CCI primers !!

[NorCalMikie]

First, let me say that I have never had this problem before today!
Maybe 200 rounds fired from my .221 Fireball, Mini 14, M1A and my 6BR. These are loaded with CCI Mil. spec. primers.,No. 34 and No. 41)
35 rounds fired from my .221 and 3 didn't go BANG!!
Retried each round 2 or 3 times to be sure.
Good solid firing pin strike. All the other rounds fired with no problems.
Sent a letter off to Ammunition Accessories Inc., CCI/Speer Operations, Lewiston, Idaho.
Should be very interesting to see what they have to say in their reply. Do I see "free" primers by return mail??:thumb: It could happen!

 

[Cheechako]

Mikie

Carefully push those primers out and see if they have the mixture in them. Or the anvil. Sometimes $hit happens. When you consider how many gazzilion primers are made every year it's a miracle it doesn't happen more often.

I twice had it happen at Benchrest with Federal SR Match primers. No mixture! I sent them to Federal and they sent me a gift certificate for $5 off any Federal product!! That pi$$ed me off and I switched to CCI. Never had it happen again.

Ray

 

[Aussie_bob]

Thats one goodthing about the LEE Auto prime tool they all lay face up in the tray and a quick glance will tell you if something is out of place one primer that looks different to all the others. I had a couple of used primers get in the box somehow and they stood out i suspect a so-called friend put them in to catch me out

 

[NorCalMikie]

I pushed the primers out while neck sizing the cases last night.
One was still "brass" colored like it had never been fired. The other two looked like the other fired/spent primers.,maybe not enough mixture on those two?)The anvil was still in place.
The unfired "lookalike" will get the hammer test,)as soon as everybody is up and around this morning.
Really not bad odds considerenig I've gone through about 15.000 without any other misfires or problems.
Like I said, should be interesting to see what CCI/Speer has to say. This problem will not cause me to stop using my RCBS reloading equipment or my CCI primers! Just another bump in the "reloading road to life"!
One thing that a FTF will do is check to see if you flinch when the hammer is dropped!! M1A? Maybe!! .221 Fireball? Not a chance! It's more like WTF??

 

[NorCalMikie]

Well, I did the "hammer" test on the one that looked like it hadn't been fired. BANG!! The other two just got smashed!!
The only remark I got was "Did you get the cat?"
All primers were seated below the case head surface. Primer pockets were clean. Just one of those things!!

 

[RDesJardin]

Mike,
The usual cause is just what you eluded to, seating depth or in this case possibly seating in general. I know I always have put powder in before I seat bullets,except once that is. Same with seating primers there can be those times when in the zone of reloading. It's possible not to get the primers seated in solid in the case, but after looking at the primer after the misfire the primer looks seated, the firing pin seated it. And I know I filled all those cases with powder, pop no bullet exit. It happens and we are all human. Since the one that you hammered went off, well then what's left. But hey bad primers are made but it would be greater than 1 in a million I'm sure. Just food for thought.
RD

 

[NorCalMikie]

Rory: I know what you mean. Mistakes "can" happen. At my loading bench I have a light in front of me and one behind me. As I load powder in the cases I put them in the rack. Just before I put the case in the press/shell holder, I tip it to the side and I can see the shine on the powder from the light over my shoulder.
I have tried to load powder in a case with no primer in it!
Kinda made a mess but I got the message!
And I might add, I don't expect anything out of the ordinary from CCI. Just curious to see what they "might" have to say.
One guy on another forum talked about 21 out of 100 primers that FTF. After the conversation went on for a while the "real" cause came to the surface. Too many beers were involved in the reloading process! :nono: Thats just asking for trouble!

 

[NorCalMikie]

Got a call from Coy Getman at CCI today. Good man to talk to!
He suggested to that the #41 primers were not sensitive enough for my bolt guns. That the primers are desgined different than the other primers to eleminate slam fires in "gas Guns"! Sure makes sense to me. The one primer that looked like it didn't go off, in fact didn't,till I hit it with a hammer.The other two that looked like thay had been fired,were. But wern't hit hard enough to make them "pop". More like a "fizzle". Makes even more sense! One other thing was the chance that the primers wern't seated hard enough and that the firing pin seated them the rest of the way. He recommended that I go back to the 400s for my bolt guns. Might try the 450s.
And who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?