New rifle misfires

[Patton243]

I had a new Remington 700 put together and got it officially yesterday by my smith. When I took it out to the range I did the typical break in procedure for the first 10 shots. I shot and cleaned the rifle after each shot. After I cleaned the rifle and put a round in I would have a misfire. The chamber was wet with some of the chemical residue left from cleaning. I used a bore guide, but the brass was wet when I was taking it out of the chamber. After each misfire, I would chamber another round and it would work fine. The first initial break-in shot went off fine. Were these misfires a mechanical issue or possibly the cleaner being in the chamber and contaminating the primer? I was using bore tech eliminator. I then shot a few 3 shot groups at the end and there was no misfire issues. Mind you I did not clean the rifle between the 3 shot session. I will not get to see my smith until later on this evening, so I figured I would say something here first. I checked the primer seating depth and they were under the rim and not bulged out. I'm using an RCBS universal hand priming tool and never had an issue before. I tried firing the misfires again and they still would not go off either. Any suggestions on the issue? Firing pin filled with gunk? It's a Remington 700 action as I stated before and I never had an issue with misfires on any of my center fires. Unfortunately I'm at work so I cannot post the pictures of the primers. Thanks,

Chris

 

[Ggmac]

More info , caliber , cartridge, factory ammo, wildcat, what do you fired cases look like .

 

[Patton243]

It's reloaded ammo. Lapua virgin brass, WLR primers, 30-06 Springfield. No pressure signs at all.

 

[Ggmac]

What dies ? What does your fired brass look like ? What primers ?

 

[Ggmac]

How deep are you fired primer hits , what does a non ignited cartridge primer look like

 

[Patton243]

Redding dies. The brass looks fine I'm below max loads. As I stated I cannot post any pictures because I'm at work. The misfired primers do look like a weaker hit than the fired ones. More of a crater look? The ignited primers look normal.

 

[Ggmac]

I'm at a loss . It is April 1 after all . It's gonna be excessive headspace , not enough firing pin protrusion ( most likely) or your pushing the shoulder back too much . But Im guessing as to why when only a wet chamber .
Having a wet chamber is NEVER good , but I've not heard of it causing misfires unless it's cushioning the blow .

 

[Taildrag15X]

I say it's the ammo, did you load it before you had your "new" rifle in your hands?

Headspace due to undersized brass it sounds like to me......

 

[Patton243]

I say it's the ammo, did you load it before you had your "new" rifle in your hands?

Headspace due to undersized brass it sounds like to me......

Yeah I did. The primers are definitely pushed in pretty well too. I'm using a full length resizing die on virgin brass. It's barely touching the shell holder when the die comes down.

 

[Ggmac]

Are you using new dies ? Just curious as maybe they're out of spec but it's gonna be , bad primers , firing pin protrusion, or headspace . Unless the smith used a " special " firing pin or spring .
What all was done to the action ? New receiver? Trigger ? Barrel nut used or std rem .

 

[Patton243]

Yes, they're new dies. it's a standard Remington 700 action no modifications done other than truing. The action was purchased new last year. Timney trigger installed.

 

[Ggmac]

If your cartridge that didn't go off has a good hit , and didn't go off on a second try, it could be a bad primer. Do you have a headspace gauge or a Wilson case gauge ? I would suggest a Wilson case gauge to check all reloads , there not $

 

[Taildrag15X]

Yeah I did. The primers are definitely pushed in pretty well too. I'm using a full length resizing die on virgin brass. It's barely touching the shell holder when the die comes down.

What is the headspace on the fired brass compared to the virgin?

So it's all factory Rem. 700, did you measure the chamber?

 

[Patton243]

What is the headspace on the fired brass compared to the virgin?

So it's all factory Rem. 700, did you measure the chamber?

I don't have any tools to measure the headspace. This gun was done by a smith entirely; new barrel, trigger, stock etc. The action is Remington factory. The rounds definitely don't feel very tight going into the chamber. The OAL was not set correctly either; it was about 45 thousands off the lands with these original test loads. I'm no gunsmith by any means. I never ran into this problem before and I'm a little irritated because I shot a lot of new rifles.

 

[DennisH]

The chamber was wet with some of the chemical residue left from cleaning

I don't know where the "quote" icon went?

The above statement caught my attention. I am not saying if this contributed to the misfires, but make absolutely sure your chamber area and bore are completely clean/dry before firing. The primers should have stopped any penetration especially for a short period.

Otherwise, definitely check your headspace.

Dennis

 

[Ggmac]

I would STRONGLY recommend the Wilson case gauge checker . Not only for reload die adjust but for post firing case checking . It'll save trips to the smith . Is the smith reputable or a newbie? Just have to ask , sometimes a guy will hang his shingle , buy a pre fit barrel and stick it on . But every smith should have a 06 reamer and gauges .

 

[coford]

I have not heard of such a problem before but there are several things that could probably prevent this from coming back. First don't shoot with a wet chamber - nothing good can come of it - high pressure - dented brass - lop sided brass. Secondly take your bolt apart and make sure is isn't soaking wet inside or dirty. Also check to make sure your spring has enough pressure. And finally if you are fireforming brass to a new chamber I would seat into the lands with the bullet to keep the case pushed as far rearward as possible. If you do these things I don't believe your problem will reoccur. FWIW.

 

[Eddie Harren]

I have not heard of such a problem before but there are several things that could probably prevent this from coming back. First don't shoot with a wet chamber - nothing good can come of it - high pressure - dented brass - lop sided brass. Secondly take your bold apart and make sure is isn't soaking wet inside or dirty. Also check to make sure your spring has enough pressure. And finally if you are fireforming brass to a new chamber I would seat into the lands with the bullet to keep the case pushed as far rearward as possible. If you do these things I don't believe your problem will reoccur. FWIW.

Lots of speculation. No real answers. What did your gunsmith say?

 

[Patton243]

I have not heard of such a problem before but there are several things that could probably prevent this from coming back. First don't shoot with a wet chamber - nothing good can come of it - high pressure - dented brass - lop sided brass. Secondly take your bolt apart and make sure is isn't soaking wet inside or dirty. Also check to make sure your spring has enough pressure. And finally if you are fireforming brass to a new chamber I would seat into the lands with the bullet to keep the case pushed as far rearward as possible. If you do these things I don't believe your problem will reoccur. FWIW.

The next time I take it out to the range I'm definitely going to make sure the chamber is dry. I did not bring the correct tool to dry it out since I was in a hurry to start the break-in process. My smith has a tool to take the bolt apart, so I will not be able to do anything until he takes a look inside. On my next test loads they will be closer to the lands I assure you. The gun shot very well actually for the circumstances on when it discharged. Very rarely do I clean my rifles out at the range. And as I stated when I shot multiple firings without cleaning after every shot there was 0 misfires.

 

[Ggmac]

What can we do with the info provided, I tried to guide him to possibles with all I can think of . Any suggestions? Taking it to the smith is the most obvious, but if the smith isn't compentent what next . It sometimes helps to ask the smith or tell the smith all the info , primers , not firing when tried again , dies , fired cases , etc .
I don't think any internet smithing , ok most , really gives answered , just suggestions that should be investigated.