contender has a weak hammer spring and a hammer extension, adds weight and slows down hammer fall, and it will not ignite CCI BR-4's but will fire Federal 205's everytime..

 

[8”Redleg]

How far do your fired primers back out of the primer pocket?

What are you using to seat your primers.

Are you seating your primers below flush with a slight primer crush and anvil preload.

My guess is your primers are not being seated properly with the anvil not contacting the base of the primer pocket.

Yessir, I agree. Had same issue with 3006 in the past and found the primers were not seated correctly. At the time I was using a hand help primer. Do everything on bench since