Delay in primer ignition

[MGYSGT]

I bought 5,000 SRM primers 2 years ago. I am down to about 1500 left. Yesterday at the range I could hear the firing pin hit the primer before it would go boom. First time ever heard this. On top of that I had 5 fail to fire. Do you think because the temperature was in the 50's, that had anything to do with the problems. They have always been stored in the house. They were Tula primers. It was a bolt gun that has fired 756 of them without incident.


Tom

 

[22BRGUY]

What brand of brass are you using? and are you uniforming the primer pockets?

 

[amlevin]

When I had this problem with Wolf or Tula primers they were all improperly seated.

I pushed a few of the misfires out of the primer pocket and examined them carefully. They hadn't been seated deep enough to compress the anvil into the cup and the three little "ends" had the same protrusion as a fresh, unseated primer.

I drug out my old Lee Hand primer that had more leverage and seated the primes until I felt it solidly bottom out with the cup against the bottom of the primer pocket.

Never a misfire since and it's been a couple of years and thousands of primers since.

 

[CJ6]

When I had this problem with Wolf or Tula primers they were all improperly seated.

I pushed a few of the misfires out of the primer pocket and examined them carefully. They hadn't been seated deep enough to compress the anvil into the cup and the three little "ends" had the same protrusion as a fresh, unseated primer.

I drug out my old Lee Hand primer that had more leverage and seated the primes until I felt it solidly bottom out with the cup against the bottom of the primer pocket.

Never a misfire since and it's been a couple of years and thousands of primers since.

I had the same experience when I first started using the Wolf /Tula primers. They just seem to need a little more push to seat properly. No problems since.

 

[MFG_BOP]

When I had this problem with Wolf or Tula primers they were all improperly seated.

I pushed a few of the misfires out of the primer pocket and examined them carefully. They hadn't been seated deep enough to compress the anvil into the cup and the three little "ends" had the same protrusion as a fresh, unseated primer.

I drug out my old Lee Hand primer that had more leverage and seated the primes until I felt it solidly bottom out with the cup against the bottom of the primer pocket.

Never a misfire since and it's been a couple of years and thousands of primers since.

+1

 

[SmokinJoe]

Hey sarge, if you're going to use the Tula/Wolf primers, which are great primers in my experience, consider getting a 21st Century primer seater, the big SS job. It has a lot of seating pressure & makes seating those primers a lot easier, plus it gives good feel even at the higher seating force.

 

[bigedp51]

Chesty Puller never had this problem

The primer should be seated with a slight primer crush or preload.

Aim High Air Force

 

[Scott Harris]

Also check your firing pin spring and make sure it's at least 24 lbs. I get the problem you are describing any time the spring dips below 22lbs or so. Wolf primers are awesome but need a stout spring that produces a solid strike.

 

[243winxb]

Hang fire = contaminated powder.

 

[ShootDots]

There may be some debris inside the bolt. It could cause the firing pin to lightly strike the primer and detonation could be very erratic.. I have seen this on more than a few occasions..

 

[MGYSGT]

Thanks for the info. AT the time of this event, I was testing Fed 205M primers against the Tula for this particular load. Didn't have any misfires with the Feds. Maybe because they are softer and seated easier???? My brass was LC-11 (not crimped) and the primer pockets reamed. I think I was seating all the way in, but I will pay more attention to that. Maybe because they are harder I wasn't seating with enough force, and will look at that 21st Century seater. If I can't solve this and have doubts with this last 1500 Tula, I will just use the Fed primers and relegate the Tula's to the AR. Lastly, as everyone knows, Chesty Puller didn't need primers, he could stare the enemy to death.

Thanks
Tom

 

[amlevin]

I think I was seating all the way in, but I will pay more attention to that.

It's easy to prove one way or the other. Seat a primer as you normally would then push it out using a universal de-priming die or a sizing die with the de-priming rod screwed in an extra amount.

Get out the magnifying glass and examine the ends of the three "petals" of the anvil. If you seated the primer properly then the petals will be flush with the primer cup surface. If not it will be slightly above the surface. Big Ed's picture tells the story perfectly.

BTW, jut push the primer out slowly and you won't have an issue with it. Can even re-use if you want.

 

[searcher]

I had a load for a 7mm mag hunting rifle that had a noticeable delay. Increasing the powder charge eliminated it.

 

[amlevin]

I had a load for a 7mm mag hunting rifle that had a noticeable delay. Increasing the powder charge eliminated it.

That used to be a big problem with some powders in my .357 cases. Not enough to fill the case so if you ever pointed the cartridge or pistol "down" when you raised it to fire it was "click x x x x Bang!".

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get cheap on powder like some who pick it on the basis of how many loads they can get from a pound.