crazy primer problem

[Deleted old_dood]

first time shooting new RPR in 6CM, Petersen brass, CCI 400 primers, Varget. had 2 misfires. indents in primers do not reveal a light strike. primers look exactly like what firing a primer in an empty case looks like.

I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder but found a lot of powder stuck in the cases. Had to use a thin stick to loosen all the remaining powder so it'd dump out. All the powder has a yellow tint to it. Compared it to new Varget and the color is definitely different.

any ideas?

 

[maxscm]

Moisture contamination ?

 

[Bill K]

Somehow you got moisture or some lube into the case/powder charge.

 

[SAM HUBBARD]

Did you add Brasso to your tumbling media? Did you pour it out and let it dry and make it into a fine powder or just dump it in wet?

 

[rardoin]

None of the above.... I suspect a light primer strike due to new cases or oversized (shoulder sized back too far) fired cases. Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt...and a bunch of clumped yellow/gold powder. If this is new brass you can fire it with bullets jammed a little in the lands or get a small base die to 'squeeze' the shoulder forward a little. Another cause could be primers seated shy of the pocket bottom but likely one of the above causes.

Once the brass has been fired and sized properly (somewhere eqaul or less than 0.003") they should fire fine thereafter.

In addendum- yes...my primers usually had fairly pronounced dimpling from the firing pin strike but when viewed and compared to normal fired primers under magnification the difference in the indentation pattern is obvious.

 

[Rsadams]

None of the above.... I suspect a light primer strike due to new cases or oversized (shoulder sized back too far) fired cases. Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt...and a bunch of clumped yellow/gold powder. If this is new brass you can fire it with bullets jammed a little in the lands or get a small base die to 'squeeze' the shoulder forward a little. Another cause could be primers seated shy of the pocket bottom but likely one of the above causes.

In addendum- yes...my primers usually had fairly pronounced dimpling from the firing pin strike but when viewed and compared to normal fired primers under magnification the difference in the indentation pattern is obvious.

+1 on the yellow powder... Seen it before when the primer didn't fire off the charge completely....

 

[Alibiiv]

Moisture contamination ?

first time shooting new RPR in 6CM, Petersen brass, CCI 400 primers, Varget. had 2 misfires. indents in primers do not reveal a light strike. primers look exactly like what firing a primer in an empty case looks like.

I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder but found a lot of powder stuck in the cases. Had to use a thin stick to loosen all the remaining powder so it'd dump out. All the powder has a yellow tint to it. Compared it to new Varget and the color is definitely different.

any ideas?

 

[Zero333]

Was it super cold out ???

I had 3 cci duds over many years only when it very cold outside.

Never had a problem with Federal primers.

 

[Deleted old_dood]

I forgot to mention this was with new brass. addressing some comments, not cold at all, mid 40s; brass new, not tumbled or wet when loaded; I did neck turn the brass so some oil may have gotten in the case but if that happened I think it might have been during the neck expansion when I put a little oil in the necks via q-tip then use that same q-tip to put a little smear on the turning mandrel. I've turned many cases using this method; I've had misfires before (light strikes) but have never seen clumped up, mis-colored powder.

 

[243winxb]

Primer fired. Powder started burning, then quit. Bad primers are not common.

Oil may retard a primer. Rethink your process.

Do try a different brand of primer.

I had a cci400 take 4 strikes till it fired. Rest of lot, no problem.

Clean the new bolt. Pin velocity is what fires primers, not pin protrusion.