Bullet lodged in barrel mystery

[Storm Cloud]

There appears to be only about a quarter inch of air space. Hornady said
on the intro page of that newest manual that they had the best results with H4198 so that's why I used it.

 

[AckleymanII]

I used IMR 4198 in the 444, and a compressed load.

All we can do is make our best guess to keep you safe. Primers seated a tad deep, compressing the anvil, bad win primers, maybe even a heavy burr over the inside of the flash hole, or contaminated powder??

I am hoping that Fed 215's fix the whole problem! Your post may have saved someone else from suffering the same malfunctions, thanks for sharing!

Keith

 

[Storm Cloud]

I figured Hornady was doing it's job to keep everybody safe, and so it was their latest data that I used. The last place I'd ever look to stay safe is on any social forum. I was only asking what happened, and knew I'd get a slew of answers of such variety that one had a chance of being near right. Not all feedback comes from ballistic wizards. Some are not yet drawn away from the illusion of the obvious.
Lyman 49th shows a starting charge of 31 grains of IMR4198 with a 300 grain jacketed HP in a 45-70 (with no filler) for a trap door Spingfield. That has more air space than the 450 Marlin case would with the same load. But there is no warning that using it could lead to disappearing in a cloud of billowing smoke. 38.5 grains of H4198 takes up one hell of a lot more space in the case of a 450 Marlin than 31 grains of IMR4198 does in a 45-70 case.

 

[carlsbad]

My first thought is the primer didn't fire, it was a misfire, the bullet was jammed into the lands and pulled out when you ejected the cartridge. Happens a lot on the bench with intentionally jammed bullets.

 

[Storm Cloud]

Oh? Uh, OK, yeah, sure, that must have been it.

 

[243winxb]

IMR4198 is faster burning then H4198 when compared at Hodgdon.
300 gr bullets , 444, 45-70 trapdoor and lever action data.

One is made in Canada, the other in Australia. But not always.

Burn rates can be changed in the same powder family by adjusting the chemical makeup or by coatings.

Coatings can make powder harder to ignite.

http://ns.hodgdon.com/msds.html

No powder will burn correctly, if the bullet leaves the case mouth to soon. The firing of a the primer can move a bullet into the rifling , without powder being in the case. But not always.

The mysteries of reloading are not always solved.

 

[Storm Cloud]

H4198 takes two grains less than IMR4198 to launch a 300 grain HP at 1,700 fps according to Hornady in a 450 Marlin. So which one is faster burning in that situation? I would guess the H brand. No mystery is ever solved.

 

[243winxb]

Different case capacity and things change. Like your Hornady data. This is why the burn rate charts dont make a whole lot of sense.

 

[Storm Cloud]

That's how burn rate charts are like the National News.

 

[Texas10]

One other possibility I can think of is firing pin velocity. Cold temps, oil turns to grease, firing pin too sluggish to properly ignite the primer. More of a fizzle than a flash? Click....boom. What was the temp on the second attempt?

 

[Storm Cloud]

About seven above zero F. Even the case containing the powder charge that didn't ignite had a normal sized healthy dent in the primer. Loaded six more. The case expands .002" where bullet is seated so the case tension is OK according to a fellow above. If ya'll think a starting charge of 38.5 grains of H4198 takes up little space in a 450 Marlin case with a 300 grain HP, ya'outghta see how much space is left over with 11 grains of 231 with a 405 cast bullet. It's like a bucket of corn thrown into an empty silo.

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

 

[spaniel]

Standard primer...large volume case...air space in case...very cold weather....I've seen this more than once. Two consistent causes are the combination of factors above (or several of them) or a sticky firing pin due to cold.

If the primer fired and wedged the bullet in the barrel the latter is not your problem.

I stopped using H110 in mag revolvers for this specific reason. More than once I had squibs and bullets stuck in the forcing cone during sub-20F weather, even with mag primers. Some powders/loads are just prone to it.

 

[Storm Cloud]

It was 20 above zero today when I shot the load at a 200 yard, 10" diameter gong in light winds. What I hoped to find in it was a load that would group well at 200, and they did, into 4" anyway, 5 shots straight after I found how to hold with seven other shots, after zeroing at 100 yesterday. They make a healthy bellowing blast but kick quite lightly, so
it's a done deal, a clean burning accurate load that shoots reasonably flat for deer and pigs if I ever get to Texas..

 

[Zero333]

Moral of the story is ???... when it's freezing cold, only trust Federal primers !

I shoot in the stupid cold and I've had a few duds with cci primers, but never with Fed 205/210/215.

 

[Storm Cloud]

View attachment 1090002 View attachment 1090000 Shot five at the 8" diameter 200 yard gong this morning and hit the dang thing every time.

 

[6MMsteve]

since it's cold out try a little hotter powder you can shoot a hotter burning powder in the cold, just make sure you back off when the temps rise

 

[cdparker]

What about H322? It was magic in my 45-70. Hot weather or cold.
Just a thought.

 

[Storm Cloud]

I used the H4198 because Hornady said they had the best performance with it and N-120 but I didn't have any of that. Hornady didn't even use any H322 or any powder "hotter" than H4198 with their 300 grain HP.. It is shooting up to my hopes that it would do good at 200 yards, so I would hate to spend another $100 in gas and projectiles, etc to match the results I have now with something else. And anyway this load is burning clean in the barrel and slower burners ain't as likely to. A lightly compressed charge of H4831 with a 405 grain cast bullet in a 45-70 with shoot very accurate but leaves down the barrel what looks like a log jam in a drain pipe.